- Songwriter and manager of his wife for most of her career, and father with her of Robert Willis.
- One of his most popular compositions - "Is It Love?" - was featured in the beat film Ferry Cross the Mersey in 1965.
- After the death of Black's manager, Brian Epstein, Willis took over her management duties and over the next thirty years, developed her popularity with television family audiences, and helped Black to become the highest-paid female presenter on television.
- Willis married Cilla Black on 25 January 1969, his 27th birthday, at Marylebone Town Hall. To please her Catholic family, the couple were granted a dispensation to have their marriage blessed on 6 March 1969 at St Mary's Church in Liverpool's Woolton suburb. (Willis was from an Anglican background.).
- His first known recorded composition, "Shy of Love" was featured on the B-side of "Love of the Loved", the debut release of Cilla Black in September 1963. During the sixties he was to write many songs for his then girlfriend to record and perform.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content