Billy (1979 TV series)

Last updated

Billy
Genre Sitcom
Based on Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse &
Willis Hall
Directed by John Rich
Starring Steve Guttenberg
Peggy Pope
James Gallery
Paula Trueman
Michael Alaimo
Bruce Talkington
Opening theme"You Could Be The Only One"
performed by Ray Kennedy
Composer Earle Hagen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7
Production
ProducerJohn Rich
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesJohn Rich Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseFebruary 26 (1979-02-26) 
April 28, 1979 (1979-04-28)

Billy is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from February 26 to April 28, 1979. The series was based on Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall's 1960 British play Billy Liar and their 1973-74 TV series of the same name.

Contents

Synopsis

Billy stars Steve Guttenberg as Billy Fisher, a mortician's clerk with a tendency to daydream. His Walter Mitty-like tendency would have him imagining that he was a famous surgeon, a rock superstar, a disk jockey, a television network executive, or a football star. Each episode of Billy had at least two of his fantasies, which included appearances by Don Adams, Suzanne Somers, Larry Csonka, Merv Griffin, and Lou Ferrigno.

Peggy Pope and James Gallery portray Billy's often-frustrated parents (she thought Billy had a vivid imagination; he viewed Billy as a chronic, compulsive liar). Paula Trueman played his grandmother, who believed that Billy was insane, Bruce Talkington played Billy's friend Arthur Milliken, a fellow worker at Shadrack and Shadrack funeral home and Michael Alaimo as Billy's employer. [1]

Reception

Billy replaced Co-Ed Fever in CBS' Monday night lineup during February 1979, when the latter series was cancelled after one episode. Billy did only slightly better and was cancelled two months later, its last episode broadcast by CBS on April 28, 1979. It ranked 76th out of 114 shows that season, with an average 15.0/24 rating/share. [2]

Episode list

TitleOriginal air date
1"Pilot"February 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
2"My Son the Doctor"March 5, 1979 (1979-03-05)
3"Showbiz"March 12, 1979 (1979-03-12)
4"Computer Dating"March 24, 1979 (1979-03-24)
5"Camping Trip"March 31, 1979 (1979-03-31)
6"Disco"April 21, 1979 (1979-04-21)
7"Dream Date"April 28, 1979 (1979-04-28)

Related Research Articles

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.

<i>Billy Liar</i> 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse

Billy Liar is a 1959 novel by Keith Waterhouse that was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a TV series. The work has inspired and been featured in a number of popular songs.

The year 1963 involved some significant events in television. Below are lists of notable TV-related events.

Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.

<i>Guiding Light</i> American radio and television soap opera

Guiding Light is an American radio and television soap opera. Guiding Light aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio between January 25, 1937, and June 29, 1956. With 72 years of radio and television runs, Guiding Light is the longest-running soap opera, ahead of General Hospital, and is the fifth-longest-running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry, the BBC religious program The Daily Service (1928), the CBS religious program Music and the Spoken Word (1929), and the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen (1924–2010) have been on the air longer.

<i>As the World Turns</i> American television soap opera

As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, As the World Turns has the longest total running time of any television show. In terms of continuous run of production, As the World Turns at 54 years holds the fourth-longest run of any daytime network soap opera on American television, surpassed only by General Hospital, Guiding Light, and Days of Our Lives. As the World Turns was produced for its first 43 years in Manhattan and in Brooklyn from 2000 until 2010.

MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff and starring Richard Dean Anderson as the title character. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The series follows the adventures of Angus MacGyver, a secret agent armed with remarkable scientific resourcefulness to solve any problem out in the field using any materials at hand.

<i>Love of Life</i> American television soap opera (1951-1980)

Love of Life is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow premiered three weeks before Love of Life; he created The Secret Storm two and a half years later.

<i>The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour</i> American variety show

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was cancelled in May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, but the duo reunited in 1976 for the similarly formatted The Sonny & Cher Show, which ran for two seasons, ending August 29, 1977.

<i>The Ropers</i> American TV series or program

The Ropers is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 15, 1980. It is a spin-off of Three's Company and loosely based on the British sitcom George and Mildred, which was itself a spin-off of Man About the House, on which Three's Company was based.

<i>Speed Buggy</i> American animated television series (1973)

Speed Buggy is an American animated television series, produced by Hanna-Barbera, which originally aired for one season on CBS from September 8, 1973, to December 22, 1973. With the voices of Mel Blanc, Michael Bell, Arlene Golonka, and Phil Luther Jr., the show follows an orange anthropomorphic dune buggy who alongside teenagers Debbie, Mark, and Tinker, solves mysteries while participating in racing competitions around the world. The series was produced by Iwao Takamoto, executive produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, and directed by Charles A. Nichols.

Billy is an American sitcom and a spin-off of Head of the Class that aired on ABC for half a season from January 31 to May 30, 1992. The series starred Billy Connolly as Billy MacGregor, a Scottish teacher who moves to America in order to build a new life for himself.

<i>Bachelor Father</i> (American TV series) American TV series or program

Bachelor Father is an American sitcom starring John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran and Sammee Tong. The series first premiered on CBS in September 1957 before moving to NBC for the third season in 1959. The series' fifth and final season aired on ABC. A total of 157 episodes were aired. The series was based on "A New Girl in His Life", which aired on General Electric Theater on May 26, 1957.

<i>Co-Ed Fever</i> American sitcom

Co-Ed Fever is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House. It was the third of three "frat house" comedy series to air in early 1979. After CBS aired the first episode of Co-Ed Fever as a "special preview" on February 4, 1979, the airing's low ratings and viewer complaints caused the network to cancel it before it ever aired in its planned Monday-night time slot.

<i>Live-In</i> American sitcom

Live-In is an American sitcom created by Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser that aired on CBS from March 20 to May 22, 1989. The series focuses on young Australian au pair Lisa Wells integrating into the home life of a New Jersey family and their teenage son Danny Mathews' efforts to become her boyfriend. Nine episodes were filmed in Los Angeles, which CBS hoped would draw a younger audience to the network.

<i>Memphis Beat</i> American crime comedy-drama television series

Memphis Beat is an American crime comedy-drama television series created by Joshua Harto and Liz W. Garcia that aired on TNT from June 22, 2010, to August 16, 2011, with a total of 20 episodes spanning two seasons. It was produced by Smokehouse Productions, in association with Warner Horizon Television.

<i>Delvecchio</i> (TV series) American dramatic TV series

Delvecchio is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 10:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 9, 1976, to March 13, 1977. It starred Judd Hirsch as the title character, Dominick Delvecchio, an Italian-American detective who worked for the LAPD and also studied to become a lawyer.

<i>Billy Liar</i> (TV series) British television series

Billy Liar is a sitcom of 26 30-minute episodes over two series made by London Weekend Television in 1973–1974 which starred Jeff Rawle as Billy Fisher. In addition there was a short five-minute long special as part of the All Star Comedy Carnival broadcast on 25 December 1973.

References

  1. "The Herald-News from Passaic, New Jersey - 82". The Herald-News . March 18, 1979. p. 82.
  2. American Radio History [ dead link ]