60 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS OF SHOW
Since his 1959 film debut in THE LAST ANGRY MAN, in which he
played a headstrong kid from the ghetto, legendary actor
Billy Dee Williams has racked up an impressive list of film, stage and television
credits. Billy Dee's
mustachioed good looks makes it clear why he was frequently referred to as the "black Clark
Gable." Despite the superficial comparison to the 1930s screen icon, Williams was the quintessential black romantic lead , whose onscreen charm is rooted in his vulnerability and the
careful, almost tentative manner in which his characters approach
romance, during a period in Hollywood when roles for black actors were less plentiful than in the years to follow.
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Billy Dee, the "Black Clark Gable" |
A December Both Cool and HOT!!
Born
William December Williams in Harlem on April 6, 1937, Billy Dee Williams began his long and prolific career as a child, appearing on stage
in The Firebrand of Florence with German actress Lotte Lenya in 1947.
He studied acting at the High School of Music and Art in New York and
later at The National Academy of Fine Arts. The actor also studied
briefly at the Harlem Actor's Workshop under the expert tutelage of none
other than the great Sidney Poitier.
The Sexy, Sensitive Seventies
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Darth Vader, Lando Calrissian and a Stormtrooper in Ep. V |
Status Sealed and Delivered
Williams' role as Lando Calrissian in Hollywood
blockbusters STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and EPISODE VI - RETURN OF THE JEDI
(1984) brought the actor the mainstream acclaim that sealed his status as a bona fide screen hero. A romantic leading man par excellence, Billy Dee has also been a
credible advertising pitchman, having appeared for five years beginning in 1986 as the celebrity face of Colt 45 Malt Liquor. In 2016, it was reported that the 78-year-old Williams would revive his role as spokesman for the venerable potable, once the most popular brand of malt liquor.
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