Post by Shaun Pascal

Born on April 6, 1937 in New York City, NY, actor, artist, singer, and writer William December "Billy Dee" Williams, Jr. is an actor and writer best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars. #BillyDeeWilliams made his film debut in the 1959 picture The Last Angry Man where he played the role of a teenage delinquent. His first big break, however, came in a television movie called Bryan’s Song. In 1972, he played opposite Diana Ross (portraying Billie Holiday) as her husband in the biopic Lady Sings the Blues. His most famous role however, was as the smooth talking smuggler in the series of Star Wars movies, namely Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Before he began acting, Williams attended the National Academy of Fine Arts and Design in New York. In the late 1980s, he resumed painting. Some of his work can be seen at his online gallery BDW World Art. He has had solo exhibitions in various galleries around the United States, and his work hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution and the Schomburg Museum. The covers of the Thelonious Monk Competition programs since 1990 are by him. – Greg Mickens for Black History Mini Docs Art:#reedrmccants #bwsm