American actor, a handsome box office star and a twin, whose first acting job was on-stage at the age of seven. After school, he played an extra on CBS TV, soon becoming hooked on show business. He had a number of small roles on Broadway, including "Mahogany," with one of his most famous stage roles that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the play "I Have A Dream."
Billy and his twin sister, Loretta, grew up in New York's West side. Their dad held three jobs, cook, janitor and maintenance man and their mom, an immigrant from the West Indies was an opera singer manqué who worked as an elevator operator. Their maternal grandmom played an important role in their upbringing, stressing education and culture. Shy, withdrawn and overweight, Billy Dee planned to become a fashion illustrator. After studying Fine Arts, he segued into acting.
After legitimate theater experience, he moved on to TV in the series, "Brian's Song." His debut movie, "The Last Angry Man," was full of flaws and released in 1959. However, his acting skills developed as time went on. In 1999, Williams wandered into the world of writing with his debut novel, "PSI/NET," a science fantasy written with the assistance of mystery author Rob MacGregor.
With a deep interest in art, he paints for a hobby.
His third marriage was to a Japanese woman, Teruko, they had two kids together and two more from prior marriages. Teruko filed for divorce in 1993 after 20 years of marriage.
Link to Wikipedia biography
