Billy Dee Williams

Known for ActingBorn 1937-04-06 (age 89)New York City, New York, USA

William December "Billy Dee" Williams Jr. (born April 6, 1937) is an American actor, artist, and singer. He is best known as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, first in the early 1980s, and nearly forty years later in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), marking one of the longest intervals between onscreen portrayals of a character by the same actor in American film history. He made his film debut in 1959 in The Last Angry Man starring Paul Muni, in which he portrayed a juvenile delinquent. His first big break was in the acclaimed television movie, Brian's Song in which he played Gale Sayers. In 1972 he played Billie Holliday's husband Louis McKay in Motown Productions' Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Diana Ross starred in Lady Sings the Blues opposite Williams; Motown paired the two of them again three years later in Mahogany. His work has earned him numerous awards and honors including three NAACP Image Awards, and the NAACP Lifetime Achievement award. He was inducted into the Black Filmmaker's Hall of Fame in 1984, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.Read more

Movies & web series

STZ

Icons Unearthed: Batman

When Star Wars Ruled the World

Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi

It's Black Entertainment

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

The Boondocks

White Collar

Half & Half

The Empire Strikes Back

Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?

SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back

Scrubs

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal

The Skywalker Legacy

Lost

Modern Family

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

Afro Promo

The Visit

Percy & Thunder

Giant Steps

That '70s Show

I Am Not Your Negro

Double Dare

Star Wars Rebels

Key & Peele

Chiefs

Return of the Jedi

Robot Chicken

NCIS

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II

Private Practice

The Lego Movie

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III

The Return of Desperado

In Living Color

Quincy

The Prince

And Just Like That…

Martin

The Lego Batman Movie

General Hospital: Night Shift

Celebrity Ghost Stories

North and South

Children of Divorce

The Conversation