Billy Dee Williams

Actor, Film actor

1937 –

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Who is Billy Dee Williams?

William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer known for playing the character Lando Calrissian in the movies Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Williams grew up in Harlem with a family that actively encouraged his artistic abilities and fostered an enthusiasm for all forms of cultural expression. He began drawing at an early age and won scholarships to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design in New York. There he studied classical principles of painting. Ironically, it was the need to earn money to buy paints and canvas that brought Williams his extensive credits in both television and film. In 1988, he renewed his enthusiasm for painting during an acting appearance in New York. Since 1991, he has had numerous solo art exhibitions across America, and has donated paintings to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC and The Schomburg Museum in New York. Williams calls his paintings abstract reality to express the underlying principles behind them.

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Born
Apr 6, 1937
New York City
Also known as
  • William December Williams, Jr.
  • William December Williams
  • William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr.
  • Billy Dee
Parents
Siblings
Spouses
Children
Ethnicity
  • African American
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School
  • National Academy of Fine Arts and Design
  • High School of Performing Arts
Lived in
  • New York City

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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