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Billy Bunter
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William George Bunter (aka. Billy Bunter, the "Fat Owl of the Remove"), is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He featured originally in stories set at Greyfriars School in the boys' weekly magazine The Magnet first published in 1908, and has since appeared in hardback books, TV, stage plays and comic strips.
Origins
Charles Hamilton invented the character for an unpublished story in the late 1890s; he claimed it was derived from three persons: a corpulent editor, a short-sighted relative, and another relative who was perpetually trying to raise a loan on the strength of the anticipated arrival of a cheque.
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William George Bunter (aka. Billy Bunter, the "Fat Owl of the Remove"), is a fictional character created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards. He featured originally in stories set at Greyfriars School in the boys' weekly magazine The Magnet first published in 1908, and has since appeared in hardback books, TV, stage plays and comic strips.
History
Origins
Charles Hamilton invented the character for an unpublished story in the late 1890s; he claimed it was derived from three persons: a corpulent editor, a short-sighted relative, and another relative who was perpetually trying to raise a loan on the strength of the anticipated arrival of a cheque. The name Bunter was in common use at the time due to the popularity of a patent medicine known as Bunter's Nervine Tonic. The name Bill Bunter was used by Hamilton for a story in The Gem only months before the launch of The Magnet. There was also a previous Billy Bunter character, created by H Philpott Wright, who appeared in a series of stories in The Vanguard Library from 1907, but whose character bore no resemblance to his more famous namesake.
Magnet Stories
Billy Bunter was not a major figure in the earliest stories in The Magnet. Within a few years, however, Hamilton began to realise the comic potential of the character, and made him the focal point of many of the stories. As his prominence grew, so did his cunning, enabling his actions to drive a wide variety of plots. He would regularly contrive to spend holidays with the 'Famous Five' the other central characters in the stories.
In all, Bunter appeared in 1670 out of the 1683 issues of the Magnet that were published until its final edition in 1940. His adventures included many travel series, including trips to China, India, Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa and the South Seas.
Other Greyfriars stories
Following the closure of The Magnet, in 1940, Hamilton had little work; but ironically his fame grew at this time, as his identity as the author of so many stories became known in consequence of a newspaper interview in the London Evening Standard. He was not able to continue the Greyfriars saga, as Amalgamated Press held the copyright and would not release it. However, by 1946 he had received permission to write Greyfriars stories again, and obtained a contract from publishers Charles Skilton for a series of hardback books. The first volume, Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School, was published in September 1947. It was to prove the first of a series which was to continue for the rest of his life. The later books were published by Cassells.
Television
Billy Bunter was played by Gerald Campion in a BBC television series, 40 black and white episodes lasting 30 minutes each, over seven series between 1952 and 1961. There were also three specials. The television show was totally centred on Bunter, with other characters playing only a peripheral role.
All the television episodes were scripted by Charles Hamilton. The programme's memorable theme music was Ralph Vaughan Williams's Sea Songs. The only episodes which survive are the complete third series, five episodes of the sixth series, and a single poor quality episode from the seventh series. Some of these episodes have appeared on YouTube.com.
Stage
There were also Christmas stage shows with different casts:
Comics
After The Magnet closed, Bunter appeared in childrens comics, initially in Knockout from 15 June 1940. Knockout had begun only in 1939, but it already had a circulation several times that of The Magnet. C. H. Chapman, the last illustrator for The Magnet, drew the first nine Knockout strips, after which several artists were tried before Frank Minnit established himself with a beaming and bouncy Bunter that at first followed Chapman's style, then later branched off into a style of his own, concentrating on slapstick humour. Soon the Famous Five vanished, replaced by Jones minor, who had all the good qualities Bunter lacked but was still prone to being led astray by Bunter. The form-master, Mr Quelch, stayed (at least in name), but he lost his dignity and aloofness.
Minnit continued producing the strip until his death in 1958. Reg Parlett then took over until Knockout ceased publication in 1961, when the strip transferred to Valiant comic, where it ran until 1976. Bunter also appeared in many Knockout annuals, even on some covers. C H Chapman drew a strip for the Comet comic in 1956 which featured the classical old Bunter of The Magnet and the Famous Five, consisting of twelve weeks of 2-page strips (24 pages). Bunter's appearances in The Comet lasted from March 1950 until June 1958, with picture stories from February 1952.
From 1955 the Billy Bunter comic strips were also published in the Dutch comics magazine Sjors, as "Billie Turf". Bunter became one of the house characters of that magazine and its successors, so Bunter continued appearing in anthology-style comic collections in Dutch until the end of the 20th century. "Billie Turf" comic strip albums were published from 1963 onwards, and continued into the 21st century. Based on the comics version of Billy Bunter, three Billie Turf movies were made between 1978 and 1983, mostly spelling the name of the main character as "Billy Turf".
He also made a very late appearance in the adult comic 'Viz' in the strip 'Baxter Basics' as Sir William Bunter, conservative candidate for Greyfriars Central, grossly overweight, and with a heart monitor continuously attached to his chest, but was immediately killed off by Baxter (by bursting a paper bag, thus fomenting a heart attack) so that Baxter could gain his seat, and thus become an MP again.
Appearances in other fiction
- Billy Bunter appears in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Black Dossier, and still resides at the now closed Greyfriars in 1958 as an old man. He sells information about the former students of the school, which is supposed to have been a recruiting ground for spies and agents for the crown since the 1500's.
- In Bunter Sahib by Daniel Green, Bunter's identical ancester is placed in nineteenth Century India.
- David Hughes in But for Bunter creates the idea that the Greyfriars stories were based on real people and set out to find them and hear their stories.
Character
Billy Bunter is essentially a comic anti-hero, whose actions puncture and deflate the serious world of the English public school, inverting conventional values like a 'Lord of Misrule'. His main physical characteristics are obesity, brought about by over-eating, and short-sightedness (hence his nickname 'the fat owl of the Remove'). He is dishonest, greedy, pathologically self-centered, snobbish, conceited, lazy, cowardly, mean-spirited and stupid. Nevertheless, he succeeds in achieving reader sympathy by virtue of his brazen effrontery and his persistence in the face of inevitable failure.
His one talent is that he is a skilled ventriloquist, able to mimic any voice and to make it appear to be coming from any location. This unlikely ability often forms part of his schemes of deception, and thus serves to advance the storylines.
He is provided with little money by his father, hence is perpetually attempting to raise a loan on the strength of a postal order which he claims to be expecting. His life is taken up with devising ways of pilfering food; he has little or no interest in anything else, especially classwork or sports. His schemes are invariably discovered, leading to physical chastisement - both from masters (caning) and schoolfellows (kicking).
His speech is notable for a series of frequently-repeated short expressions or catchphrases. These include his invariable opening line: "I say you fellows"; his reply to criticism: "Oh really Wharton" [or whoever is speaking]; his characteristic giggle: "He, he, he"; and his exclamation of pain: "Yarooh".
George Orwell described him as "a real creation. His tight trousers against which boots and canes are constantly thudding, his astuteness in search of food, his postal order which never turns up, have made him famous wherever the Union Jack waves.".
Family
The family home is Bunter Villa in Surrey, which Bunter frequently mis-describes as Bunter Court, representing it as a stately home. Prominent among the many family members who have appeared in the stories are:
- Sister - Bessie Bunter - a pupil at the nearby Cliff House Girls School. Shares similar characteristics to Billy.
- Younger brother - Sammy Bunter - in the Second Form at Greyfriars.
- Father - Mr. Samuel Bunter - a portly, largely unsuccessful, stockbroker with a severe manner. He is perpetually complaining about income tax and school fees and has little interest in his children.
See also
Bibliography
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External links
- Hamilton material
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- Detailed article
- Facts and Figures
- Detailed listing of Hamilton material
- Enthusiasts’ Club
- Detailed site about The Magnet
- Enthusiast’s site
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