Billy Sands


Billy Sands was an American character actor who appeared as a regular on The Phil Silvers Show as Pvt. Dino Papparelli and was a regular on McHale's Navy as Harrison "Tinker" Bell. He also made guest-starring roles on many other television series, including Car 54, Where Are You?, All in the Family, Here's Lucy, Happy Days, and The Odd Couple. Sands also appears in one of the opening scenes of Rocky as a booker for the fighters.

Personal life and death

Born William F. Sands in Bergen, New York to John F. and Dana Alice Sands, he began his professional career in 1946 when he appeared on Broadway with Spencer Tracy in Robert E. Sherwood's Rugged Path.
Sands died of lung cancer at the age of 73 while at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on August 27, 1984. He is buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Sands is survived by his wife Marsha, daughter Susan, son Eugene, two sisters and a brother.

Partial filmography