Willis Hall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the British writer. For the historic building in Northfield, Minnesota, see Willis Hall (Carleton College). For the New York State Attorney General, see Willis Hall (New York).

Willis Hall (6 April 1929 - 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio and television writer who drew on his working class Leeds roots in much of his material.

His most famous creation was probably Billy Liar (1960), co-written with life-long friend and collaborator Keith Waterhouse. However, his rise to fame came from his play about British soldiers in the Malayan jungle The Long and the Short and the Tall.

He wrote a musical about the scarecrow, Worzel Gummidge, he also wrote musicals on the books, Treasure Island and The Wind in the Willows.

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 40 radio and television plays, as well as contributing to many TV series, including The Return of the Antelope. He was married for a time to the actress Jill Bennett.

Willis Hall died aged 75 in Ilkley, Yorkshire, he had been a member of the Magic Circle and used his skills and knowledge in the Count Alucard books.