I’m not familiar with a character by that exact name, but there were a handful of background extras in 1930s cartoons that became cult curiosities. Often they were stock sketches that animators reused for a few shorts before shelving the idea. It’s possible “Silly Billy” was a nickname fans gave a recurring gag character that the studio never promoted. Without studio logs or a surviving production note, the best we can do is search the animation archives of the studios that churned out shorts at that time and look for any mention of a sidekick who fits the description. If you can find the cartoons you remember, we could compare frames and see if the same face appears again under a different name. That’s the most methodical way to track a vanished character.

Here’s a quick run‑down of some 1930s cartoons where animators liked to throw in quirky background extras. - “The Band Concert” (1935) – Disney. - “One Froggy Evening” (1935) – Warner Bros. - “The Night Watch” (1933) – Fleischer Studios. - “Bobby’s Birthday” (1937) – Walt Disney. - “The Big Show” (1938) – Fleischer Studios. - “Daffy’s Daffy Duck” (1937) – Warner Bros. - “The Old Mill” (1934) – Disney. - “Mickey's Rival” (1936) – Disney. - “Buzzy the Buzzer” (1935) – Warner Bros. - “The Tortoise and the Hare” (1935) – Disney. Check the background frames of those. If you spot a recurring goofy figure, you can chalk him up as “Silly Billy” for future reference. Happy hunting.

Sounds like a plan. Keep an eye on the frames, and if you spot a recurring gag character we’ll call him Silly Billy. Let’s see what the pixels reveal.