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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0843213
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1754108
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Filmography (Movies)
The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'
Character:Sam Slade (archive footage)
Release Date:19/03/2013
2001: The Making of a Myth
Character:Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (archive footage) (uncredited)
Release Date:13/01/2001
Roger Moore: A Matter of Class
Character:Self (archive footage)
Release Date:16/11/1995
First Family
Character:TV Commentator Howard
Release Date:25/12/1980
Heaven Can Wait
Character:Nuclear Reporter
Release Date:28/06/1978
Riding with Death
Character:Leonard Driscoll
Release Date:01/01/1976
The Hindenburg
Character:Luftwaffe Colonel
Release Date:25/12/1975
Busting
Character:Mr. Weldman
Release Date:27/02/1974
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Character:Tom Henderson
Release Date:10/10/1973
The Lawyer
Character:Paul Harrison
Release Date:10/03/1970
The Challengers
Character:Brad York
Release Date:20/02/1970
The Syndicate
Character:Burt Hickey
Release Date:16/09/1968
The Hand of Night
Character:Paul Carver
Release Date:11/08/1968
Red and Blue
Character:Trumpeter
Release Date:08/08/1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
Character:Dr. Heywood Floyd
Release Date:02/04/1968
Devils of Darkness
Character:Paul Baxter
Release Date:01/05/1965
Devil Doll
Character:Mark English
Release Date:01/09/1964
Ring of Spies
Character:Gordon Lonsdale
Release Date:23/03/1964
Blind Corner
Character:Paul Gregory
Release Date:01/01/1964
Incident at Midnight
Character:Vince Warren
Release Date:01/01/1963
Information Received
Character:Rick Hogan
Release Date:01/08/1961
Gorgo
Character:Sam Slade
Release Date:02/02/1961
Offbeat
Character:Layton / Steve Ross
Release Date:01/01/1961
Whirlpool
Character:Hermann
Release Date:01/03/1959
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Character:
Release Date:10/10/1958
Dublin Nightmare
Character:John Kevin
Release Date:01/10/1958
High Tide at Noon
Character:Alec Douglas
Release Date:30/04/1957
Portrait of Alison
Character:Dave Forrester
Release Date:29/11/1955
The Stranger Came Home
Character:Philip Vickers
Release Date:24/09/1954
What Every Woman Wants
Character:Jim Barnes
Release Date:10/06/1954
Albert R.N.
Character:Texas
Release Date:23/11/1953
House of Blackmail
Character:Jimmy
Release Date:13/07/1953
Appointment in London
Character:Mac
Release Date:17/02/1953
The Yellow Balloon
Character:Len Turner
Release Date:10/02/1953
They Were Not Divided
Character:American Soldier (uncredited)
Release Date:24/04/1950
Give Us This Day
Character:Giovanni
Release Date:14/10/1949
Television Appearances
Big Shamus, Little Shamus
Character:
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Character:Lt. General Preston Myers
What Really Happened to the Class of '65?
Character:
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
Character:
Quincy, M.E.
Character:Joe Crawford
Gemini Man
Character:Leonard Driscoll
Switch
Character:Ellis
Harry O
Character:
The Six Million Dollar Man
Character:Frederick Collins
The Six Million Dollar Man
Character:Admiral Prescott
The Magician
Character:Peter Hayden
Banacek
Character:Dr. Stahl
Cannon
Character:
San Francisco International Airport
Character:Colonel Wilkins
McCloud
Character:
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Character:Paul Berwick
The High Chaparral
Character:Jack Simmons
The High Chaparral
Character:Lafe Croswell
The F.B.I.
Character:Tom Barber
Green Acres
Character:
The Troubleshooters
Character:Al Stevens
The Saint
Character:Foots Fortunati
The Saint
Character:Ralph Damien
Drama 61-67
Character:Mark Lander
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