Billy Dee Williams

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Billy Dee Williams
Harlem Actors Workshop
Occupations
  • Actor
  • novelist
  • painter
Years active1959–2022
Known forLando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise
Gale Sayers in Brian's Song
Spouses
  • Audrey Sellers
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1959; div. 1963)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1968; div. 1971)​
  • Teruko Nakagami
    ​
    (m. 1972)​
Children3

William December Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor, novelist and painter. He has appeared in over 100 films and television roles over six decades. He is best known for portraying

Harvey Dent in Batman (1989) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), The Last Angry Man (1959), Carter's Army, The Out-of-Towners (1969), The Final Comedown and Lady Sings the Blues (both 1972), Hit! (1973), Fear City and Terror in the Aisles (both 1984), Alien Intruder (1993) and The Visit
(2000).

Raised in

Dancing with the Stars
(2014).

His work has earned him numerous awards and honors including three NAACP Image Awards, and the NAACP Lifetime Achievement award. He was inducted into the Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame in 1984, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

Early life and education

William December Williams Jr. was born in New York City, the son of Loretta Anne (1915–2016), an

African-American caretaker, with some Native American ancestry from Texas.[1][2][3][4] He grew up in Harlem on 110th Street, between Lenox and 5th, adjacent to Central Park North–110th Street station.[5] He used to go to Central Park to see the Negro league players and the Cuban baseball league, "They were fantastic, and I wound up working with a lot of those guys," (in The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976).[6] He has a twin sister, Loretta, and they were raised by their maternal grandmother while their parents worked several jobs. His mom had studied opera for years, becoming an accomplished opera star who wanted to break into movies; the family was richly cultured, exposing the children early on to drawing, painting, theatre and similar creative experiences; Billy Dee would remain a fan of the arts including opera.[7][4][8] In March 1945, he made his Broadway debut at age seven portraying a page in The Firebrand of Florence, Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin’s operetta starring Lotte Lenya.[a][9][10][1] His mom, who worked at the theatre, volunteered him for the part which he found boring.[1]

Williams attended

actor agent through a friend, started getting major Off-Broadway roles, then work on Broadway.[14]

Career

1959–1970: Broadway debut and early roles

Billy Dee Williams with Joan Plowright in A Taste of Honey on Broadway in 1960

Williams returned to Broadway as an adult in 1960 in the adaptation of

hippie movement to be a cure, "LSD saved my life ... I wasn't doing it to get high. It let me get inside of myself."[4] Otherwise he is anti-drug.[4]

1971–1989: Film stardom and acclaim

He rose to stardom after starring in the critically acclaimed television film

Primetime Emmy Awards for best actor for their performances.[16] Williams said the role was the one of which he was most proud "It was a love story, really. Between two guys. Without sex. ... It ended up being a kind of breakthrough in terms of racial division."[17] Williams' success with Brian's Song earned him a seven-year contract with Motown's Berry Gordy.[3] He became one of America's most well-known black film actors of the 1970s, after starring in a string of critically acclaimed and popular movies, many of them in the "blaxploitation
" genre.

In 1972, he starred as

Mahogany. Williams returned to Broadway in the 1976 production, I Have a Dream, which was directed by Robert Greenwald. Williams portrayed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.[19] In 1977, he played the eponymous lead role in Scott Joplin, biopic of musician's life, featuring many of his ragtime pieces in the soundtrack, including an epic piano duel in the early opening scenes. Williams was cast as Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), becoming the first African-American actor with a role in the Star Wars series.[13] He would reprise the role in Return of the Jedi (1983).[20] Williams voiced the character in the audio drama adaption of The Empire Strikes Back (1983).[21]

Between the two Star Wars films, he starred alongside

Harvey Dent, a role that was planned to develop into Dent's alter-ego, the villain Two-Face, in sequels. He was set to reprise the role in the sequel Batman Returns, but his character was deleted and replaced with villain Max Shreck. When Joel Schumacher stepped in to direct Batman Forever, where Two-Face was to be a secondary villain, Schumacher decided to hire Tommy Lee Jones for the role.[23] There was a rumor that Schumacher had to pay Williams a fee in order to hire Jones, but Williams said that it was not true: "You only get paid if you do the movie. I had a two-picture deal with Star Wars. They paid me for that, but I only had a one picture deal for Batman."[24] Williams eventually voiced Two-Face in the 2017 film The Lego Batman Movie.[25]

1990–present: Television roles

Williams in 1997

Williams' television work included a recurring guest-starring role on the short-lived show Gideon's Crossing. He is also known for his advertisements for Colt 45, a malt liquor, for a five-year period starting in the mid-1980s; he would reprise his spokesperson role in 2016.[26] Williams brushed off criticism—for the subtext of the ad campaign, 'works every time,' and the target audience—of the choice, "I drink, you drink. Hell, if marijuana was legal, I'd appear in a commercial for it."[1][27] Colt 45 hired Williams "simply because he was so cool," and went from trailing behind Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in barrels produced, to "skyrocketing" a year after the 1986 ads ran to two million barrels in the top spot for malt liquor.[1]

In the 1984–1985 season of

backdoor pilot for his own series. Williams appeared as himself on Martin where he provided Martin Lawrence's character with advice on getting back together with Gina.[citation needed
]

Williams made a special guest appearance on the hit sketch comedy show

Lost in the episode "Exposé". He also appears regularly on short clips on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a semi-parody of himself. In February 2006, Williams guest starred as himself in the season 5 episode "Her Story II" of Scrubs, where he plays the godfather of Julie (Mandy Moore). Turk hugs him, calling him "Lando", even though he prefers to be called Billy Dee.[citation needed
]

Williams played the GDI Director Redmond Boyle, in the full-motion video (live-action) cutscenes of the video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007). This made him the second former Star Wars actor to appear in a Command & Conquer game (with the first being James Earl Jones as GDI General James Solomon in Tiberian Sun). Williams played Toussaint Dubois for General Hospital: Night Shift in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Williams reprised his role as Lando Calrissian to appear in a video on Funny or Die in a mock political ad defending himself for leader of the Star Wars galaxy against vicious attack ads from Emperor Palpatine.[28] Williams was a cast member of Diary of a Single Mom, a web-based original series directed by award-winning filmmaker Robert Townsend. The series debuted on PIC.tv in 2009.[29] Williams reprised his role as Toussaint on General Hospital beginning in June 2009. Also in 2009, Williams took on the role of the voice of Admiral Bitchface, the head of the military on the planet Titan, in the Adult Swim animated series Titan Maximum. In July 2010, Williams appeared in the animated series The Boondocks, where he voiced a fictionalized version of himself in the episode "The Story of Lando Freeman".[citation needed]

In February 2011, Williams appeared as a guest star on

reality show/dancing competition partnered with professional dancer Emma Slater.[30] The couple had to withdraw from the competition on the third week due to an injury to Williams's back. He also voiced Colonel Jackson in the 2016 video game Let It Die, who acts as the second major boss players face.[31]

Over the years Williams reprised his role of Lando Calrissian in four video games, The Lego Movie (2014), two episodes of Star Wars Rebels and multiple LEGO Star Wars animated specials. He later returned to the role in the Star Wars: Star Wars Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019),[32] marking one of the longest intervals between onscreen portrayals of a character by the same actor in American film history.[33] Episode IX director J. J. Abrams noted, "Lando was always written as a complex, contradictory, nuanced character. And Billy Dee played him to suave perfection, ... It wasn't just that people of color were seeing themselves represented; they were seeing themselves represented in a rich, wonderful, intriguing way."[34] Over the years, Williams has been a featured guest at fan conventions, mostly science fiction ones for his role. Of his fan interactions he has said they have mostly been positive ones, "I love every single moment of it, I'll have an audience for the rest of my life."[35][36]

Ventures and interests

Painting

In the late 1980s, Williams resumed painting, devoting much of his time to the work.[14] He returned to New York to star in August Wilson's play Fences, replacing James Earl Jones in the lead for four months starting in February 1988.[37][38] It marked a turning point for him, returning home, and for him, the center of the art scene.[8] He also renewed his friendship with Peter Max, who had also trained and sold art in the city, and renewed Williams' interest in painting.[39] Within a two-year span he "cranked out 120 original works of art".[b][8][40]

Williams is the honorary chairman of

airbrushing technique"; he also works in oils.[6][43][44] Williams painted a series of impressionistic portraits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the "African-American pilots whose real-life exploits changed the course of American military history."[39] He started the series in the 1990s but when officials from National Air and Space Museum (NASM) saw them they wanted more, and to use them in an exhibition.[39][45] In 1999 they were displayed at the African-American Museum of Art, Culture and History in New Orleans, and in early 2000, the NASM in Washington, D.C.[39]

He was commissioned for four paintings—including one of

Lucite, and neon light."[47]

He got permission from Star Wars creator George Lucas to sell lithographs of a montage of Williams' iconic character from the franchise, Lando Calrissian.[11][8] As of 2001 his paintings sold for an average of $10,000 to $35,000 (equivalent to $62,153 in 2024).[14] "I call my paintings 'abstract reality,'" said Williams. "Sometimes I refer to them as 'impressions/expression.' It's the best way I can explain them."[1] In early 2001 Williams was one of the celebrity artists painting seven-foot angel sculptures as part of the Oscar Academy's sponsoring L.A.'s "A Community of Angels" charity project.[48][49] The art angels were displayed for months then auctioned to raise funds for L.A. youth programs.[48][49] In his online gallery biography, he states, "[an] interest in Eastern philosophy characterizes his images, first to record the physical reality, and then to uncover through the application of light, color and perspective. He cites Edward Hopper, M. C. Escher—the Dutch Master, Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Thomas Hart Benton, and the exciting, vibrant forms of African art as some of his strongest influences."[8][44] Williams' work is included at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, and the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.[6]

In a 2001 interview he said, "Either I want to drop dead with a paint brush in my hand or I want to drop dead doing a soliloquy on the stage, I love acting. I love it. I take my acting very seriously, but I also find it fun. To do what children do and get paid for it is a lot of fun. I'm very fortunate."[14] In late 2007, he was a guest artist on a ten-day Princess Cruise liner.[50] They bought about eighty pieces which they put on their cruises and then auctioned off.[50] He was commissioned for another set of Disney paintings to be unveiled in 2011 at Disney's D23 Expo, also in Anaheim, California.[36] For those, he set iconic Disney characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Goofy in jazz music settings.[36] In a 2011 interview he said, "I mostly create abstract paintings. I paint what's obvious to the eye and then incorporate an abstract point of view, which allows me a lot of space to play in. I work a lot with acrylic and oils, mostly acrylic right now and do a lot of line drawings."[51] In a September 2015 interview, he said he finds painting "cathartic" compared to collective film work, "When you're painting you just lock yourself up in your little private world. And it's all about you and your imagination and nobody else interfering with that. It's a great exercise because you really start discovering who you are and what you are without a lot of assistance … and the moment you come up with something interesting it's a success that’s really based on your own personal, private sensibility."[7] As of 2019 he has made around 300 paintings, which Williams sees as his legacy.[34]

Music

In 1961, Williams recorded a jazz LP produced by Prestige Records entitled Let's Misbehave, on which he covered swing standards.[6] The album was named after its second track. it included the first-ever vocal recording of "A Taste of Honey", a song by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow later covered by The Beatles on their 1963 debut album Please Please Me.[6] Williams was later the first to sing the song in the U.S., on the Broadway stage with Joan Plowright as part of the original Broadway production of the play A Taste of Honey.[6] The commercial success of his album lalter earned Williams a spot on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983). Williams said of the album, "Recording it was sort of a lark. I did some singing in clubs, for a moment, and then I stopped. I have too much respect for singers to really think that I'm a singer."[6] The album was re-released on CD, download and streaming platforms in 2014.

Thirty years later, in the early 1990s, he sang on a “

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.[52][53] Through sales and plays of the song Williams and the other celebrities became platinum-recording and Billboard-charting artists.[1]

Personal life

Marriage and relationships

Williams has been married three times, and has three children, and two grandchildren.[54] His first marriage was to Audrey Sellers in 1959. They were divorced some years later, after which he apparently became depressed. He stated that "there was a period when I was very despondent, broke, depressed, my first marriage was on the rocks." They had a son, Corey Dee Williams, born in 1960.[54][55] In 1968, Williams married model and actress Marlene Clark in Hawaii. They divorced in 1971.[56][57][58] He moved from New York City to California in 1971.[34]

He married Teruko Nakagami on December 27, 1972. She brought a daughter, Miyako (born 1962), from her previous marriage to musician Wayne Shorter. Together they have a daughter, Hanako (born 1973).[54][59] In 1984, he bought a "Zen-like contemporary" home in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills, California; he sold it in 2012.[60][61] He filed for an amicable divorce from Nakagami in 1993, but they reconciled, and were again living together by 1997.[54][62][63]

Gender identity

In late 2019, Williams talked about his feminine side in an interview, and used masculine and feminine pronouns to refer to himself.

Jungian psychology.[64]

Williams was arrested on January 30, 1996, after allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend, whom the police did not identify.[65] He posted a US$50,000 bail.[66] L.A. Police said the woman had minor bruises and scratches.[67] The district attorney's office filed misdemeanor charges of spousal battery and dissuading a witness.[68] The woman later stated that the incident was her fault and hoped the police would drop the case.[69] In a plea bargain, Williams agreed to undergo 52 counseling sessions.[70] In a 2019 interview, Williams said he never slapped or abused women.[4]

Acting credits and accolades

Main article: Billy Dee Williams filmography
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1972
Primetime Emmy Award
 Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Brian's Song Nominated [71]
1981
Saturn Award
 Best Supporting Actor
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
 Nominated [72]
1984 Best Supporting Actor
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
 Nominated [72]
2001
Independent Spirit Award
 Best Supporting Male The Visit Nominated [14][73]
2002 Black Reel Awards Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor The Visit Nominated [3]
1972
NAACP Image Award
 Best Actor - Motion Picture Lady Sings the Blues Won
1977 Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings Won
2001 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture The Visit Nominated
2006 Lifetime Achievement Award Received [74]
2010 Indie Series Awards Best Performance by a Guest Actor Diary of a Single Mom Nominated
2011 Outstanding Supporting Actor Diary of a Single Mom Nominated
2003 TV Land Award Most Memorable Male Guest Star in a Comedy The Jeffersons Nominated
2006 Blockbuster Movie of the Week Brian's Song Won
2018 Behind the Voice Actors Awards Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film The Lego Batman Movie Nominated

Special recognition

Books

  • PSI/Net (1999),
    ISBN 978-0-312-86766-9, novel co-written with Rob MacGregor based on an actual government program of psychic spying[77][39]
  • JUST/In Time (2001),
    ISBN 978-0-8125-7240-7
  • Harvey Dent into Two-Face.[78]
  • What Have We Here: Portraits of a Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. February 13, 2024.
    OCLC 1378101317
    .

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Credited as Billy Williams.
  2. ^ Based on an art piece's artist bio, he was painting during his Fences Broadway run in 1988.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hutchinson, Sean (April 6, 2017). "8 Suave Facts About Billy Dee Williams". Mental Floss. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Billy Dee Williams – Interview". African American Literature Book Club. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e "S W A D – Williams, Billy Dee". nerf-herders-anonymous.net. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Hiatt, Brian (December 5, 2019). "Billy Dee's Last Ride". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Downey, Ken Jr. (October 11, 2019). "Billy Dee Williams greets rebels alike at New York Comic Con". Central Jersey. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Sarti, Doug (February 26, 2019). "Billy Dee Williams dishes on Fan Expo, the nature of coolness, and—yes—Star Wars Episode IX". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Crisolago, Mike (September 16, 2015). "Billy Dee Williams Talks His Artwork and Star Wars". Everything Zoomer. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Hall, Ken (June 3, 2002). "The Celebrity Collector - Billy Dee Williams". Go Star. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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  11. ^ a b "S W A D - Williams, Billy Dee". July 1, 2009. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  12. ^ a b O'Leary, Devin D. (June 7, 2012). "Lando of Enchantment: An interview with actor Billy Dee WIlliams". Alibi.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Schobert, Christopher (May 15, 2017). "Billy Dee Williams discusses his life, career and Lando". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Young, Jamie Painter (March 1, 2001). "Billy Dee Williams Revisited". Backstage. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Benedetti (1999a, 201), Carnicke (2000, 17), and Stanislavski (1938, 16—36 "art of representation" corresponds to Mikhail Shchepkin's "actor of reason" and his "art of experiencing" corresponds to Shchepkin's "actor of feeling"; see Benedetti (1999a, 202).
  16. ISBN 0-918432-85-5
    .
  17. ^ France, Lisa Respers (December 2, 2019). "Billy Dee Williams praised for using gender-fluid pronouns". CNN. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  18. ^ Cade, Maya S. (February 13, 2024). "Pushing for Recognition Took Billy Dee Williams to the Stratosphere". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  19. ^ "The Theater: A King in Darkness", Time, October 4, 1976, archived from the original on February 20, 2011, retrieved January 3, 2009
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  21. ISBN 9781135456498
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  23. ^ Bentley, David (July 2008). "Aaron Eckhart on creating the new face of Two Face". Coventry Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013.
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  25. ^ Shanley, Patrick (February 2, 2017). "Billy Dee Williams on Secret 'Star Wars' Lunch with Donald Glover and Finally Playing Two-Face". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  26. ^ Kell, John (March 28, 2016). "Billy Dee Williams is a Colt 45 spokesman again". Fortune. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  27. ^ Kiefaber, David (July 20, 2007). "Billy Dee's charisma still works every time". AdWeek Blogs. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  28. ^ "Vote for Lando Calrissian! w/ BILLY DEE WILLIAMS". Funny or Die. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  29. ^ "About the show – Robert Townsend's Diary of a Single Mom". PIC.tv. June 9, 2010. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  30. ^ "Dancing With the Stars Cast Revealed! Cody Simpson, Nene Leakes and James Maslow Are Among the Names—See the Full List!". E! Online. March 4, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  31. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (November 3, 2016). "Let it Die is like a reunion for the original Star Wars trilogy cast". Eurogamer. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
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  33. ^ Wild, Allison (July 10, 2018). "Billy Dee Williams to Return as Lando in Star Wars: Episode IX". The Portalist. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  34. ^ a b c d Miller, Matt (November 26, 2019). "The Enduring, Intergalactic Cool of Billy Dee Williams". Esquire. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  35. ^ a b c Castellani, Christopher (May 15, 2002). "CNN.com - The original 'Star Wars' cast members - May 15, 2002". CNN. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  36. ^ a b c Brigante, Ricky (August 4, 2011). "Interview: Billy Dee Williams dishes on Star Tours, Disney D23 Expo artwork and fans". Inside the Magic. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  37. ISSN 0362-4331
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  44. ^ a b Williams, Billy Dee (January 10, 2006). "Billy Dee Williams World Art gallery". BDW World Art Gallery. Archived from the original on January 10, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
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  48. ^ a b Archerd, Army (March 21, 2001). "Streisand complements new 'Snow White' DVD". Variety. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  49. ^ a b "City of Angels". Los Angeles Downtown News. October 16, 2000. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
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  78. ^ Arvedon, Jon (May 26, 2021). "Jerry Ordway Batman '89 Variant Debuts Billy Dee Williams' Two-Face". Comic Book Resources. Valnet Inc. Retrieved October 1, 2022.

Further reading

  • Nishikawa, Kinohi. "Billy Dee Williams". The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature. Ed. Hans Ostrom and J. David Macey Jr. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005. 1742–43.
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