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| Birth Name(s) : Billy Dee Williams |
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Full Billy Dee Williams Biography
Williams was born William December Williams, Jr. in New York City, New York to William December Williams, Sr. a Texas-born janitor, and Loretta, a West Indian-born elevator operator. 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. Williams graduated from Manhattan's School of Performing Arts.
Arguably, his most famous role is Lando Calrissian, which he played in The Empire Strikes Back and 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. 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 (in which his character's signature mustache remained intact), as well as the audio dramatization of Dark Empire.
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. 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. 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.
William's television work included a recurring guest-starring role on the short-lived show Gideon's Crossing. He has had a brief cameo in the hit TV show Scrubs season 5, where he plays the godfather of Julie (Mandy Moore). 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. 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."
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. Williams portrayed Pastor Dan in an episode of That 70's Show. 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 and Donna about their premarital relationship.
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".
In a pun from the television series Family Guy (episode 86 "Road to Rupert"), Peter turns over his pillow to the "cool side" on which Williams' face appears and talks to him. |
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