Billy Boyle is an Irish actor and singer on British film, television
and stage. 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 also a veteran of the West
End stage, having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows. In his
first West End musical, 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 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. Lately he has appeared as Grandpa
George and Grandpa Joe in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Drury
Lane. In 2016 he was Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in the
smash hit Grey Gardens. 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. 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. Lately he has been seen in Dirk Gently, for BBC Four and Lead
Balloon. His many films include Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon,
Groupie Girl, Side by Side, Shergar, Wild Geese II, The Scarlet and
the Black, Round Ireland with a Fridge and A United Kingdom.
and stage. 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 also a veteran of the West
End stage, having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows. In his
first West End musical, 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 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. Lately he has appeared as Grandpa
George and Grandpa Joe in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Drury
Lane. In 2016 he was Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in the
smash hit Grey Gardens. 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. 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. Lately he has been seen in Dirk Gently, for BBC Four and Lead
Balloon. His many films include Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon,
Groupie Girl, Side by Side, Shergar, Wild Geese II, The Scarlet and
the Black, Round Ireland with a Fridge and A United Kingdom.
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