Billy Williams 1878–1915
Born Richard Isaac Banks in Melbourne, Williams reached England in 1899 and became, in the years before the First World War, probably the most popular recording artist in the British Empire. From 1906 he was billed as “The Man in the Velvet Suit” and wore one on stage, coming off wringing wet each night. The song everyone knew him for was “When Father Papered the Parlour”. His career peaked around 1912, when he appeared in the first Royal Command Performance; he was taken ill late in 1914 and did not recover from surgery, dying in Sussex in March 1915 at the age of 37.
Written from Wikipedia. Corrections welcome.