Willy Russell Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1947) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are "Educating Rita", "Shirley Valentine", "Blood Brothers" and "Our Day Out". Russell was born in Whiston in Lancashire. On leaving school, aged 15, he became a ladies' hairdresser eventually running his own salon until the age of 20 when he decided to try to go back to college, eventually qualifying as a teacher. During these years Russell also worked as a semi-professional singer, writing and performing his own songs on the then flourishing and vibrant folk scene. At college, he began
Blood and Sand (1941 film) Blood and Sand (1941 film) Blood and Sand (1941) is a romantic melodrama Technicolor film directed by Rouben Mamoulian, produced by 20th Century Fox, and starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Alla Nazimova. It is based on the 1908 Spanish novel which was critical of bullfighting, "Blood and Sand" ("Sangre y arena"), by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez. The supporting cast features Anthony Quinn, Lynn Bari, Laird Cregar, J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine and George Reeves. Rita Hayworth's singing voice was dubbed by Gracilla Pirraga. There are two earlier versions of "Blood and Sand", a 1922 version produced by Paramount