William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American television and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's '' 2001 A Space Odyssey'' (1968).

Life and career

William Sylvester was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, the son of Italian immigrant Joseph Silvester (1899–1941) and his American wife, Gertrude Bailey Silvester (1898–1957). He served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and settled in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

after the war to pursue his interest in professional acting. He became a staple of British B films at a time when American and Canadian actors were much in demand to give indigenous films some appeal in the United States. While in the UK, he married British actress

Veronica Hurst Veronica Patricia Hurst (born Patricia Wilmshurst; 11 November 1931 – 15 November 2022) was a British film, stage and television actress. Hurst was born in Malta and brought up in Tooting, London. Early career Hurst was awarded the Leverhul ...

. As a result, he gained top billing in one of his first films, ''

House of Blackmail ''House of Blackmail'' is a 1953 British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. Its plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer. Cast * Mar ...

'' (1953), directed by the veteran filmmaker

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

, for whom he also made '' What Every Woman Wants'' the following year. He also starred in such minor films as '' A Stranger Came Home'' (1954, for Hammer), '' Dublin Nightmare'' (1958), '' Offbeat'' (1961), ''

Information Received ''Information Received'' is a 1961 British crime film directed by Robert Lynn and starring Sabine Sesselmann, William Sylvester and Hermione Baddeley. In the film, a police detective goes undercover to infiltrate a safe-breaking outfit. Cast ...

'' (1961), '' Incident at Midnight'' (1963), ''

Blind Corner ''Blind Corner'' (U.S. ''Man in the Dark'') is a 1964 British thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester and Barbara Shelley. It also features popular singer of the time Ronnie Carroll playing himself. The film ...

'' (1964), and ''

Ring of Spies ''Ring of Spies'' (also known as ''Ring of Treason'') is a 1964 British spy film directed by Robert Tronson and starring Bernard Lee, William Sylvester and Margaret Tyzack. It is based on the real-life case of the Portland Spy Ring, whose activit ...

'' (1964). There were also lead roles in four British horror films: '' Gorgo'' (1961), '' Devil Doll'' (1964), ''

Devils of Darkness ''Devils of Darkness'' is a 1965 British horror film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester, Hubert Noël and Carole Gray.

'' (1965) and '' The Hand of Night'' (1968). After an uncredited role in '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), Sylvester's next part was as

Heywood R. Floyd The ''Space Odyssey'' series is a series of science fiction novels by the writer Arthur C. Clarke. Two of the novels have been made into feature films, released in 1968 and 1984 respectively. Two of Clarke's early short stories may also be c ...

in '' 2001 A Space Odyssey'' (1968). In spite of that prominent role, Sylvester appeared mainly on television and in small movie roles such as ''

Busting ''Busting'' is a 1974 American crime film directed by Peter Hyams in his theatrical directorial debut, starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as Los Angeles police detectives. It was the main inspiration for the cop series ''Starsky & Hutch'', ...

'' (1974) (ironically directed by

Peter Hyams Peter Hyams (born July 26, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer known for directing ''Capricorn One'' (which he also wrote), the 1981 science fiction-thriller ''Outland (film), Outland'', the 1984 science fiction f ...

, who would direct

Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer. Described by AllMovie as "one of the most unique and distinguished of all Hollywood actors", he gained fame for his leading and supporting ...

as the character Dr. Heywood Floyd in '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact)'', '' The Hindenburg'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978). Among his many television credits were a 1959 BBC version of Shakespeare's ''Julius Caesar'' (playing Mark Antony), ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'', '' The Baron'', ''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' television series, which was broadcast on NBC from 1967 to 1971, is an American Western action adventure drama set in the 1870s. It stars Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions in ...

'', ''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broadcast ...

'', ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', '' Banacek'', ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is reb ...

'', ''

Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County med ...

'' and he was a regular on the one-season science-fiction series '' Gemini Man'' created by

Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco Masterson (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Cop Rock'' ...

. Sylvester retired from acting during the early 1980s, and died in Sacramento, California, on January 25, 1995, six days before his 73rd birthday.

Selected filmography

* '' Give Us This Day'' (1949) – Giovanni * ''

They Were Not Divided ''They Were Not Divided'' is a 1950 British war film, which depicted the Guards Armoured Division in Second World War Europe. It was written and directed by Terence Young, a former Guards officer who served in the campaigns depicted in the fi ...

'' (1950) – American Soldier (uncredited) * '' The Yellow Balloon'' (1953) – Len * ''

Appointment in London ''Appointment in London'' (known as ''Raiders in the Sky'' in the U.S.) is a 1953 British war film set during the Second World War and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film was directed by Philip Leacock and based on a story by John Wooldridge, who ...

'' (1953) – Mac * ''

'' (1953) – Jimmy * '' Albert R.N.'' (1953) – Lt. 'Texas' Norton * '' What Every Woman Wants'' (1954) – Jim Bames * '' A Stranger Came Home'' (1954) – Philip Vickers * ''

Portrait of Alison ''Portrait of Alison'' is a 1956 British atmospheric crime film directed by Guy Green. It was based on a BBC television series '' Portrait of Alison'' which aired the same year. In the United States the film was released as ''Postmark for Dang ...

'' (1956) – Dave Forrester * ''

High Tide at Noon ''High Tide at Noon'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by Philip Leacock. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. ''High Tide at Noon'' was based on the first of a series of novels by Elisabeth Ogilvie, set in Maine. Location w ...

'' (1957) – Alec Douglas * '' Dublin Nightmare'' (1958) – John Kevin * ''

Whirlpool A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...

'' (1959) – Herman * '' Offbeat'' (1961) – Layton / Steve Ross * '' Gorgo ''(1961) – Sam Slade * ''

'' (1961) – Rick Hogan * '' Incident at Midnight'' (1963) – Vince Warren * ''

'' (1964) – Gordon Lonsdale * '' Devil Doll ''(1964) – Mark English * ''

'' (1964) – Paul Gregory * ''

Devils of Darkness ''Devils of Darkness'' is a 1965 British horror film directed by Lance Comfort and starring William Sylvester, Hubert Noël and Carole Gray.

'' (1965) – Paul Baxter * '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) – Pentagon Official (uncredited) * '' Red and Blue'' (1967) – Trumpeter * '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (1968) – Dr. Heywood R. Floyd * '' The Hand of Night'' (1968) – Paul Carver * ''

The Syndicate ''The Syndicate'' is a British television drama series. It was written by Kay Mellor and is broadcast on BBC One. It sees five members of a betting syndicate win the lottery. Each series follows a different syndicate. The first series is set ...

'' (1968) – Burt Hickey * ''

The Lawyer ''The Lawyer'' is a legal business information product for law firm leaders, commercial lawyers, barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. The ...

'' (1970) – Paul Harrison * '' Don't Be Afraid of the Dark'' (1973) – Tom Henderson * ''

'' (1974) – Mr. Weldman * '' The Hindenburg'' (1975) – Luftwaffe Colonel * ''

Riding with Death ''Gemini Man'' is a short-lived American action-adventure drama series that aired on NBC in 1976. The third television series based on H. G. Wells' 1897 science fiction novel ''The Invisible Man'', ''Gemini Man'' was created to replace the pre ...

'' (1976) – Leonard Driscoll * '' Heaven Can Wait'' (1978) – Nuclear Reporter * ''

First Family First Family is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. A first family usually consists of: the head of state, the first spouse and their children. Related terms The term ''second family'' is often used to refer to t ...

'' (1980) – TV Commentator Howard

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sylvester, William 1922 births 1995 deaths American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art United States Navy personnel of World War II American expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom