“Effortlessly charming. . . [Williams] writes with clarity and intimacy, revealing the person behind the persona.” —Maya S. Cade, The New York Times Book Review
“The story of a legend, written by the legend himself! Impressive, inspiring, entertaining and endearing.” —J. J. Abrams
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.
“Effortlessly charming. . . [Williams] writes with clarity and intimacy, revealing the person behind the persona.” —Maya S. Cade, The New York Times Book Review
“The story of a legend, written by the legend himself! Impressive, inspiring, entertaining and endearing.” —J. J. Abrams
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.
Critiques-
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September 1, 2023
In What Have We Here?, famed actor Williams celebrates a career spanning eight triumphant decades. Prepub Alert.
Copyright 2023 Library Journal
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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December 1, 2023
The debonair actor crafts a memoir that rivals his greatest characters. The narrative often reads like fiction, especially the chronicle of his early years, when Williams (b. 1937) describes growing up in Harlem with his mother, singer and actor Loretta Bodkin, who counted Lena Horne among her friends and was the sister of Bill Bodkin, a singer who made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1948. The author always retains his cool, laid-back style, whether he's discussing how he landed breakthrough roles as Gale Sayers in Brian's Song and Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise, or his friendships with great actors such as Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando or author James Baldwin. "I sensed he was a revolutionary at heart, someone who was driven to give voice to the voiceless and power to those without it," Williams writes about Brando. "Like Jimmy [Baldwin], a fire burned inside him." Despite his own numerous issues with racism and discrimination, Williams has always maintained a cool head and used his experiences as a Black man to inform his art in a way that is relatable to all people. When he was working on Lady Sings the Blues, Williams wanted to create "something that nobody had ever seen before on a 30-foot-tall and 90-foot-wide movie screen: a romantic leading man with brown skin who women of all colors--Black, White and everything else--were going to talk about as they left the theater and think about as they got ready for bed that night." That's a goal he's accomplished while remaining the same suave personality he's cultivated in real life. Though he discusses his three marriages and the occasional moments he lost his temper, the author focuses on blessings and gratitude. Normally, the successes of an attractive actor wouldn't make for great reading, but Williams makes it all sound fascinating.COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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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. -
January 1, 2024
Young moviegoers today are likely to think of actor Williams as the character Lando Calrissian in three Star Wars movies, but older folks will remember him as a suave leading man in such dramas as Mahogany and Lady Sings the Blues. At 86, he looks back on his life and storied career. Growing up in Harlem, he had an early love of the arts. But despite a role on Broadway when he was seven, Williams didn't plan to be an actor. He wanted to be a painter and was admitted to the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he earned extra money by booking acting roles. He toiled on Broadway and rubbed elbows with the likes of James Earl Jones, Laurence Olivier, and Sidney Poitier. In 1971, he appeared as Gale Sayers in the tearjerker TV movie Brian's Song, which was seen by 55 million people and launched his stardom. Williams writes candidly about his marriages, his love affairs, interactions with his costars, and the frustrations of being a Black actor in the 1970s. VERDICT A juicy memoir from a legendary actor. Celebrity watchers will enjoy.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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January 1, 2024
Billy Dee Williams, an iconic actor, has been a significant part of the entertainment industry for nearly eight decades. He played an important role in promoting diversity in popular media, particularly in the film Brian's Song, which introduced the concept of interracial bromance on screen and was viewed by a staggering 50 million people. With his charisma and good looks leading to his being called the Black Clark Gable, his impressive screen performances in Lady Sings the Blues and Mahogany resonated with audiences worldwide and cemented his status as a top-tier actor. In the Star Wars franchise, Williams is Lando Calrissian, an essential role that significantly impacted the films and helped Williams gain a new generation of fans. In his memoir, he recounts growing up in Harlem, his friendships with such luminaries as Laurence Olivier, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, and Diana Ross, and his three marriages. As he inspires readers to seize every moment, follow their dreams, and never let anything hold them back, his life story serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Williams will be as much of a draw on the page as he is on the screen.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
