Writer Keith Waterhouse dead at 80

LONDON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Keith Waterhouse -- the British novelist, newspaper columnist and playwright -- died Friday at his London home, his family said. He was 80.

Waterhouse penned 60 books, plays and TV scripts throughout his career, as well as a twice-weekly column for the Daily Mirror for 16 years. He began writing for the Daily Mail in 1986.
His works include the 1959 novel "Billy Liar," the screenplay for the 1961 film "Whistle Down the Wind," the play "Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell," which was a West End hit in 1989, and the 1994 memoir "City Lights."
Waterhouse also wrote the 1970s television series "Budgie and Worzel Gummidge" and "Worzel Gummidge Down Under" in the 1980s.
He was divorced twice and is survived by two children, the BBC said.