William Sylvester

Born: 1922-01-31

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.


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as Dr. Heywood Floyd
Released: 1968-04-02

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its...

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Heaven Can Wait

as Nuclear Reporter
Released: 1978-06-28

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost...

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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

as Tom Henderson
Released: 1973-10-10

A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are...

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Gorgo

as Sam Slade
Released: 1961-02-02

Greedy sailors capture a giant lizard off the coast of Ireland and sell it to a London circus....

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The Hindenburg

as Luftwaffe Colonel
Released: 1975-12-25

Colonel Franz Ritter, a former hero pilot now working for military intelligence, is assigned to...

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Devil Doll

as Mark English
Released: 1964-09-01

An evil hyponotist/ventriloquist plots to gain an heiress' millions.

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Busting

as Mr. Weldman
Released: 1974-02-27

Defying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and...

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Devils of Darkness

as Paul Baxter
Released: 1965-05-01

A secret vampire cult, which has its headquarters beneath the town cemetery, searches for...

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The Stranger Came Home

as Philip Vickers
Released: 1954-09-24

Someone knocked out a man and left him for dead during a fishing trip in Portugal. That someone...

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2001: The Making of a Myth

as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 2001-01-13

The making of Stanley Kubrick's classic space epic, presented by James Cameron, including unseen...

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Appointment in London

as Mac
Released: 1953-02-17

Wing-commander Tim Mason leads a squadron of Lancaster bombers on almost nightly raids from...

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Portrait of Alison

as Dave Forrester
Released: 1955-11-29

An actress and an artist are linked by his brother to deadly smugglers sought by Scotland Yard.

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Albert R.N.

as Texas
Released: 1953-11-23

The British inmates of a POW camp think they have an informer among them after several escape...

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First Family

as TV Commentator Howard
Released: 1980-12-25

When the First Daughter is kidnapped by an African tribe, the President must do what he can to...

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What Every Woman Wants

as Jim Barnes
Released: 1954-06-10

Young couple Mark and Jane are forced to thrash out marital problems in a borrowed room in...

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The Lawyer

as Paul Harrison
Released: 1970-03-10

Tony Petrocelli, a bright young lawyer practicing in the rich cattle town of Baker, becomes...

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Ring of Spies

as Gordon Lonsdale
Released: 1964-03-23

The film is based on the actual events of the Portland Spy Ring trial in the U.K. A disgruntled...

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House of Blackmail

as Jimmy
Released: 1953-07-13

A blackmailer is murdered, and the police find that there is a long list of suspects who wanted...

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They Were Not Divided

as American Soldier (uncredited)
Released: 1950-04-24

The film begins in a WW II training depot of a British Guards armoured regiment where recruits...

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Give Us This Day

as Giovanni
Released: 1949-10-14

Exiled from Hollywood due to the blacklist, director Edward Dmytryk briefly operated in England...

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Information Received

as Rick Hogan
Released: 1961-08-01

Drama of an underworld double-cross as a man and woman set a death trap from which only one...

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Roger Moore: A Matter Of Class

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1995-11-16

The story of actor Roger Moore, including clips from his movies, television shows and interviews...

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Riding with Death

as Leonard Driscoll
Released: 1976-01-01

Agent Sam Casey is in a satellite explosion and the radiation turns him invisible. He gets a...

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The Yellow Balloon

as Len Turner
Released: 1953-02-10

A young boy is blackmailed by a crook who saw him unwittingly cause his friend's death.

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Incident at Midnight

as Vince Warren
Released: 1963-01-01

In a late night chemist a shot bank robber has been taken for treatment, and to rendezvous with...

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Red and Blue

as Trumpeter
Released: 1968-08-08

Musical short, filmed for the abandoned portmanteau film Red, White and Zero (1967).

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Whirlpool

as Hermann
Released: 1959-03-01

The ex-girlfriend of a German fugitive hides with the captain and crew of a ship on the Rhine.

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Dublin Nightmare

as John Kevin
Released: 1958-10-01

Loot goes missing in robbery double-cross. Gang members, an ex-lover and a handsome stranger are...

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The Hand of Night

as Paul Carver
Released: 1968-08-11

A tourist travelling through Morocco discovers an ancient curse and must choose between light...

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Blind Corner

as Paul Gregory
Released: 1964-01-01

Paul Gregory (William Sylvester) is an accomplished composer despite his blindness, and his...

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The Challengers

as Brad York
Released: 1970-02-20

Racers compete in the Grand Prix.

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The Syndicate

as Burt Hickey
Released: 1968-09-16

Two vehicles lurch across the east African bush, carrying an ill-assorted party of prospectors...

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High Tide at Noon

as Alec Douglas
Released: 1957-04-30

After returning home to a rugged island near Nova Scotia, Joanna, daughter of the local bigwig,...

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The 9th Wonder of the World: The Making of 'Gorgo'

as Sam Slade (archive footage)
Released: 2013-03-19

Retrospective documentary on the making of Gorgo (1961).

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Offbeat

as Layton / Steve Ross
Released: 1961-01-01

When Scotland Yard finds themselves up against a brick wall in tracking down a vicious gang of...

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Quincy, M.E.

as Joe Crawford
First aired: 1976-10-03

Los Angeles County medical examiner Quincy routinely engages in police investigations.

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The Saint

as Foots Fortunati
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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The Saint

as Ralph Damien
First aired: 1962-10-04

Simon Templar is The Saint, a handsome, sophisticated, debonair, modern-day Robin Hood who...

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The Six Million Dollar Man

as Frederick Collins
First aired: 1974-01-18

Follow the adventures of Steve Austin, cybernetically enhanced astronaut turned secret agent,...

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The Six Million Dollar Man

as Admiral Prescott
First aired: 1974-01-18

Follow the adventures of Steve Austin, cybernetically enhanced astronaut turned secret agent,...

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The High Chaparral

as Jack Simmons
First aired: 1967-09-10

The High Chaparral is an American Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and...

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The High Chaparral

as Lafe Croswell
First aired: 1967-09-10

The High Chaparral is an American Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and...

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Cannon

as uncredited
First aired: 1971-09-14

Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26,...

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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

as Lt. General Preston Myers
First aired: 1979-09-20

20th-century astronaut Buck Rogers awakens in the 25th century after a freak accident puts him...

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Green Acres

as uncredited
First aired: 1965-09-15

Green Acres is an American sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from...

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The F.B.I.

as Tom Barber
First aired: 1965-09-19

The F.B.I. is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from 1965 to 1974. It was...

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McCloud

as uncredited
First aired: 1970-02-17

Deputy Marshal Sam McCloud of the small western town of Taos, New Mexico is assigned to the...

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The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries

as uncredited
First aired: 1977-01-30

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC....

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Marcus Welby, M.D.

as Paul Berwick
First aired: 1969-09-23

Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from...

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Switch

as Ellis
First aired: 1975-09-09

Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert...

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The Magician

as Peter Hayden
First aired: 1973-10-02

The Magician is an American television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred...

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Harry O

as uncredited
First aired: 1974-09-12

After being shot in the line of duty, Harry Orwell was forced to retire from the San Diego...

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Banacek

as Dr. Stahl
First aired: 1972-09-13

Banacek is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network...

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What Really Happened To the Class Of '65?

as uncredited
First aired: 1977-12-08

Sam Ashley, a graduate of 1965 class of Bret Harte High School, who was now a teacher at the...

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The Sentimental Agent

as uncredited
First aired: 1963-09-28

The Sentimental Agent is a television drama series spin-off from Man of the World. It was...

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Gemini Man

as Leonard Driscoll
First aired: 1976-05-10

Sam Casey is an agent for INTERSECT, a government think-tank and operations center specializing...

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