Billy Dee Williams (Actor)

"I never TRIED to be the black Clark Gable. It was never a publicity stunt. It was just one of those things." --Williams quoted in Playbill, 1988.

"When I came on the scene, it was, 'What's this - a black matinee idol?' I presented something that they never expected or anticipated. Denzel and those guys are it now, of course. Some of those movies he's done, I tried to do those type of movies back in the '70s. I couldn't get the kind of backing that was neccesary. And I was hot property. My whole life has been, I have to wait unti everybody catches up. It pisses me off." --Williams to Entertainment Weekly, June 14, 2002

In 1996 Williams was charged with misdemeanor spousal abuse for allegedly hitting his live-in girlfriend in February; ordered to undergo 52 sessions of counseling; charges ultimately dropped in April 1997

In 1996, Williams created four paintings for Nissan that were displayed at the Olympics. The following year, he created paintings for a sports center owned by the Walt Disney Company.

Q. What's the greatest stumbling block in your career?

A. Racism. Plain prejudice from both sides, black and white. It's become such a hassle, man. Because everybody is looking at that rather than at much more important things. I see changes happening now. The success of all these black actors right now is so important.

--From Entertainment Weekly, March 21, 1997.

Some sources give 1938 as the year of Mr. Williams' birth

Williams has exhibited a series of impressionistic portraits of the Tuskegee Airmen. His artwork has also been featured in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.