William Sylvester

Known for ActingBorn 1922-01-31Died 1995-01-25Oakland, California, USA

William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American TV and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968). Born in Oakland, California and married at one time to the British actress Veronica Hurst, he moved to England after the Second World War and became a staple of British B films at a time when American and Canadian actors were much in demand in order to give indigenous films some appeal in the US. As a result, he gained top billing in one of his very first films, House of Blackmail (1953), directed by the veteran filmmaker Maurice Elvey, for whom he also made What Every Woman Wants the following year. He also starred in such minor films as The Stranger Came Home (1954, for Hammer), Dublin Nightmare (1958), Offbeat (1960), Information Received (1961), Incident at Midnight, Ring of Spies and Blind Corner (all 1963). There were also lead roles in four British horror films: Gorgo (1960), Devil Doll (1963), Devils of Darkness (1964) and The Hand of Night (1966). Among his many TV credits were a 1959 BBC version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (playing Mark Antony), The Saint, The Baron, The High Chaparral, Harry O and The Six Million Dollar Man. His later films included You Only Live Twice (1967) and, back in the USA after his prominent role for Kubrick, Busting (1973), The Hindenburg (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He died in Sacramento, California in 1995, aged 72.Read more

Movies & web series

Banacek

2001: A Space Odyssey

Roger Moore: A Matter of Class

Quincy, M.E.

Red and Blue

The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'

The Saint

The Six Million Dollar Man

The Troubleshooters

Danger Man

Green Acres

McCloud

The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries

Albert R.N.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Big Shamus, Little Shamus

The Challengers

San Francisco International Airport

Gemini Man

Ring of Spies

Incident at Midnight

2001: The Making of a Myth

Information Received

The Magician

Switch

The High Chaparral

Heaven Can Wait

Cannon

Marcus Welby, M.D.

You Only Live Twice

Dublin Nightmare

Appointment in London

The Hindenburg

What Every Woman Wants

Busting

They Were Not Divided

House of Blackmail

Whirlpool

Offbeat

Portrait of Alison

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

What Really Happened to the Class of '65?

High Tide at Noon

The Lawyer

Armchair Theatre

The Yellow Balloon

The F.B.I.

The Syndicate