(From left) Santa, Billie and Captain Larry from the hit radio show "Billie the Brownie." It’s not quite time for the holidays, but for people who grew up in Milwaukee between the 1930s and 1950s, Billie the Brownie is a familiar character. Milwaukee County Historical Society Billie the Brownie in Joyland. For more than 20 years, families gathered around their radios during the holidays to hear the Billie the Brownie show, featuring Billie, Santa Claus and Captain Larry. Mary Pat Vigil, who grew up on the northwest side of Milwaukee in the '50s, remembers anticipating every broadcast with her siblings. She was the youngest of three.