Billy (1979 TV series)
{{About|the 1979 TV series Billy|the 1992 series of the same name starring Billy Connolly|Billy (1992 TV series)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox television
|image =
|caption =
|based_on = Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse &
Willis Hall
|creator =
|genre = Sitcom
|director = John Rich
|starring = Steve Guttenberg
Peggy Pope
James Gallery
Paula Trueman
Michael Alaimo
Bruce Talkington
|composer = Earle Hagen
|opentheme = "You Could Be The Only One"
performed by Ray Kennedy
|country = United States
|language = English
|num_seasons = 1
|num_episodes = 7
|producer = John Rich
|runtime = 30 minutes
|channel = CBS
|company = John Rich Productions
20th Century Fox Television
|first_aired = {{Start date|1979|02|26}}
|last_aired = {{End date|1979|04|28}}
}}
Billy is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from February 26 to April 28, 1979. The series was based on Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall's 1960 British play Billy Liar and their 1973-74 TV series of the same name.
Synopsis
Billy stars Steve Guttenberg as Billy Fisher, a mortician's clerk with a tendency to daydream. His Walter Mitty-like tendency would have him imagining that he was a famous surgeon, a rock superstar, a disk jockey, a television network executive, or a football star. Each episode of Billy had at least two of his fantasies, which included appearances by Don Adams, Suzanne Somers, Larry Csonka, Merv Griffin, and Lou Ferrigno.
Peggy Pope and James Gallery portray Billy's often-frustrated parents (she thought Billy had a vivid imagination; he viewed Billy as a chronic, compulsive liar). Paula Trueman played his grandmother, who believed that Billy was insane, Bruce Talkington played Billy's friend Arthur Milliken, a fellow worker at Shadrack and Shadrack funeral home and Michael Alaimo as Billy's employer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/528224149/|title=The Herald-News from Passaic, New Jersey - 82|work=The Herald-News|date=March 18, 1979|page=82}}
Reception
Billy replaced Co-Ed Fever in CBS' Monday night lineup during February 1979, when the latter series was cancelled after one episode. Billy did only slightly better and was cancelled two months later, its last episode broadcast by CBS on April 28, 1979. It ranked 76th out of 114 shows that season, with an average 15.0/24 rating/share.[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/79-OCR/BC-1979-06-18-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22rounding%20up%20the%20ratings%22 American Radio History] {{dead link|date=August 2023}}
Episode list
{{Episode table |total_width=60 |background=0000A0 |overall= |title= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Pilot
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|2|26}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = My Son the Doctor
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|3|5}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Showbiz
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|3|12}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Computer Dating
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|3|24}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Camping Trip
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|3|31}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Disco
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|4|21}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Dream Date
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1979|4|28}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 0000A0
}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{cite book|last=Brooks|first=Tim|author2=Marsh, Earle|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present |date=2007 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4}}, {{access-date|July 23, 2024}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Billy+Situation+Comedy%22&pg=PA146 p. 146]
- {{cite book|last=Ausiello|first=Michael|title=TV Guide Guide to TV|date=2006|publisher=Barnes & Noble |isbn=0-7607-7572-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780760775721}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0078573|Billy}}
Category:1979 American television series debuts
Category:1979 American television series endings
Category:1970s American sitcoms
Category:American television series based on British television series
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Category:Television shows about death