William Sylvester
ActingAlso Known As
William R. Sylvester
Biography
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.
Movies
(36 total)
2001: A Space Odyssey
as Dr. Heywood Floyd
Heaven Can Wait
as Nuclear Reporter
The Hindenburg
as Luftwaffe Colonel
Gorgo
as Sam Slade
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
as Tom Henderson
Busting
as Mr. Weldman
Devil Doll
as Mark English
Devils of Darkness
as Paul Baxter
2001: The Making of a Myth
as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (archive footage) (uncredited)
Riding with Death
as Leonard Driscoll
Portrait of Alison
as Dave Forrester
Give Us This Day
as Giovanni
The Stranger Came Home
as Philip Vickers
Ring of Spies
as Gordon Lonsdale
Offbeat
as Layton / Steve Ross
High Tide at Noon
as Alec Douglas
Albert R.N.
as Texas
House of Blackmail
as Jimmy
The Yellow Balloon
as Len Turner
TV Shows
(24 total)
The Six Million Dollar Man
as Frederick Collins
The Six Million Dollar Man
as Admiral Prescott
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
as Lt. General Preston Myers
The Saint
as Foots Fortunati
The Saint
as Ralph Damien
Quincy, M.E.
as Joe Crawford
The High Chaparral
as Jack Simmons
The High Chaparral
as Lafe Croswell
The F.B.I.
as Tom Barber
Marcus Welby, M.D.
as Paul Berwick
Banacek
as Dr. Stahl
The Magician
as Peter Hayden
Gemini Man
as Leonard Driscoll
Switch
as Ellis
