Willis Hall

Willis Hall was an English writer known for satirical plays, TV series, and movies inspired by his working-class background. He was born in Hunslet, Leeds and worked a variety of jobs after high school before becoming a writer. His first play, The Disciplines of War, was inspired by his experience in the military. After finding success with the play, Hall partnered with his childhood friend, Keith Waterhouse, which began a collaboration that would spawn more than 250 TV series, plays, musicals, and screenplays.

Hall is best known for co-writing the play and screenplay adaptations of Waterhouse’s novel, Billy Liar, about a teenage boy who uses his imagination to escape his working-class existence. Much of Hall’s work was inspired by his own middle-class upbringing and experience in the British army. Hall died in 2005 of esophageal cancer.