Billy Dee Williams Biography

Billy Dee Williams (born William December Williams Jr.; April 6, 1937) is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars film franchise, as well as acting in the movies Brian's Song, Nighthawks, The Last Angry Man, Carter's Army, and for playing Harvey Dent in Tim Burton's Batman (1989).

Early life

Williams was born in New York, the son of Loretta Anne (1915-), a West Indian-born elevator operator from Montserrat, and William December Williams, Sr. (1910-2008), an African-American caretaker from Texas. He has a twin 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 The High School of Music & Art (later merged with the High School of Performing Arts to become the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art) in Manhattan, where he was a classmate of Diahann Carroll, who would later play the wife of his character Brady Lloyd on the 1980s prime-time soap opera Dynasty.

Acting career

Stage

Williams first appeared on Broadway in 1945 in The Firebrand of Florence. He returned to Broadway as an adult in 1960 in the adaptation of The Cool Word. He appeared in A Taste of Honey in 1961. A 1976 Broadway production, I Have a Dream, was directed by Robert Greenwald and starred Williams as Martin Luther King, Jr. His most recent Broadway appearance was in August Wilson's Fences, as a replacement for James Earl Jones in the role of Troy Maxson in 1988.

Film

Williams made his film debut in 1959 in The Last Angry Man, opposite Paul Muni, in which he portrayed a delinquent young man. He rose to stardom after starring in the critically lauded blockbuster biographical television movie, Brian's Song (1971), in which he played Chicago Bears star football player Gale Sayers, who stood by his friend Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), during Piccolo's struggle with terminal cancer. The film was so popular that it was given a theatrical release. Both Williams and Caan were nominated for Emmy Awards for best actor for their performances.

Having broken through, Williams 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 Billie Holiday's husband Louis McKay in Motown Productions' Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. The film was a box office blockbuster, becoming one of the highest grossing films of the year and received five Academy Award nominations. Diana Ross starred in Lady Sings the Blues opposite Williams; Motown paired the two of them again three years later in the successful follow-up project Mahogany.

The early 1980s brought Williams the role of Lando Calrissian, which he played in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Calrissian's charm proved to be popular with audiences. He reprised the 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, the National Public Radio adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, and two productions for the Star Wars: Battlefront series: Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron. Between his appearances in the Star Wars films, he starred alongside Sylvester Stallone as a cop in the 1981 thriller Nighthawks.

He co-starred in 1989's Batman as district attorney Harvey Dent, a role that was planned to develop into Dent's alter-ego, the villain Two-Face, in sequels. Unfortunately for Williams, that never came to pass; 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. 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."

After The Walt Disney Company acquired ownership of Lucasfilm in 2012, plans for a sequel trilogy to the Star Wars films were announced. On April 29, 2014, Disney announced a cast list for Star Wars Episode VII, set decades after Episode VI. The confirmed cast included the actors who portrayed Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, along with Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2, but Calrissian's character was omitted. Fans made their displeasure known on social networks immediately.

Television

Williams's television work included a recurring guest-starring role on the short-lived show Gideon's Crossing. He is also well known for his appearance in advertisements for Colt 45 (a brand of malt liquor) in the 1980s and early 1990s, 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 allegedly replied by saying, "I drink, you drink. Hell, if marijuana was legal, I'd appear in a commercial for it."

In the 1984-1985 season of Dynasty, he played Brady Lloyd opposite Diahann Carroll.

Williams was paired with actress Marla Gibbs on three situation comedies: The Jeffersons (Gibbs's character, Florence, had a crush on Williams and challenged him on everything because she thought he was an imposter); 227 (her character, Mary, pretending to be royalty, met Williams at a banquet); and The Hughleys (Gibbs and Williams portrayed Darryl's parents).

In 1992, he portrayed Berry Gordy in The Jacksons: An American Dream.

In 1993, Williams had a guest appearance on the spin-off to The Cosby Show, A Different World, as Langston Paige, a grumpy landlord, in a backdoor pilot for his own series. He appeared as himself on Martin where he provided Martin with advice on getting back together with Gina.

Williams made a special guest appearance on the hit sketch comedy show In Living Color in 1990. He portrayed Pastor Dan in an episode of That '70s 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 Forman (himself a Star Wars fan) and Donna Pinciotti about their premarital relationship. Williams made a cameo appearance as himself on the television series Lost in the episode "Expos". He also appears regularly on short clips on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a semi-parody of himself. In February 2006, he 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.

He played Toussaint Dubois for General Hospital: Night Shift in 2007 and 2008. Williams reprised his role as Toussaint on General Hospital beginning in June 2009. Also in 2009, he 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".

In February 2011, Williams appeared as a guest star on USA Network's White Collar as Ford, an old friend of Neal Caffrey's landlady June, played by Diahann Carroll. In February 2012, Williams was the surprise guest during a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show spotlighting Diana Ross. Ross and Williams were reunited after having not seen each other in 29 years. In October 2012, Williams appeared as a guest star on NCIS in Season 10 Episode 5 titled "Namesake", as Gibbs' namesake and his father's former best friend, Leroy Jethro Moore. On January 9, 2013, Williams appeared as himself in a cameo role on Modern Family, Season 4 / Episode 11 "New Year's Eve".

It was announced on March 4, 2014 that Williams would be competing on the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars. He partnered with professional dancer Emma Slater. The couple had to withdraw from the competition on the third week due to an injury to Williams's back.

In spite of his absence from Episode VII, Williams returned to the role Lando Calrissian in a 2015 episode of Star Wars Rebels.

Other ventures

Music

In 1961, Williams ventured into the music industry when he recorded a jazz LP produced by Prestige Records entitled Let's Misbehave, on which he sang several swing standards. The album, which was a commercial success at the time, made Williams eligible for an appearance in the legendary Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1983).

Video games

Williams voiced Lando Calrissian in the video game Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars Battlefront as well as the spin-off Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (however, the Battlefront appearances were archive footage and his voice-appearance in Elite Squadron is left uncredited or unknown). He also played a live-action character, GDI Director Redmond Boyle, in the game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, which was released in March 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 Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. He also played as Sergeant Cross in NFS Most Wanted (2005) and NFSCarbon.

Internet

In 2008, Williams reprised his role as Lando Calrissian to appear in a video on FunnyOrDie.com in a mock political ad defending himself for leader of the Star Wars galaxy against vicious attack ads from Emperor Palpatine. Williams is currently 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.

Art

Before he began acting, Williams attended the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design in New York. In the late 1980s, he resumed painting. Some of his work can be seen at his online gallery BDW World Art. He has had solo exhibitions in various galleries around the United States, and his work hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution and the Schomburg Museum. The covers of the Thelonious Monk Competition programs since 1990 are by him.

Personal life

Marriages and family

Williams has been married three times. His first marriage was to Audrey Sellers in 1959. They were divorced some years later, after which he apparently became quite depressed: "[...] there was a period when I was very despondent, broke, depressed, my first marriage was on the rocks." They have a son, Corey Williams.

In 1968, Williams married model and actress Marlene Clark in Hawaii. Their marriage lasted only two years and they officially divorced in 1971.

He married Teruko Nakagami on December 27, 1972. She brought a daughter, Miyako (b. 1962), from her previous marriage to musician Wayne Shorter. They have a daughter Hanako (b. 1973). They filed for divorce in 1993, but were reported to have reconciled in 1997.

Legal problems

Williams was arrested on January 30, 1996 after allegedly beating his live-in girlfriend, whom the police did not identify. He was freed from custody the following day after posting a US$50,000 bail. Williams stated through his attorney that he expected to be fully exonerated of the charges. The Los Angeles city attorney's office filed misdemeanor charges of spousal battery and dissuading a witness against Williams. The woman, identified only as "Patricia", later stated the incident was her fault and that she hoped the police would drop the case. In a plea bargain agreement to dismiss the charges, Williams was ordered to undergo 52 counseling sessions.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	The Last Angry Man	Josh Quincy
1970	The Out-of-Towners	Lost & Found - Boston
1970	Carter's Army	Private Lewis	TV movie
1972	The Final Comedown	Johnny Johnson
1972	Lady Sings the Blues	Louis McKay
1973	Hit!	Nick Allen
1974	The Take	Sneed
1975	Mahogany	Brian Walker
1976	The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings	Bingo Long
1977	Scott Joplin	Scott Joplin	TV movie
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Lando Calrissian
1981	Nighthawks	Sergeant Matthew Fox
1983	Marvin & Tige	Richard Davis
1983	Return of the Jedi	Lando Calrissian
1984	Fear City	Al Wheeler
1984	Terror in the Aisles	Sergeant Matthew Fox
1987	Number One with a Bullet	Detective Hazeltine
1987	Deadly Illusion	Hamberger
1989	Batman	Harvey Dent
1990	Secret Agent OO Soul	Secret Agent Zero
1991	Driving Me Crazy	Max
1991	Trabbi Goes to Hollywood	Max
1992	Giant Steps	Slate Thompson
1993	Alien Intruder	Commander Skyler	Video
1996	Steel Sharks	Admiral Jim Perry
1996	The Prince	Jamie Hicks
1996	Mask of Death	Agent Jeffries
1997	Moving Target	Detective Don Racine
1998	The Contract	Senator Harmon
1998	Woo	Himself	Uncredited
1999	Fear Runs Silent	Sheriff Hammond	Video
2000	The Visit	Henry
2000	The Ladies Man	Lester
2001	Good Neighbor	Sergeant Paul Davidson
2002	The Last Place on Earth	Dr Davis
2002	Undercover Brother	General Warren Boutwell
2003	Today will be Yesterday Tomorrow	Godot
2004	The Maintenance Man	Melven	Video
2005	Constellation	Helms Boxer
2006	Hood of Horror	Pastor Charlie
2008	iMurders	Robert Delgado
2009	Fanboys	Judge Reinhold
2009	The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll	Ace Millstone
2010	Barry Munday	Lonnie Green
2012	This Bitter Earth	Joe Watkins
2014	Bloodlines	Judge Devi
2014	The Lego Movie	Lando Calrissian	Voice
2015	The Man in 3B	Cain

Short subjects

• Very Heavy Love (2001)
• Oedipus (2004) (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Look Up and Live		2 Episodes
1964	The Defenders	Private Austin George	3.22 "Survivor"
1964	"Another World	Assistant D.A.
1965	The Doctors and the Nurses	Patrolman Cash	3.28 "The Witnesses"
1966	Guiding Light	Dr. Jim Frazier
1967	Coronet Blue	Second Technician	1.10 "Six Months to Mars"
1968	Premiere	Dan Gardner/David Arnold	Appeared in "Crisis" and Dan Gardner and "Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law" as Dan Gardner
1969	NBC Experiment in Television	Big Sur
1969	The New People	Heath	1.14 "The Prisoner of Bomano"
1970	Lost Flight	Merle Barnaby
1970	Carter's Army	Pvt. Lewis	TV movie
1969 - 1970	F.B.I.	James Borden / Nate Phelps / Edward Tobin	Three Episodes
1970	The Most Deadly Game	Claude Miles	One episode
1971	Dan August	Steve MacAdams	"The Manufactured Man"
1971	Mod Squad	Dr. Joe Goodson	"The Medicine Men"
1971	Mission Impossible	Hank Benton	Guest starred in "The Miracle" episode
1971	Brian's Song	Gale Sayers	TV movie
1972	The Glass House	Lennox	TV movie
1978	The Jeffersons	Himself	Episode: "Me and Billy Dee"
1979	Christmas Lilies of the Field	Homer Smith	TV Movie
1980	The Hostage Tower	Clarence Whitlock	TV movie
1980	Children of Divorce	Walter Williams	TV movie
1983	Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever	Himself
1983	Shooting Stars	Douglas Hawk	TV movie
1983	Chiefs	Tyler Watts (aka Joshua Cole)	3 episodes TV miniseries
1984	Time Bomb	Wes Tanner	TV movie
1984	The Imposter	Matthew Raines	TV movie
1984-85	Dynasty (cast member from 1984-1985)	Brady Lloyd	5 episodes
1985	Double Dare (1985)	Billy Diamond	Canceled after 3 episodes
1986	Blood, Sweat and Tears		Unsold pilot
1986	The Right of the People	Mike Trainor	TV movie
1986	Oceans of Fire	Jim McKinley	TV movie
1986	Courage	Bobby Jay	TV movie
1987	Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm & Blues	Himself
1988	The Return of Desperado	Daniel Lancaster	TV movie
1990	Dangerous Passion	Lou	TV movie
1990	Wiseguy	Jesse Hains	Episode: "Changing Houses"
1990	In Living Color	Himself	Episode: "Laquita Meets Billy Dee"
1992	The Jacksons: An American Dream	Berry Gordy	TV movie
1993	Marked for Murder	Captain Jack Reilly	TV movie
1993	A Different World	Langston Paige	Episode: "College Kid"
1993	Martin	Himself	Episode: "The Break Up: Part 3"
1993	Percy & Thunder	Ralph Tate	TV movie
1993	Message from Nam	Felix	TV movie
1994	Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III	Francis Cardozo	3 episodes TV miniseries
1994	Lonesome Dove: The Series	Aaron Grayson	3 episodes
1995	Triplecross	Oscar	TV movie
1995	Falling for You	Lieutenant Frank	TV movie
1997	The Fourth King	Gasparre	TV movie
1998	Hard Time	Leo Barker	TV movie
1999	Promised Land	Lennie Trebant	"Darkness Visible"
2000	Code Name: Eternity	Dr. Jim Graham	"Never Go Home"
1999-2001	The Hughleys	Jerry Rose	Episodes: "Roots: Part 2" & "Forty Acres and a Fool"
2000-2001	18 Wheels of Justice	Burton Hardesty
2000-2001	Epoch: Evolution	Ferguson
2003	Street Time	Charles White	2 Episodes
2004	That 70s Show	Pastor Dan	Episode: "Baby Don't You Do It"
2004	Half & Half	Otis 'Omar Funk' Wright	Episode: "The Big Fetish What You Started Episode"
2005	Clubhouse	Billy Beaumont	"Old Timers Day"
2005	Weekends at the DL	God	#1.16
2006	Scrubs	Himself	Episode: "Her Story II"
2007-2008	General Hospital: Night Shift	Touissant DuBois
2007	Lost	Himself	Episode: "Expos"
2008	Private Practice	Henry	Episode: "Serving Two Masters"
2008	Robot Chicken	Himself / Fudge Turnover	2 episodes
2008	Bring Back... Star Wars	Himself	TV documentary
2009	General Hospital	Toussiant DuBois	5 episodes
2009	Titan Maximum	Admiral Bitchface	5 episodes
2010	Jimmy Kimmel Live: Game Night	Himself	Episode: "Samuel L. Jackson/Minnie Driver/Pitbull"
2010	The Boondocks	Himself	Episode: "The Story of Lando Freeman"
2010	Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III	Lando Calrissian	TV Movie
2009 - 2011	Diary of a Single Mom	Uncle Bo
2011	White Collar	Ford / Bradford Toman	Episode: "Countermeasures"
2011	The Cleveland Show	Lando Calrissian	Episode: "Back to Cool"
2012	The Life & Times of Tim	Himself	Episode: "A Tale of Two Rodneys/Keith to the Rescue"
2012	Mad	Lando Calrissian	Episode: "Potions 11/Moves Like Jabba"
2012-2014	NCIS	Leroy Jethro Moore
2012	Key & Peele	Himself	1 episode
2012	The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange	Old Carrot	Voice Only
2013	Modern Family	Himself	Episode: "New Year's Eve"
2013	Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles - The Phantom Clone	Lando Calrissian	TV Movie, Voice only
2013	Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles - Attack of the Jedi	Lando Calrissian	TV Movie, Voice only
2014	The Rebels	Coach Paysinger	1 Episode
2014	Dancing with the Stars	Himself	Season 18
2014	Glee	Andy Collins	Season 5, 1 episode
2015	Star Wars Rebels	Lando Calrissian	2 episodes Voice
2015	Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales	Lando Calrissian	2 episodes Voice

Recorded musical work

• Let's Misbehave LP (1961)

Video game work

• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (as Lando Calrissian)
• Star Wars Battlefront II (archive footage) (as Lando Calrissian)
• Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (possibly archive footage) (as Lando Calrissian)
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (as GDI Director Redmond Boyle)

Books

• PSI/Net (1999), ISBN 978-0-312-86766-9
• JUST/In Time (2001), ISBN 978-0-8125-7240-7

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.