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Billy Dee Williams

Born William December Williams, Jr.
April 6, 1937 (1937-04-06) (age 71)
New York City, New York, United States
Years active 1959 - present

Billy Dee Williams (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor and writer, best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Lando Calrissian is a character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded

Contents

Biography

Early life

Williams was born William December Williams, Jr. in New York City, New York, the son of Loretta, a West Indian-born elevator operator, and William December Williams, Sr. The City of New York The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting An elevator operator (in British English, usually lift man, lift woman, or lift girl) is a person specifically employed to operate a manually a Texas-born janitor. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. [1][2] He has a sister, Loretta, and grew up in Harlem, where he was raised by his maternal grandmother while his parents worked at several jobs. Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African American cultural and business center Williams graduated from Manhattan's School of Performing Arts where he was a classmate of Diahann Carroll who coincidentally played his wife on the '80s prime-time soap Dynasty. Fiorello H LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, also officially known as "H Diahann Carroll (born July 17 1935) is an American award-winning Actress and songstress. Dynasty is an American Prime time television Soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12 1981 to

Career

Film career

He made his film debut in 1959 in The Last Angry Man starring Paul Muni in which he portrayed a teen delinquent. The Last Angry Man is a 1959 film which tells the story of a journalist who profiles the life of his physician uncle Paul Muni ( September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an American Academy Award -winning and Tony Award -winning His first big break was in the acclaimed television movie, Brian's Song in which he played Gale Sayers. Brian's Song is a 1971 made-for-TV movie recalling the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan) a white Gale Eugene Sayers (b May 30 1943, Wichita Kansas) also known as "The Kansas Comet", was a professional football player His next hit came in 1972 when he played Billie Holliday's husband Louis McKay in Motown Productions' Holliday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7 1915 – July 17 1959 was an American Jazz singer and songwriter de Passe Entertainment is an American Film and Television production company run by entertainment executive Suzanne de Passe. Diana Ross starred in Lady Sings the Blues opposite Williams; Motown paired the two of them again three years later in Mahogany. Diana Ross (born March 261944 is an American twelve-time Grammy and Oscar -nominated singer Record producer and actress whose musical repertoire Mahogany is a 1975 Feature film, produced by Motown Productions and released to theaters by Paramount Pictures on October

His most famous role is Lando Calrissian, which he played in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi; Williams had originally auditioned for the role of Han Solo during the casting of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Lando Calrissian is a character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 Space opera Film directed by Irvin Kershner. Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi is a 1983 Space opera Film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas Han Solo is a character in the Star Wars universe. He was played by Harrison Ford in Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope, Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (originally released as Star Wars) is a 1977 Space opera He later reprised this role, when he lent his voice for the character in the 2002 video game Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, as well as the audio dramatization of Dark Empire. Star Wars Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast (often abbreviated JK2 or JO) is a first- and third-person Action game developed For the metal band see Dark Empire. Dark Empire is a trilogy of Star Wars Comic book

Williams appeared in numerous other films, most recently lending his voice to Oedipus (2004). One of his most notable roles was in 1989's Batman as district attorney Harvey Dent. Batman is a 1989 Superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. A district attorney (DA is in some US jurisdictions the title of the local public official who represents the government in the prosecution of alleged criminals Williams originally took the role believing that it would land him in a sequel playing the supervillain Two-Face and arranged a pay or play contract in preparation for the role. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the Villain character type commonly found in Comic books, Action movies and This article is about the DC comics villain For the Nigerian musician see 2face Idibia. A pay or play clause (or Guaranteed contract) in an entertainment contract means that the person who is being hired (typically an Actor) is guaranteed payment However, the studio decided to pay the penalty fee instead when the time came for the third installment, Batman Forever, in order to cast Tommy Lee Jones for the role. See also Batman Forever (score, Batman Forever (soundtrack, Batman Forever (video game, Batman Forever The Arcade Game Batman Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an Academy Award - Golden Globe - Screen Actors Guild - and Emmy Award -winning

Television appearances

William's television work included a recurring guest-starring role on the short-lived show Gideon's Crossing. Gideon's Crossing was a US medical drama starring Emmy Award -winng actor Andre Braugher. He has had a brief cameo in the hit TV show Scrubs Season 5, where he plays the godfather of Julie (Mandy Moore). Scrubs is an Emmy and Peabody Award -winning American Comedy-drama that premiered on October 2 2001 on NBC. Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10 1984 is an American pop Singer, Songwriter, Actor, and Fashion designer He is also well-known for his appearance in advertisements for Colt 45, a low-cost brand of malt liquor, for which he received much criticism. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand Colt 45 is a Brand of Beer (or Malt liquor) introduced by Nick Mastrian & Son Brewery and currently owned by the Hurricane Brewing Co Malt liquor is a North American term referring to a type of Beer with high alcohol content Williams responded indifferently to the criticism of his appearances in the liquor commercials. When questioned about his appearances he was quoted as saying, "I drink, you drink. Hell, if marijuana was legal, I'd appear in a commercial for it. Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a "

Williams was paired with actress Marla Gibbs on three different TV shows: The Jeffersons (Gibbs' character, Florence, had a crush on Williams and challenged him on everything because she thought he was an impostor); 227 (her character, Mary, pretending to be royalty, met Williams at a banquet); and The Hughleys (both Gibbs and Williams portrayed Darryl's parents). Marla Gibbs ( June 14 1931) is a five-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee and NAACP Image Award winning African-American Events By Place Europe Ireland — The rule of High King Cormac mac Airt begins (approximate The Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to May 22, 2000 (In one memorable scene on The Jeffersons, Williams, waiting for Florence to hand over his driver's license to him, repeats the line "Do you want my arm to fall off?" Florence, now convinced that he is Williams, yells "that's the line you said to Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues! He then replies "I got another one right!")

Williams made a special guest appearance on the hit sketch comedy show, In Living Color in 1990

Williams portrayed Pastor Dan in an episode of That '70s Show. Diana Ross (born March 261944 is an American twelve-time Grammy and Oscar -nominated singer Record producer and actress whose musical repertoire This article is about the television series For the band see Living Colour. That '70s Show is an American television sitcom that centered on the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of In this episode entitled "Baby Don't You Do It" (2004) his character is obsessed with Star Wars, and uses this to help counsel Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti about their premarital relationship. Eric Christopher Forman is a Fictional character on Fox Network's That '70s Show, played by Topher Grace. Donna Jo Pinciotti is a Fictional character in the FOX sitcom, That '70s Show.

Williams made a cameo appearance as himself on the TV series Lost in the episode "Exposé". Lost is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American serial drama television series. " Exposé " is the fourteenth episode of the third season and sixty-first episode overall of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC's serial

Williams also appears regularly on short clips on the Jimmy Kimmel Live as a semi-parody of himself. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night Talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.

He played Toussaint Dubois (GH Nightshift) for General Hospital: Night Shift in 2007. General Hospital Night Shift is an American Prime time serial that first aired on SOAPnet for a 13-episode run from July 12 2007 to October

One of his more recent appearances was in the fourth season of Mind of Mencia, where Williams played the seducing person that women see in Barack Obama. Mind of Mencia is an American Television Comedy series on the cable channel Comedy Central.

Video game appearances

He also plays a live action character, GDI Director Redmond Boyle, in the video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, making him the second former Star Wars actor to appear in a Command and Conquer game, with the first being James Earl Jones as GDI General James Solomon in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. The United Nations' Global Defense Initiative (or UNGDI for short is a Fictional militarized branch of the United Nations which is featured prominently James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American Actor of Film and stage well known for his deep basso Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun is a futuristic strategy game by Westwood Studios

Personal

He was briefly married to actress Marlene Clark in the late 1960s. He later met and married Maura James, a noted author of mysteries and children's book. The couple met while he was on location filming "Shorter Rain" in Tuscany, Italy in 1982. Though they are separated now, the two remain "the warmest of friends".

He is represented by famed agent Preeth Kumar Sangavaram, who has managed the careers of several African-American actors such as Bill Duke, Sinbad, John Amos, Arsenio Hall, and Jaleel White. Bill Duke (born February 26, 1943) is an American Actor and Film director. John Amos (born December 27, 1939) is an American Actor and former football player who has received both a Primetime Emmy Arsenio Hall (born February 12 1955 in Cleveland Ohio) is an African-American Actor, Comedian, and former Talk show host Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27 1976 is an American Actor.

Filmography

Books

Preceded by
None		 Actors to portray Harvey Dent/Two-Face
1989-1995		 Succeeded by
Tommy Lee Jones

Video games

Trivia

Further reading

References

  1. ^ Billy Dee Williams Biography (1937-)
  2. ^ S W A D - Williams, Billy Dee

External links

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