In 2009 waterhouse announced that at the age of 80 he was giving up his longstanding column in the daily mail. You start off billy liar, recreating the world in your own fantastic image, and you end up william dorrit, locked in the marshalsea, brooding on your misery and failure. Sir tom courtenay was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the bradford international film festival. John schlesingers billy liar 1963 revolves around the young billy fisher tom courtenay, a daydreamer whose flights of fancy are his desperate method of escaping real life. Directed by john schlesinger, it stars tom courtenay who had understudied. Billy liar 1963 tom courtenay as billy fisher imdb. Dustin hoffmans directorial debut is an enjoyable comic drama featuring an ensemble of britains finest actors. He fantasizes about being the prime minister of his own militarized nation, a hero adored by his people in his real life, he works as a junior assistant in a. Courtenay made his stage debut in 1960 with the old vic theatre company at the lyceum, edinburgh, before taking over from albert finney in the title role of billy liar at the cambridge theatre in 1961. Keith waterhouse, author of billy liar, in later life tom pilston. Starting out as a novel by yorkshire writer keith waterhouse, it rapidly became a longrunning stage play, adapted by waterhouse with playwright willis hall, which lead to the movie, scripted by waterhouse and hall for john schlesinger to direct, then a stage musical and finally a spinoff tv. Billy liar is his most famous book, and was an equally famous film, directed by john schlesinger, starring tom courtenay.
Over coffee and biscuits in a soho hotel, the actor who played billy liar is showing me a picture of his dog on his iphone. The 1963 film was directed by john schlesinger and featured tom courtenay, who played the part when albert. Tom courtenay show list info sir thomas daniel tom courtenay. Trapped by his boring job and workingclass parents, billy finds that his only. The 1963 john schlesinger film adaptation with tom courtenay and julie christie is a firm favourite and remains etched into my memory.
Sir tom courtenay receives lifetime achievement award. Since then he has worked mainly in the theatre, but has also starred in one day in the life of ivan denisovich, created the part of norman in the dresser on both stage and screen, performed solo in the brilliant russian dissident play. An undying love for the theatre, however, had courtenay channeling a different course from the aforementioned greats. The film adaptation is very faithful to the book although the endings are subtly different so there were no real plot surprises. Classic mittyesque satire from director john schlesinger with tom courtenay as billy fisher, a british workingclass everyman who spends his time daydreaming and spinning tall tales, earning him the nickname billy liar. Directed by john schlesinger, it stars tom courtenay who had understudied albert finney in the west end theatre adaptation of the novel as billy, and julie christie as liz, one of his three girlfriends. It may have been a mere few hours away by train, but for. Courtenay studied drama at the royal academy of dramatic art rada in london. He cant say two words without telling a lie, complains billy s dad wilfred pickles, and hes not far from wrong. And, much to the delight of the local jivers and rockers, he danced a few steps too. Sep 01, 2010 billy liar, a story of smalltown frustration, captivated a generation, preempted the 60s and even inspired oasis.
Fabrication is reflex with billy, and not merely out of selfaggrandizement. The semicomical story is about william fisher, a workingclass 19yearold living with his parents in the fictional town of stradhoughton in yorkshire. He has written extensively for film, tv and newspapers, and his play jeffrey barnard is unwell was a west end hit in the 1990s. As the stage play returns, laura barton asks tom courtenay and julie christie why it endures. Keith waterhouses billy liar was published in 1959, and captures brilliantly.
Id somehow acquired a 16mm pannedandscanned print, and was intrigued by both the title and cast. Since then he has worked mainly in the theatre, but has also starred in one day in the life of ivan denisovich, created the part of norman in the dresser on both stage and screen, performed solo in the brilliant russian dissident play moscow. Tom courtenay s billy fisher has boundless imagination but little discipline. For regular clubgoers were joined by an international film crew and one of the most popular british moviestars of the 1960s tom courtenay. Since then he has worked mainly in the theatre, but has also starred in one day in. He was in manchester to shoot sequences for the film billy liar.
Rather than a predatory womanizer, billy is a victim of his own overly imaginative mind. As the stage play returns, laura barton asks tom courtenay and julie christie. Billy liar is a 1963 black and white cinemascope film based on the novel by keith waterhouse. Tom courtenay shot to fame in the early sixties with a string of successful films the loneliness of the long distance runner, billy liar and dr zhivago to name but a few. Billy liar is something of a time capsule, to be sure, a snapshot of the north of england on the cusp of a cultural upheaval, when the vitality and cosmopolitan culture of london was but an echo reverberating through the rest of the country. Shadrack leonard rossiter is his hard driving, humorless employer who scolds young billy for his. Unlike the character alfie in the 1966 film, billy doesnt even seem to believe his own lies. Ive been meaning to read billy liar for many years. Tom courtenay was born in hull in 1937 and brought up near the fish dock where his father worked. From russia with love 1963 filming locations sean connery duration. I certainly knew who julie christie was, and i vaguely remembered tom courtenay in the loneliness of the long distance runner, so i ran it. Aug 05, 2011 billy liar with tom courtenay and julie christie 1963 tom courtenay gives one of his best performances in this off beat comedy set in 1963 england. Sequel to billy liar set 16 years on he has settled in a small commuterbelt town and acquired a wife, an eccentric mistress, a drunken superior at work, a scheming rival and sundry ratfaced neighbours. Since the mid1960s, he has been known primarily for his work in the.
Tom courtenay gives one of his best performances in this off beat comedy set in 1963 england. Tom courtenay, finlay currie, helen fraser, julie christie, leonard rossiter, patrick barr, ernest clark, wilfred pickles. O ver coffee and biscuits in a soho hotel, the actor who played billy liar is showing me a picture of his dog on his iphone. Oct 05, 2000 sir thomas daniel courtenay pronounced courtney. He cant say two words without telling a lie, complains billys dad wilfred pickles, and hes not far from wrong. They were poor but his parents were determined that tom would have the opportunities that they hadnt had.
Billy liar by john schlesinger john schlesinger, tom. Billy fisher is a lazy, wildly inventive and irresponsible clerk in a north country town, who defrauds his employers of the petty cash. Billy liar by john schlesinger john schlesinger, tom courtenay. The emerging new waves of mainland europe, an anarchic sense of humour and kitchen sink realism comingle to create an irrepressible touchstone of period british cinema which helped bring the swinging 60s to london. John schlesingers film features a bravura central performance from tom courtenay as an undertakers assistant escaping dreary reality through daydreams. He has two fiances he juggles awkwardly, steals petty cash from the office, and tells his parents he has been offered a scriptwriting job in london. It was directed by john schlesinger and stars tom courtenay who had understudied albert finney in the west end theatre adaptation of the novel as billy and julie christie as liz, one of his three girlfriends.
The work has inspired and featured in a number of popular songs. The youthful billy liar is a landmark classic due to an inspired combination of elements which feels very cutting edge. Apr 20, 2018 o ver coffee and biscuits in a soho hotel, the actor who played billy liar is showing me a picture of his dog on his iphone. Billy liar 1969, keith waterhouse book, billy liar. Tom courtenays billy fisher has boundless imagination but little discipline. Mona washbourne also excels as alice, billys daffy, sympathetic mother. Apr 05, 20 tom courtenay as billy liar 1963 is billy liar really 50 years old. The book was turned into a play, a musical and a sitcom, and inspired various. Billy fisher tom courtenay is known to his bluecollar british mates as billy liar because of his vivid imagination. They are expedients to get through the next day, the next hour, the next. Billy liar is a 1963 british blackandwhite cinemascope comedydrama film based on the 1959 novel by keith waterhouse. Billy liar, a story of smalltown frustration, captivated a generation, preempted the 60s and even inspired oasis. This film version of the keith waterhousewillis hall stage play visualizes some of billys more outrageous fabrications. This film followed major successes by both its director, john schlesinger, who was coming off a kind of loving, and its star, tom courtenay, who had just established himself as a major actor with the loneliness of the long distance runner.
Billy is the complete antithesis of michael caines alfie. Courtenay is a marvel as billy, the bluecollar drudge whose reliance on his inner life earns him a reputation as an unreliable dreamer. Billy liar was the multimedia phenomenon of its era. Apr 01, 2010 billy liar is his most famous book, and was an equally famous film, directed by john schlesinger, starring tom courtenay. The real billy liar is discovered in waterhouse papers the. He periodically escapes the drudgery of his job at a. Cinemascope films social realism in film films based on british novels films set in yorkshire films set in leeds. Billy liar by keith waterhouse, first edition abebooks. Billy liar 1969, keith waterhouse book, billy liar 1963. Billy liar is his most famous book, and was an equally famous film, directed by. Its one of the key sixties films catching britain at a time of transition, mirrored by billys dreams of escape from small town doldrums to something more swinging. Billy tom courtenay is stuck in his deadend job as a clerk for a local funeral director. Unable to accept the drab reality of life, billy escapes into a world of fantasy, imagining he is a successful man of the world in various situations. If this was not weird enough, tom courtenay then points out that stanley, his sevenyearold pointer, is gazing longingly at colin firth on a sunday supplement cover.
To their delight he passed the elevenplus, went to grammar school and from there was accepted to read english at university college london. Billy liar is a 1959 novel by keith waterhouse, which was later adapted into a play, a film, a musical and a tv series. Billy in the book and the film couldnt quite make the break. See more ideas about tom courtenay, toms and julie christie. Tom courtenay and julie christie in the film version of billy liar. Acting chameleon sir tom courtenay, along with sir alan bates and albert finney, became a frontrunner in an upandcoming company of rebel upstarts who created quite a stir in british kitchen sink cinema during the early 60s.
He cannot do anything without turning it into fantasy and self glorification. If this was not weird enough, tom courtenay then points out that. When i first encountered billy liar in the early 1970s, id never heard of it. The cautiousness of tom courtenay the new york times.
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