by Sharon MawerBillie Anthony was born Philomena McGeachie Levy in Glasgow, Scotland on the 11th October 1932. She had a good start to break into the world of show business as her godmother was Gracie Fields, although her parents divorced when she was just 18 days old. Her mother Lily was a dancer and the young Philomena spent her childhood around the theatre, hoping for a career as a dancer. In 1946, aged 14, she ran away from home and joined a touring show as one of May Moxon's troupe. She met Peter Elliott and formed a double act with him due to both of their love of dancing, touring theatres as Phil and Peter Elliott The Debonair Dancers. This act was abandoned when Peter was called up for national service in the Royal Air Force. Taking advice from another friend, Tony Brent who had become a successful singer, she decided to take up singing as a solo artist, changing her name to Billie Anthony and after Brent had introduced her to his manager Don Agness, she signed for Columbia records. Despite releasing numerous singles during the early 1950s, only one ever reached the charts, a version of Stuart Hamblen's This Ole House, but even though it peaked at no.4, it lost out at that time to a much bigger selling version by Rosemary Clooney. During the mid 1950s Billie Anthony regularly toured theatre's including an appearance at the Royal Albert Hall and several with Harry Secombe in the variety show Rocking The Town. When Peter Elliott returned from national service, they married but divorced several years later. She continued to tour, entertaining the British troops in Cyprus, Malta and North Africa, but eventually retired from show business and became a full time mother. In 2001 as part of their re-issue series, EMI released a CD, EMI Presents The Magic Of Billie Anthony which included 33 tracks, 22 of which had been released as singles and her one and only hit. Billie Anthony spent the latter part of her life living in the North London area of Hornsey, she suffered a series of stroked and died on the 5th January 1991 aged 58.