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Billy Dee Williams (born William December Williams Jr. on April 6 1937 in New York City) is an American actor who for a period in the 1970s rivaled Sidney Poitier as the most popular African-American actor in American film. Williams graduated from Manhattan's School of Performing Arts.

Biography

His first big break was in the acclaimed television movie, Brian's Song in which he played Gale Sayers. His next hit came in 1973 when he played Louis McKay in Lady Sings the Blues.

Arguably, his most famous role is Lando Calrissian, which he played in the final two movies of the epic six-film science fiction series, Star Wars. His character made appearances in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. 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.

Williams appeared in numerous other films, most recently lending his voice to Oedipus (2004). His last major film role was in 1989's Batman as district attorney Harvey Dent. Williams originally took the role knowing that it would land him in a sequel playing the supervillain Two-Face, but the studio did not use him when the time came for the third installment, Batman Forever. Instead, the part of Harvey Dent/Two-Face went to Tommy Lee Jones.

William'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 low-cost brand of malt liquor, for which he received much criticism.

He also plays a live action character, GDI Director Redmond Boyle, in the upcoming Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars video game due out in 2007.

Trivia

• He originally auditioned for the role of Han Solo during the casting of A New Hope before being cast as Lando Calrissian in the two following sequels. Had Harrison Ford not chosen to return to Star Wars after The Empire Strikes Back, Lando would have served as a Han Solo surrogate, as well as another ally to the series.

• On the television sitcom The Jeffersons, the character of Florence the maid (Marla Gibbs) was a devout fan of Williams', referencing him several times during the course of the series. This culminated in an episode where the actor appeared as himself, only to have Florence not believe it was truly him—until he kissed her.

• On the television sitcom That '70s Show, Williams had a surreal guest appearance as a pastor giving pre-marital advice to Eric and Donna. When Donna complained that Eric was obsessed with the recently-released Star Wars film, Williams' (who had played the role of Lando Calrissian in the film's later sequels) character was sympathetic to Eric, noting that the film was the "finest film of our time."

• On the television sitcom Scrubs, Williams had a brief guest appearance as himself. He played the role of the godfather of JD's girlfriend, Julie. JD's friend and resident surgeon, Turk, idolizes Williams, and constantly calls him Lando. Williams corrects him by saying, "You can call me Billy Dee."

• At the April 2005 Star Wars Celebration III in Indianapolis, Williams' appearance was subject to only one interview, by student journalist Peter Benyola of IUPUI's Sagamore.

• Has a twin sister.

• Has three children.

• Is an avid painter.

• Was formerly represented by Hollywood powerhouse agent Preeth Kumar Sangavaram, who also represents the likes of Sinbad and Bill Duke.

• Has appeared in several commercials for Psychic Readers Network.

Filmography

• The Last Angry Man (1959)
• Black Brigade (1970)
• The Out-of-Towners (1970)
• Brian's Song (1971)
• The Final Comedown (1972)
• Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
• Hit! (1973)
• The Take (1974)
• Mahogany (1975)
• The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)
• Scott Joplin (1977) ... Scott Joplin
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ... Lando Calrissian
• Nighthawks (1981)
• Chiefs (1983) (mini) TV Series
• Marvin and Tige (1983)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) ... Lando Calrissian
• Fear City (1984)
• Number One with a Bullet (1987)
• Deadly Illusion (1987)
• Batman (1989) ... Harvey Dent
• Secret Agent OO Soul (1990)
• Driving Me Crazy (1991)
• Giant Steps (1992)
• Alien Intruder (1993)
• Steel Sharks (1996)
• The Prince (1996)
• Moving Target (1996)
• Mask of Death (1996)
• The Contract (1998)
• Woo (1998) (Cameo)
• The Visit (2000)
• The Ladies Man (2000)
• "18 Wheels of Justice" (2000) (TV series)
• Very Heavy Love (2001)
• Good Neighbor (2001)
• The Last Place on Earth (2002)
• Undercover Brother (2002)
• Oedipus (2004) (short subject) (voice)
• Constellation (2005)
• Hood of Horror (2006)

Books

• PSI/Net (1999), ISBN 0-312-86766-2
• JUST/In Time (2001), ISBN 0-8125-7240-8
• Twilight: A Novel (2002), ISBN 0-312-87909-1

External link

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