Billy Barnes

Billy Barnes (January 27, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was a composer, lyricist and actor from Los Angeles, California. Barnes may be best known for his theatrical revues and his recurring role as Mr. Edlin on the television series Mad About You. Career Barnes started writing musical comedy sketches while still in high school, and continued while at UCLA. He started collaborating in college with Bob Rodgers, and their first professional musical comedy revue, a Cabaret Concert Show, was staged in 1956 in Los Angeles. Barnes continued with theatrical revues, including The Billy Barnes Revue, Billy Barnes' People, Billy Barnes' Party, Billy Barnes' L.A., and Billy Barnes' Hollywood. Other productions with Barnes' songs include Movie Star, and Blame It on the Movies (1988). His revues were the springboard for many comics and singers, including Bert Convy, Ken Berry, Jo Anne Worley, Steve Franken, Jackie Joseph, Ann Morgan Guilbert, David Ketchum, and his then wife Joyce Jameson. For television, Barnes wrote special material and original musical production numbers for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Danny Kaye Show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, Cher and The Carol Burnett Show. He wrote opening production numbers for several Academy Awards telecasts. He has composed comedic and topical songs for many of show business's greatest personalities including Lucille Ball, Bette Davis and Angela Lansbury. He wrote the songs for the 1976 television musical adaptation of Pinocchio starring Sandy Duncan.