Character guide
Billy Crocker
from Anything Goes
Billy Crocker is a lead character in Anything Goes, Cole Porter's 1934 shipboard musical comedy.
- Show
- Anything Goes
- Broadway premiere
- 1934
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Cole Porter
Billy Crocker on stage vs screen
Broadway compared with the 1936 and 1956 films
Bing Crosby starred in both Paramount films of Anything Goes, but only one as Billy Crocker. In the 1936 film he played Billy opposite Ethel Merman and sang new songs by other writers, including Moonburn by Hoagy Carmichael and Edward Heyman, which became a minor hit for him. In the 1956 film he returned as a new character, Bill Benson, in a new plot.
On stage, William Gaxton originated Billy in 1934, singing All Through the Night with Hope and You're the Top with Reno. Later versions gave him It's De-Lovely (added in 1962) and restored Easy to Love for the 1987 revival.
Billy Crocker: role facts
- Originated on Broadway by
- William Gaxton (1934)
- Notable performers
- Howard McGillin earned a Tony nomination in the 1987 revival and Colin Donnell starred in the 2011 revival; Bing Crosby played Billy in the 1936 film.
- Voice type and range
- Tenor
- Songs Billy Crocker sings
- You're the Top (with Reno)
- Easy to Love (solo, restored in 1987)
- It's De-Lovely (with Hope, added in 1962)
- All Through the Night (with Hope)
Who is Billy Crocker?
Billy is a young Wall Street man who stows away aboard the SS American after learning that Hope Harcourt, the woman he loves, is sailing to England to marry the wealthy but dull Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Determined not to lose her, Billy spends the voyage in a series of disguises, with the help of Reno Sweeney and the gangster Moonface Martin, trying to win Hope back.
His impulsive, romantic scheming drives much of the show's farcical plot, and his charm and persistence are ultimately what allow the story's tangled couples to sort themselves out by the final curtain.
Billy's role in Anything Goes
Billy is a lead role requiring a charming leading man with strong comic instincts, since much of his part involves disguises and quick thinking to avoid discovery aboard ship. He shares several of the show's romantic duets, including It's De Lovely, with Hope Harcourt.
William Gaxton originated the role on Broadway in 1934. Billy remains a classic example of the dashing, resourceful leading man archetype common to golden age musical comedy, built to keep the plot's mistaken identities and near misses in constant motion.
Billy Crocker: frequently asked questions
What show is Billy Crocker from?
Billy Crocker is a lead character in Anything Goes, which opened on Broadway in 1934.
Is Billy Crocker a lead or supporting role?
Billy Crocker is a lead role, serving as the show's romantic leading man.
Who wrote the music for Anything Goes?
Cole Porter composed the music and lyrics for Anything Goes.
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