British actor. An alumnus of the Fred Karno troupe, he was a frequent player in the films of Charlie Chaplin (Essanay era, 1915-16), L-KO (1916-19), and Mack Sennett (1916-24).
Billy got his start at Essanay in the Chaplin comedies. He married Marion Parker in Venice, California on October 5, 1920. It was Billy's first marriage and Marion's second. She was the aunt of child star Don Marion Davis, aka Little John Henry, of Sennett comedies, 1919-1922. Billy's wife died on November 1, 1920 at the age of 31. Armstrong supposedly remarried shortly thereafter, and he himself died Saturday night, March 1, 1924 in Los Angeles after just spending four months in Arizona recovering from an illness.
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