Willis Hall
Encyclopedia
Willis Hall was an English
playwright
and radio
and television
writer who drew on his working class roots in Leeds
for much of his writings.
His best-known work was Billy Liar
(1960), co-written with lifelong friend and collaborator Keith Waterhouse
, and based on the latter's novel. Hall's rise to prominence originated from his play about British soldiers in the Malayan jungle, The Long and the Short and the Tall
(1959).
He wrote more than a dozen children's books, including a series about a family called the Hollins who meet a vegetarian vampire called Count Alucard. He also wrote a book, Henry Hollins and the Dinosaur. His membership in the Magic Circle was a source of inspiration for these books. He also wrote 40 radio and television plays, as well as contributing to many TV series, including The Return of the Antelope
and Minder
.
He wrote a musical about the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge
, and others based on the books Treasure Island
and The Wind in the Willows
. He also wrote Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
writer who drew on his working class roots in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
for much of his writings.
His best-known work was Billy Liar
Billy Liar
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....
(1960), co-written with lifelong friend and collaborator Keith Waterhouse
Keith Waterhouse
Keith Spencer Waterhouse CBE was a novelist, newspaper columnist, and the writer of many television series.-Biography:Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, and based on the latter's novel. Hall's rise to prominence originated from his play about British soldiers in the Malayan jungle, The Long and the Short and the Tall
The Long and the Short and the Tall (play)
The Long and the Short and the Tall is a play written by British playwright Willis Hall. Set in World War II, the play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in January 1959; it was directed by Lindsay Anderson and starred Peter O'Toole and Robert Shaw. It was Anderson's first major...
(1959).
He wrote more than a dozen children's books, including a series about a family called the Hollins who meet a vegetarian vampire called Count Alucard. He also wrote a book, Henry Hollins and the Dinosaur. His membership in the Magic Circle was a source of inspiration for these books. He also wrote 40 radio and television plays, as well as contributing to many TV series, including The Return of the Antelope
The Return of the Antelope
The Return of the Antelope was a UK TV series aired on ITV between 1986 and 1988. It was a children's fantasy series about two English children, circa 1899, who befriend a group of shipwrecked Lilliputians.-Cast:...
and Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
.
He wrote a musical about the scarecrow Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge
Worzel Gummidge is a British children's fictional character who originally appeared in a series of books by the novelist Barbara Euphan Todd. A walking, talking scarecrow, Gummidge has a set of interchangeable turnip, mangel worzel and swede heads, each of which suit a particular occasion or endow...
, and others based on the books Treasure Island
Treasure Island
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "pirates and buried gold". First published as a book on May 23, 1883, it was originally serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks between 1881–82 under the title Treasure Island; or, the...
and The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows
The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...
. He also wrote Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure
Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure is a musical based on J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, with a book by Willis Hall and music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The show opened in Copenhagen in 1996. The production was first broadcast in 2001 as a New Year's...
.
Personal life
Willis Hall was married for a time to the actress Jill Bennett; the marriage ended in divorce. He subsequently married Dorothy Kingsmill. That relationship also ended in divorce. In 1973 he was married for the final time to actress and author Valerie Shute, who survived him.External links
- Obituary at The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...