Biography
Willis Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright, screenwriter and television writer. Born in Hunslet, Leeds, he left school at 14 and worked in various jobs before national service in the army, during which he began writing plays while stationed in Malaya. After demobilisation he wrote for BBC radio and made his stage debut with the play The Long and the Short and the Tall (1959). He formed a long and prolific partnership with his schoolfriend Keith Waterhouse that produced more than 250 scripts for theatre, film and television.
Hall is known for the stage and screen versions of Billy Liar (1960 play; 1963 film) and the screenplays for Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and A Kind of Loving (1962). His television credits include episodes of Play for Today (1970), Secret Army (1977) and Minder (1979 onwards), as well as series such as Budgie and Worzel Gummidge. He also wrote numerous children's books and several musicals.
