William Sylvester

Acting

William Sylvester

Born 1922-01-31 · Oakland, California, USA

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.

Acting credits

2001: A Space Odyssey poster
8.0

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968

You Only Live Twice poster
6.6

A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.

You Only Live Twice

1967

Heaven Can Wait poster
6.7

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.

Heaven Can Wait

1978

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark poster
6.1

A young couple inherits an old mansion inhabited by small demon-like creatures who are determined to make the wife one of their own.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

1973

The Hindenburg poster
6.3

Colonel Franz Ritter, a former hero pilot now working for military intelligence, is assigned to the great Hindenburg airship as its chief of security. As he races against the clock to uncover a possible saboteur aboard the doomed zeppelin he finds that any of the passengers and crew could be the culprit.

The Hindenburg

1975

The Unholy Four poster
5.5

Someone knocked out a man and left him for dead during a fishing trip in Portugal. That someone is either his fetching wife, or two business partners, all sporting guilty faces after his unexpected return. Two more murders and a frame-up befall the quartet before an inspector closes the case.

The Unholy Four

1954

Gorgo poster
5.3

When an underwater volcanic eruption tears up the sea bed off the coast of Ireland, two treasure hunters make the discovery of a lifetime when they encounter a gigantic prehistoric monster that’s been unleashed from the earth’s crust. After capturing the beast, the pair transport the creature down to London where it’s given the name of “Gorgo” and put on display to an avid public. Little do they realize that Gorgo is just an infant, and that his exponentially larger mother is about to emerge from the depths to avenge the capture of her offspring.

Gorgo

1961

2001: The Making of a Myth poster
6.6

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

2001: The Making of a Myth

2001

High Tide at Noon poster
6.2

After returning home to a rugged island near Nova Scotia, Joanna, daughter of the local bigwig, struggles to choose between three eligible bachelors -- the rebel, the steadfast friend and the poetry-quoting newcomer. As the local lobster supply dwindles due to overfishing, the island's inhabitants encounter economic difficulties.

High Tide at Noon

1957

Busting poster
6.2

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

Busting

1974

Riding with Death poster
2.9

Agent Sam Casey is in a satellite explosion and the radiation turns him invisible. He gets a watch that keeps him visible, and he uses it to switch from visible to invisible. He is assigned to transport a chemical called Tripolydine, which is purported to be the most efficient fuel; when the cover is blown on that and he uncovers and stops the Tripolydine fraud, he must then stop a terrorist from blowing up race cars.

Riding with Death

1976

First Family poster
3.4

When the First Daughter is kidnapped by an African tribe, the President must do what he can to keep them from sacrificing her.

First Family

1980

Albert R.N. poster
7.3

The British inmates of a POW camp think they have an informer among them after several escape attempts fail. One of the prisoners constructs a dummy which they christen "Albert" and use at roll call in order to foil the German guards.

Albert R.N.

1953

Incident at Midnight poster
7.0

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

Incident at Midnight

1963

Devils of Darkness poster
5.2

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

Devils of Darkness

1965

The Lawyer poster
5.9

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

The Lawyer

1970

Devil Doll poster
4.7

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

Devil Doll

1964

Portrait of Alison poster
6.2

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

Portrait of Alison

1955

Red and Blue poster
7.5

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

Red and Blue

1968

Roger Moore: A Matter of Class poster
7.7

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

Roger Moore: A Matter of Class

1995

Offbeat poster
6.2

When Scotland Yard finds themselves up against a brick wall in tracking down a vicious gang of thieves and bank robbers, they call in Layton, a loner from MI5 to work his way into the gang and help bring them down.

Offbeat

1961

They Were Not Divided poster
6.4

The film begins in a WW II training depot of a British Guards armoured regiment where recruits from many walks of life learn to survive the strict discipline and training together before going into battle in tanks. There is a cameo appearance by the real Sgt. Major Brittain who was famous in the British guards regiments.

They Were Not Divided

1950

Give Us This Day poster
5.7

Exiled from Hollywood due to the blacklist, director Edward Dmytryk briefly operated in England in the late 1940s. Though filmed in its entirety in London, Dmytryk's Give Us This Day is set in New York during the depression. Fellow blacklistee Sam Wanamaker is starred as the head of an Italian immigrant family struggling to survive the economic crisis.

Give Us This Day

1949

House of Blackmail poster
6.4

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

House of Blackmail

1953