William Sylvester

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William Sylvester
William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood Floyd
Born	(1922-01-31)January 31, 1922 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	January 25, 1995(1995-01-25) (aged 72) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1953–1978
Spouse(s)	Veronica Hurst

William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American television 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 World War II 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 United States.

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 television credits were a 1959 BBC version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (playing Mark Antony), The Saint, The Baron, The High Chaparral, Harry O, Danger Man and The Six Million Dollar Man.

His later films included You Only Live Twice (1967) and, back in the United States after his prominent role for Kubrick, Busting (1973), The Hindenburg (1975), Riding With Death (1976) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He died in Sacramento, California in 1995, age 72.

Selected filmography

Give Us This Day (1949)
Appointment in London (1952)
Offbeat (1961)
Gorgo (1961)
Information Received (1961)
Ring of Spies (1964)
Devil Doll (1964)
The Hand of Night (1968)
2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
Riding with Death (1976)

External links

William Sylvester at the Internet Movie Database

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 44511772 LCCN: no90019174 ISNI: 0000 0001 1025 9161 GND: 143086804 BNF: cb14231174r

Persondata
Name	Sylvester, William
Alternative names
Short description	American film actor
Date of birth	1922-01-31
Place of birth	Oakland, California, United States
Date of death	1995-01-25
Place of death	Sacramento, California, United States

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