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Billy (1979 TV series)

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Billy
GenreSitcom
Based onBilly Liar by Keith Waterhouse &
Willis Hall
Directed byJohn Rich
StarringSteve Guttenberg
Peggy Pope
James Gallery
Paula Trueman
Michael Alaimo
Bruce Talkington
Opening theme"You Could Be The Only One"
performed by Ray Kennedy
ComposerEarle Hagen
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes7
Production
ProducerJohn Rich
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesJohn Rich Productions
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseFebruary 26 (1979-02-26) –
April 28, 1979 (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

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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.[1]

Reception

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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.[2]

Episode list

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Title Original air date
1"Pilot"February 26, 1979 (1979-02-26)
2"My Son the Doctor"March 5, 1979 (1979-03-05)
3"Showbiz"March 12, 1979 (1979-03-12)
4"Computer Dating"March 24, 1979 (1979-03-24)
5"Camping Trip"March 31, 1979 (1979-03-31)
6"Disco"April 21, 1979 (1979-04-21)
7"Dream Date"April 28, 1979 (1979-04-28)

References

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  1. ^ "The Herald-News from Passaic, New Jersey - 82". The Herald-News. March 18, 1979. p. 82.
  2. ^ American Radio History [dead link]
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