Billy Boyle is an Irish actor and singer on British film, television and stage. His recording career included five 45rpm singles for the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

and

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

labels, including the novelty song "My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Elvis" (Decca F 11503) in 1962. He is also a veteran of the West End stage, having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows. In his first West End

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

, '' Maggie May'', he was nominated as best newcomer. Gower Champion then chose him to play Barnaby in '' Hello Dolly'' at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane. He appeared in ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's '' magnum opu ...

'' at the Phoenix Theatre as The Clerk of Oxford. Harold Hobson,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

critic said, "He was a breath of fresh air in the West-End". He went on to play leading roles in '' No Sex Please, We're British'', ''

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a yo ...

'', ''What's a Nice Country'', '' The Rivals'', ''Love, Lust, & Marriage'', ''

Some Like it Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitne ...

'', Disney's ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'', and in the original cast of '' Dirty Dancing''. Lately he has appeared as Grandpa George and Grandpa Joe in '' Charlie and The Chocolate Factory'' at Drury Lane. In 2010, he was the Mysterious Man in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

''. In 2016, he was Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in the smash hit ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

''. He followed this playing Arvide in ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'' at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. He has had his own very successful television series in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, ''It's Billy Boyle'', as well as leading roles in ''Trail of Guilt'', the award-winning ''

The Grass Arena ''The Grass Arena'' is an autobiography that was made into a British film released in 1991. It is based on the true story of John Healy. The book had been out of print for a number of years, but was re-issued on 31 July 2008. Storyline Raised ...

'' and ''The Bretts'', as well as many guest appearances in ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', '' The Professionals'', ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Orig ...

'', ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May 1998, includin ...

'', etc. 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 McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

. He was the last 'straight man' to

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional red fox, best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts and comic strips. The character has f ...

on BBC1's ''The Basil Brush Show'' and later presented ''Dance Crazy'' for ITV, on the history of dance, with

Lesley Judd Lesley Judd (born 20 December 1946) is an English former television presenter and dancer, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme ''Blue Peter'' (1972–1979). Background Born in London, the daughter of Leslie T. Judd ...

. Lately he has been seen in Dirk Gently, for

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

and

Lead Balloon ''Lead Balloon'' is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian w ...

. His many films include

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Le ...

'', '' Groupie Girl'', '' Side by Side'', ''Shergar'', ''

Wild Geese II ''Wild Geese II'' is a 1985 British action-thriller film directed by Peter Hunt, based on the 1982 novel '' The Square Circle'' by Daniel Carney, in which a group of mercenaries are hired to spring Rudolf Hess from Spandau Prison in Berlin. The ...

'', '' The Scarlet and the Black'', ''

Round Ireland with a Fridge ''Round Ireland with a Fridge'' is a book by Tony Hawks, first published in the UK in 1998. It sold over half a million copies. The book is loosely based on a journey made by Hawks in 1997, when he hitchhiked around Ireland while re-evaluating ...

'' and ''

A United Kingdom ''A United Kingdom'' is a 2016 biographical romantic drama film directed by Amma Asante and written by Guy Hibbert, based on the true-life romance of Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of the Bangwato Tribe in Serowe – one of many tribes f ...

''.

Filmography

2021 Swede Caroline

Stage

References

External links

* Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors {{UK-tv-actor-stub