Stewart Byron Gilliam was born in a middle-class area of Detroit, the grandson of a church minister. He left home at age 14 to perform with a circus as ventriloquist in state fairs, then after a few years began to appear in clubs in Chicago. During his two-year service in the Korean War, he entertained troops as a ventriloquist. In the 1950s and 1960s he performed his act in clubs nationwide with Black audiences, including the Apollo Theater in New York City. He sometimes performed for integrated audiences, but in Southern states of the U. S. he was prevented from appearing onstage at the same time as the White performers. The Playboy Club circuit changed that by booking him before largely White crowds, including in the South.[2]
Gilliam co-starred in the CBS sitcom Roll Out during the 1973–74 season. Also starring Hilly Hicks, and featuring Ed Begley, Jr. and Garrett Morris, the series was set in France during World War II and was loosely based on the 1952 film Red Ball Express.
Gilliam was an active member of the Bahá'í Faith. He married Vivian Baravalle in 2007 and moved to her residence in the Czech Republic. They had one daughter, Velnita. Gilliam died of a heart attack in České Budějovice on October 11, 2013, at age 80.[1][failed verification] He had also been battling lung cancer and COPD. He is buried in Boršov nad Vltavou.[2]
