Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a ''TV series. The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs. The semi-comical story is about William Fisher, a working-class 19-year-old living with his parents in the fictional town of Stradhoughton in Yorkshire. Bored by his job as a lowly clerk for an undertaker, Billy spends his time indulging in fantasies and dreams of life in the big city as a comedy writer.
In 1960, the novel's author, Keith Waterhouse, co-wrote a three-act stage version with Willis Hall. The action took place on a single set combining the living room, hallway, and porch of the Fisher household. The first production opened in the West End of London with Albert Finney in the title role. It has since been produced all over the world, and has become a favourite with amateur groups. The play was adapted for the Irish stage as Liam Liar by Hugh Leonard in 1976. The play is set in one Saturday: Act 1 in the morning, Act 2 in the early evening, and Act 3 at night.
The novel was also used as the basis for a sitcom made by London Weekend Television in 1973–1974, and starring Jeff Rawle as Billy. It has never been rerun, although the first series was released on Region 2 DVD in August 2006. The second series was released in March 2007. The Complete series will be released on 07/05/2018. The series was shown on the Seven Network in Australia during the non-ratings season of 1975–1976. The series was shown on CBC Television in Canada in 1975–1976. The series was shown on RTÉ 2 in Ireland in 1982. The series was scripted by the play's writers, Waterhouse and Hall, and the action was updated to the 1970s. George A. Cooper reprised his West End role as Billy's father. Other regular cast members included Pamela Vezey as Alice, Colin Jeavons as Shadrack, May Warden as Billy's grandmother, and Sally Watts as Barbara. Several new girlfriends were also introduced. An American adaptation entitled Billy and starring Steve Guttenberg, Peggy Pope, and James Gallery aired briefly on CBS in 1979.
Saint Etienne sampled some lines from the movie in their song "You're in a Bad Way".
The music video for the song "The Importance of Being Idle" by Oasis contains scenes based on scenes from Billy Liar, although most of it is based on the video for the Kinks' Dead End Street.
The band North of Cornwallis has a song entitled "Billy Liar".
The title of the song "Twisterella" is also the title of a song that Billy co-writes in the novel.
Yo La Tengo make several references to the movie in particular in their song "Tom Courtenay", which is the name of the actor who plays Billy.
The Song "William, It Was Really Nothing" by The Smiths took inspiration from the book.
One of the characters in Billy Liar, Arthur Crabtree, was actually a real person. He was a British cinematographer and film director in the 20th century.
It has been suggested that a local newspaper columnist parodied in both the book and the film bears a remarkable resemblance to the late-life Keith Waterhouse himself, when he was ensconced at the Daily Mail.
