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American actor, voice actor and artist, Billy Dee Williams has immense talent, there is no denying it. After all, his career has spanned for nearly 70 long years. It's a remarkable feat, honestly. For his fans, he is more than Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise. It was in 1945 that he made his Broadway theatre debut at age seven in The Firebrand of Florence. A few years later, he made his film debut in The Last Angry Man (1959). However, what really got him the attention was his performance in the television movie, Brian's Song (1971), and ever since then, there has been no looking back for him.
In the last six decades, he has appeared in popular movies and TV shows. As he turns 83-year-old today, we take a look at some of the interesting facts about the birthday boy's magnificent life.
'Dee' is December
Williams was born as William December Williams Jr in New York City. However, once he set foot in the world of showbiz, he changed December to Dee. We don't know why, but it definitely has a cool ring to it, no?
Billy went to school to be a painter
Billy was not only inclined to sports while in school, but he was also very interested in painting. He went to LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He later won a scholarship to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design to study that had a focus on “classical principles of painting.” Even after he became an actor, he continued painting. His work is currently displayed at the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, the Schomburg Museum in Harlem, many other galleries around the world. See, we told you he is quite talented. Billy Dee Williams is Back in Star Wars.
Got his big break due to an injury
So, Gossett, Jr. was set to play star Chicago Bears halfback Gale Sayers in the TV film Brian’s Song. However, he injured himself during rehearsals which were a few days before the filming was scheduled to begin. This is when Williams came to the rescue and stepped into the role. It turned out to be a perfect break for him as the performance got him an Emmy nomination.
First choice for Lando Calrissian
The highlight of Billy's long career has to be Lando Calrissian in George Lucas’s original Star Wars sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Reportedly, Williams was one of Lucas’s earliest choices to fill the role.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 06, 2020 01:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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