William H. Comstock (May 7, 1889 – September 23, 1961), known by his stage name Billy House, was an American vaudevillian, Broadway performer and feature film actor. After devoting most of his career to live performance, he moved to Hollywood where he became a supporting actor during the 1940s and 1950s. According to admirer Orson Welles, the name "Billy House" was likely an invention for use in burlesque theaters. Career overview Breaking into show business as a trumpet player, House worked in circuses, vaudeville, burlesque theaters and radio dramas before adding the occasional Broadway turn and bit part in feature films to his résumé. One of his Broadway co-stars, Pauline Moore, once recalled an incident about his performance in the 1933 Earl Carroll version of Murder at the Vanities: House was also used as a live-action model for the Disney characters of Doc (in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and Smee (in Peter Pan)). By the mid-1940s he had begun working more steadily in film. The bulk of his larger film roles came between 1945 and 1952. House appeared on television at least once late in his career. Theatrical legacy Because much of House's earliest theatrical work took place in smaller off-Broadway venues and burlesque stages, much of it escaped the notice of theatrical critics. Consequently, it is difficult to assess the nature or quality of his work until the late 1920s, when he began appearing on Broadway. It is known that his estate memorabilia, which would have included many of his vaudeville routines, did pass into the hands of noted variety theater enthusiast and historian, Milt Larsen. This material was originally housed at the Society for the Preservation of Variety Arts in the Friday Morning Club building in the 1970s and 1980s, but was subsequently moved to the basement of the Magic Castle in about 1991. House began performing on Broadway in the late 1920s, and generally caught the eye of national critics. Many reviews prominently mentioned his size as much as his performance. Time magazine said of House's presence in Luckee Girl (1928), "Billy House moved about the stage like a grinning Guava jelly, singing 'Whoopee' with suave insinuations." The New York Times was less focused on House's size, and more interested in his performance, which they said gave "considerable liveliness" to the venture. Five years later, Time said of Murder at the Vanities (1933) that House