Bill Briscoe (1886-1949) began his career as a comic acrobat in a team known as Wild and West, which toured internationally. He and Frank Crossley (ca. 1882-ca. 1942), both from Lancashire, England, developed a carpenter slapstick act as Willie West & McGinty (no comma) around 1900, while en route to perform a gymnast act in…Continue Reading Willie, West and McGinty: The Comedy Builders by David Soren