Billy Boyle

This article is about the British actor. For the series of novels about a WWII fictional soldier, see James R. Benn.

Billy Boyle
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1962–present

Billy Boyle is an Irish actor and singer on British film, television and stage.[1][2] His recording career included five 45rpm singles for the Decca and Columbia labels, including the novelty song "My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Elvis" (Decca F 11503) in 1962. He is a veteran of the West End stage, having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows.[3]

In his first West End musical, Maggie May, he was nominated as best newcomer.[4] Gower Champion then chose him to play Barnaby in Hello Dolly at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane.[3] He appeared in Canterbury Tales at the Phoenix Theatre as The Clerk of Oxford. Harold Hobson, The Times critic said, "He was a breath of fresh air in the West-End".[citation needed] He went on to play leading roles in No Sex Please, We're British, Billy, What's a Nice Country, The Rivals, Love, Lust, & Marriage, Some Like It Hot, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and in the original cast of Dirty Dancing.[5] Lately he has appeared as Grandpa George and Grandpa Joe in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Drury Lane.[6] In 2010, he was the Mysterious Man in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Into the Woods.[7]

In 2016, he was Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in the smash hit Grey Gardens.[8] He followed this playing Arvide in Guys and Dolls at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. He has had his own very successful television series in Ireland, It's Billy Boyle, as well as leading roles in Trail of Guilt, the award-winning The Grass Arena and The Bretts, as well as many guest appearances in EastEnders, The Professionals, Coronation Street, Father Ted, etc.[9][10]

In the late 1970s, Boyle was cast as Ronald McDonald in the European TV commercials and in all print media for the fast-food chain McDonald's. He was the last 'straight man' to Basil Brush on BBC1's The Basil Brush Show and later presented Dance Crazy for ITV, on the history of dance, with Lesley Judd.[11][12] He was seen in Dirk Gently and Lead Balloon.[13]

His films include Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Groupie Girl, Side by Side, Wild Geese II, The Scarlet and the Black, Round Ireland with a Fridge and A United Kingdom.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Billy Boyle". BFI. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Billy Boyle - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  3. ^ a b "Casting Announced For European Premiere Of Grey Gardens". 20 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Production of Maggie May - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  5. ^ "Billy Boyle Theatre Credits, News, Bio and Photos". broadwayworld.com.
  6. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (22 May 2013). "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Is the West End a boom-town or battle-zone?". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ Regent's Park Into the Woods cast, sondheimguide.com. Accessed 23 July 2023.
  8. ^ Billington, Michael (8 January 2016). "Grey Gardens review – show tunes and squalor in a Long Island mansion". theguardian.com. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  9. ^ Archives, RTÉ (5 July 2012). "RTÉ Archives". stillslibrary.rte.ie.
  10. ^ "Billy Boyle". aveleyman.com.
  11. ^ "The Basil Brush Show". BFI. 18 October 1980. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Dance Crazy (1982)". BFI. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  13. ^ "BBC Four - Dirk Gently". BBC. 16 December 2010.