William Sylvester
| William Sylvester | |
|---|---|
 William Sylvester as Dr. Heywood Floyd | |
| Born |
January 31, 1922 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Died |
January 25, 1995 (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.[1] His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968).[2] Sylvester declined to reprise his role in the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), in which he was replaced by Roy Scheider. Scheider is generally regarded as having been mis-cast for the part, with the vast difference in mannerisms and appearance between Sylvester and Scheider such that the roles have periodically been mistaken for different characters .
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5]
Selected filmography
- Give Us This Day (1949)
- Appointment in London (1952)
- The Unholy Four (1954)
- Offbeat (1961)
- Gorgo (1961)
- Information Received (1961)
- Incident at Midnight (1963)
- Ring of Spies (1964)
- Devil Doll (1964)
- You Only Live Twice (1967)
- The Hand of Night (1968)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- Busting (1974)
- The Hindenburg (1975)
- Riding with Death (1976)
- Heaven Can Wait (1978)
- First Family (1980)
References
External links
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