# Billy Biasse — Home to Harlem character guide

> Billy Biasse in Home to Harlem by Claude McKay.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Billy

**First appearance:** 0007-v-on-the-job-again

## Snapshot

A poolroom gambler and wolf of Harlem's sporting scene, Billy trades in gossip and needling, and no buddy's reputation is safe from his tongue.

## Who they are

Billy Biasse moves through the saloons, poolrooms, and buffet flats where Jake's Harlem luck gets made and unmade, one of the buddies who ease round to the short side of the bar. His specialty is the teasing that cuts: he's among those who rib Zeddy Plummer for being kept under 'Gin-head' Susy's skirt, turning a friend's private life into public joke. That casual cruelty marks him as the social world's weather vane — wherever Billy's talk runs, the reader learns what Harlem will and won't forgive.

## In the story

### [VII: Zeddy's Rise and Fall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/vii-zeddy-s-rise-and-fall)

Nicknamed 'the Wolf,' Billy teases Zeddy about being a 'skirt-man' and boasts about his own independence from women. He is present at the Congo, where he sits with a longshoreman and a made-up 'doll baby.'

### [Interlude](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xiv-interlude)

Meets Jake at Uncle Doc's, encourages him to drink, and helps him home after his pain attack.

### [XV: Relapse](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xv-relapse)

Calls the doctor for Jake and later helps with Jake's move.

### [XVI: A Practical Prank](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xvi-a-practical-prank)

Brings Jake his mail, including a letter from Madame Laura, and helps him plan the prank.

### [A Farewell Feed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xviii-a-farewell-feed)

Pays for the farewell feed; shares a drink and conversation with the group.

### [Spring in Harlem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xix-spring-in-harlem)

Accompanies Jake, comments on the fight, and advises Jake to carry a gun for protection.

### [The Gift That Billy Gave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/chapters/xxi-the-gift-that-billy-gave)

Joins Jake and Felice at the cabaret and buys them champagne as a gift.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/characters/billy_biasse
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/home_to_harlem_se/characters