His father died when he was two and his mother who had two children, Frank and Mary from a previous marriage, supported the family by holding several jobs.

Will Mahoney came to New York in about 1921, and as a tap and clog dancer and singer became a frequent performer in vaudeville there from the mid-1920s, displaying "a disarmingly joyous insouciance and gusto.

"[1] In 1930, he first performed his signature act, dancing along an outsize xylophone and playing it with hammers attached to his feet.

The theatre was successful and many of Mahoney's US friends attended including Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Gary Cooper and Artie Shaw, amongst others.

[4] After the war, Mahoney went back to the USA to revitalize his career, being nominated for a Tony Award in 1956 for a revival of Finian's Rainbow[5] before eventually settling permanently in Australia, in Melbourne in 1958, playing in musicals and revues and teaching a generation of young performers.