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Billy Boyle
Billy Boyle
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1962–present

Billy Boyle is an Irish actor and singer on British film, television and stage.^[1]^[2] His recording career included five 45rpm singles for the Decca and Columbia labels, including the novelty song "My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Elvis" (Decca F 11503) in 1962. He is a veteran of the West End stage, having played leading roles in over 15 hit shows.^[3]

In his first West End musical, Maggie May, he was nominated as best newcomer.^[4] Gower Champion then chose him to play Barnaby in Hello Dolly at The Theatre Royal Drury Lane.^[3] He appeared in Canterbury Tales at the Phoenix Theatre as The Clerk of Oxford. Harold Hobson, The Times critic said, "He was a breath of fresh air in the West-End".^{[citation needed]} He went on to play leading roles in No Sex Please, We're British, Billy, What's a Nice Country, The Rivals, Love, Lust, & Marriage, Some Like It Hot, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and in the original cast of Dirty Dancing.^[5] Lately he has appeared as Grandpa George and Grandpa Joe in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory at Drury Lane.^[6] In 2010, he was the Mysterious Man in the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Into the Woods.^[7]

In 2016, he was Major Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in the smash hit Grey Gardens.^[8] He followed this playing Arvide in Guys and Dolls at the Phoenix Theatre in the West End. He has had his own very successful television series in Ireland, It's Billy Boyle, as well as leading roles in Trail of Guilt, the award-winning The Grass Arena and The Bretts, as well as many guest appearances in EastEnders, The Professionals, Coronation Street, Father Ted, etc.^[9]^[10]

In the late 1970s, Boyle was cast as Ronald McDonald in the European TV commercials and in all print media for the fast-food chain McDonald's. He was the last 'straight man' to Basil Brush on BBC1's The Basil Brush Show and later presented Dance Crazy for ITV, on the history of dance, with Lesley Judd.^[11]^[12] He was seen in Dirk Gently and Lead Balloon.^[13]

His films include Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Groupie Girl, Side by Side, Wild Geese II, The Scarlet and the Black, Round Ireland with a Fridge and A United Kingdom.^[1]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Groupie Girl	Wesley
1975	Barry Lyndon	Nora's brother #2
1975	Side by Side	Gary
1985	Wild Geese II	Devenish
1987-1989	The Bretts	Hegarty	16 episodes
1989	Dead Bang	Priest
1990	It's Billy Boyle
1992	Screen Two	Mr. Healy	Episode: "The Grass Arena"
1993	EastEnders	Danny Taurus	12 episodes
1996	Father Ted	Chatback Priest	Episode: "A Christmassy Ted"
1999	Shergar	Carrigan
1999	Trail of Guilt		TV series
2002	The Basil Brush Show		TV series
2008	Coronation Street	Father Maguire	2 episodes
2009	Dance Crazy
2010	Dirk Gently	Harry Jordan	Episode: "Pilot"
2010	Round Ireland with a Fridge	Donal
2011	Into the Woods	Mysterious Man
2011	Lead Balloon	Priest	Episode: "Shoddy"
2016	A United Kingdom	Reverend James Manners
2017	National Theatre Live: Follies	Theodore Whitman
2023	Coronation Street	Glyn Young

Stage

Title	Role
Maggie May
Hello, Dolly!	Barnaby
Canterbury Tales	The Clerk of Oxford
Some Like it Hot	Jerry/Daphne
No Sex Please, We're British
Billy
What's a Nice Country
The Rivals
Love, Lust, & Marriage
Beauty and the Beast	Maurice
Into the Woods	The Mysterious Man
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory	Grandpa George/Grandpa Joe
Grey Gardens	Major Bouvier/Norman Vincent Peale
Guys and Dolls	Arvide
Follies	Theodore Whitman