Billy Liar

Billy Liar

1973 - United Kingdom

An eternal dreamer, Billy Fisher is a likeable North Country lad with a habit of becoming lost in his own wild imagination. His flights of fancy do him no favours at the funeral parlour where he works and earn him continuous scorn from his boss, Mr. Shadrack. Life at home proves just as boring and his daydreaming provides a constant source of annoyance to his Dad. 

Adapted from the highly successful novel/play/film by successful writing team Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, this version of Billy Liar was updated by them to make it more relevant to the early 1970s, when it was made. As such, it's a unique and whimsical time capsule of a decade when flares were mandatory and hippies walked the streets. All of this counterpointed by Billy's flights of fancy! 

Featuring exceptional performances by Jeff Rawle as Billy, George A. Cooper as his Dad and Colin Jeavons as the mortifying Mr. Shadrack, Billy Liar still remains one of the funniest shows from one of Britain's premier writing teams. The series transferred to the USA as simply Billy starring Steve Guttenberg. 

Published on November 30th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.

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