Billy Dee Williams

William December Williams, better known as Billy Dee Williams (born April 6, 1937), is an actor.

His first big break was in the acclaimed 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.

His most famous role is Lando Calrissian in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (and its radio adaptation), Return of the Jedi and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, the audio dramatization of Dark Empire, through vocal and physicall stock footage: Star Wars Battlefront, its spin-off: Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron and Lego Star Wars II: The Original trilogy. He originally auditioned for the role of Han Solo, however, during the casting of Star Wars.

Williams has appeared in numerous other films, most recently in Constellation (2005). His last major film role was in 1989's Batman as district attorney Harvey Dent. Williams originally took the role with the agreement that it would land him in a sequel playing the villain Two Face, but the studio did not use him when the time came for the third installment, Batman Forever. In between, Williams has appeared in supporting roles in a number of films.

Williams is also well-known for his appearance in advertisements for Colt 45, a low-cost brand of malt liquor. Currently, Williams is part of the large star-studded cast assembled for the latest installment in EA Games's acclaimed Command & Conquer computer game series, and is quoted on the official site as saying "This is the most fun I've had since Star Wars". He's also an accomplished painter and owns his own art gallery, where much of his artwork has sold for thousands of dollars. In 1961, he recorded a jazz LP -- currently out of print -- for Prestige Records entitled Let's Misbehave, featuring Williams singing swing standards.

Williams guest starred on That '70s Show as a pastor. When counseling Eric and Donna, Eric continually made Star Wars references to which the pastor replied, "Star Wars is one of the greatest films ever made." He also guest starred on Scrubs as the godfather of J.D.'s love interest in the episode. Turk called him Lando all throughout the episode, much to the annoyance of Williams.

Williams' most recent television appearance is on the nighttime soap opera, General Hospital: Nightshift as a hospital janitor. The show airs once a week on the Soap Network. Ironically, his Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill appeared on General Hospital in 1973.

Williams recently reprised the role of Lando on an episode of Robot Chicken and had a cameo role alongside Carrie Fisher in the 2009 film "Fanboys."

Behind the Scenes

 * He used to tell his then younger son, Corey, that "The greatest teacher is the teacher who says, 'Don't follow me, follow yourself. Because within you there is that kingdom, that life, that force.'"

Interviews

 * Billy Dee Williams, An Eclectic Life on the Wayback Machine
 * Billy Dee Williams: The Man in the Cape on the Wayback Machine

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