William Sylvester
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William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American TV 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 the Second World War 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 US. 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 TV credits were a 1959 BBC version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (playing Mark Antony), The Saint, The Baron, The High Chaparral, Harry O and The Six Million Dollar Man. His later films included You Only Live Twice (1967) and, back in the USA after his prominent role for Kubrick, Busting (1973), The Hindenburg (1975) and Heaven Can Wait (1978). He died in Sacramento, California in 1995, aged 72.
Known for
Credits
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
as Dr. Heywood Floyd
You Only Live Twice (1967)
as Pentagon Official (uncredited)
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
as Nuclear Reporter
The Stranger Came Home (1954)
as Philip Vickers
The Hindenburg (1975)
as Luftwaffe Colonel
Gorgo (1961)
as Sam Slade
Appointment in London (1953)
as Mac
Busting (1974)
as Mr. Weldman
First Family (1980)
as TV Commentator Howard
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973)
as Tom Henderson
House of Blackmail (1953)
as Jimmy
2001: The Making of a Myth (2001)
as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (archive footage) (uncredited)
They Were Not Divided (1950)
as American Soldier (uncredited)
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class (1995)
as Self (archive footage)
Give Us This Day (1949)
as Giovanni
The Lawyer (1970)
as Paul Harrison
Devils of Darkness (1965)
as Paul Baxter
Devil Doll (1964)
as Mark English
Ring of Spies (1964)
as Gordon Lonsdale
Red and Blue (1968)
as Trumpeter
The Hand of Night (1968)
as Paul Carver
Albert R.N. (1953)
as Texas
The Challengers (1970)
as Brad York
Blind Corner (1964)
as Paul Gregory
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1958)
Actor
Information Received (1961)
as Rick Hogan
Riding with Death (1976)
as Leonard Driscoll
High Tide at Noon (1957)
as Alec Douglas
Incident at Midnight (1963)
as Vince Warren
The Yellow Balloon (1953)
as Len Turner
Whirlpool (1959)
as Hermann
Offbeat (1961)
as Layton / Steve Ross
What Every Woman Wants (1954)
as Jim Barnes
The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo' (2013)
as Sam Slade (archive footage)
Portrait of Alison (1955)
as Dave Forrester
The Syndicate (1968)
as Burt Hickey
Dublin Nightmare (1958)
as John Kevin