Billy Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. As a young boy, he made his stage debut working with Lotte Lenya in an Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill production where Williams ended up feeding Lenya her lines. He studied painting, first at the High School of Music and Art, with fellow student Diahann Carroll, and then at the National Academy of Fine Art, before setting out to pursue acting with Herbert Berghoff, Stella Adler, and Sidney Poitier.
His first film role was in The Last Angry Man, the great Paul Muni’s final film. It was Muni who gave Billy the advice that sent him soaring as an actor, “You can play any character you want to play no matter who you are, no matter the way you look or the color of your skin.” And Williams writes, “I wanted to be anyone I wanted to be.”
He writes of landing the role of a lifetime: co-starring alongside James Caan in Brian’s Song, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. Williams says it was “the kind of interracial love story America needed.”
And when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas’s The Empire Strikes Back (“What I presented on the screen people didn’t expect to see”). It was a role he reprised in the final film of the original trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, and in the recent sequel The Rise of Skywalker.
A legendary actor, in his own words, on all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure.
Cover Credits:
Cover photograph: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC
Cover design by Jenny Carrow
COURTESY OF LUCASFILM LTD. LLC
STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back (c) & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC.
Billy Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. As a young boy, he made his stage debut working with Lotte Lenya in an Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill production where Williams ended up feeding Lenya her lines. He studied painting, first at the High School of Music and Art, with fellow student Diahann Carroll, and then at the National Academy of Fine Art, before setting out to pursue acting with Herbert Berghoff, Stella Adler, and Sidney Poitier.
His first film role was in The Last Angry Man, the great Paul Muni’s final film. It was Muni who gave Billy the advice that sent him soaring as an actor, “You can play any character you want to play no matter who you are, no matter the way you look or the color of your skin.” And Williams writes, “I wanted to be anyone I wanted to be.”
He writes of landing the role of a lifetime: co-starring alongside James Caan in Brian’s Song, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. Williams says it was “the kind of interracial love story America needed.”
And when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas’s The Empire Strikes Back (“What I presented on the screen people didn’t expect to see”). It was a role he reprised in the final film of the original trilogy, The Return of the Jedi, and in the recent sequel The Rise of Skywalker.
A legendary actor, in his own words, on all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure.
Cover Credits:
Cover photograph: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC
Cover design by Jenny Carrow
COURTESY OF LUCASFILM LTD. LLC
STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back (c) & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC.
Critiques-
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December 11, 2023
Eighty-six-year-old Star Wars actor Williams provides a candid look back at his life and career in this genial debut memoir. Williams grew up in New York City in the 1940s and landed his first role, at seven years old, via his mother, who worked as a secretary for a Broadway producer. Bigger stage roles soon followed, and he eventually succeeded James Earl Jones as the lead in the original Broadway production of August Wilson’s Fences in 1988. Williams’s breakout film role was opposite Diana Ross in 1972’s Lady Sings the Blues, in which his charm and good looks led the press to dub him “the Black Clark Gable.” Following that success, he turned down several roles in Blacksploitation films, fearing they’d “put in a box,” and his career stalled until George Lucas’s desire to racially diversify the Star Wars series led to Williams being cast as Lando Calrissian in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. Williams ruminates on his professional triumphs, disappointments (including being passed over for the role of Harvey Dent in Tim Burton’s Batman), and friendships (he counted Laurence Olivier and James Baldwin among his peers), as well as his three failed marriages and his love of painting. Even as he catalogs losses and missteps, Williams writes with the panache and suavity that characterize his screen presence. The result is a heartfelt Hollywood self-portrait. Agent: Dan Strone, Trident Media Group. -
Every one of performer Billy Dee Williams's well-lived 86 years can be heard in this candid memoir. Williams's somewhat tired vocal demeanor sharply contrasts with his cool and crisp delivery of the fascinating events of his life, beginning with his childhood appearance in a Broadway show. He has a tinge of a New York City accent. And--make no mistake--his frequent odd pauses make this a somewhat difficult listening experience. The moving events of his life are all here: a career-defining role in the movie BRIAN'S SONG; stories of working with Diana Ross and the Motown empire; and anecdotes about plays, occasional musicals, nightclub shows, and his role as an accomplished painter. His suave, ultra-cool style is apparent both in the text and in his performances at any age--including in this audiobook. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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May 31, 2024
Actor Williams, now in his late eighties, charms in his telling of a life well lived, narrating the audiobook himself. Born in 1937 Harlem, along with twin sister Loretta "Lady" Williams, he grew up surrounded by loving, hardworking parents and extended family. He was seven when he first appeared on Broadway. He was also gifted in the art of painting, earning a scholarship to attend the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design to train as a painter until he was pulled away by acting. Williams's stardom rose with his Emmy-nominated portrayal of NFL running back Gale Sayers in 1971's Brian's Song and his role alongside Diana Ross in the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic Lady Sings the Blues. Beginning in 1980, an extensive fan base came to adore Williams as swashbuckling Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars universe. Williams's memoir aptly captures mid-20th-century Harlem arts and culture as well as the evolution and impact of Black entertainers. He talks candidly about his three marriages and overflows with devotion to his two children. Although his cadence has slowed, this smooth and sultry narration will keep listeners rapt, especially as he slips into character to deliver lines from his most memorable films. VERDICT Recommended, as charismatic Williams will delight his galaxy of fans.--Kym Goering
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
