{"product_id":"what-have-we-here-portraits-of-a-life-hardcover","title":"What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBilly Dee Williams\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - A film legend recalls his remarkable life of nearly eight decades--a heralded actor who's played the roles he wanted, from \u003ci\u003eBrian's Song\u003c\/i\u003e to Lando in the \u003ci\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/i\u003e universe--unchecked by the racism and typecasting so rife in the mostly all-white industry in which he triumphed. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Effortlessly charming. . . [Williams] writes with clarity and intimacy, revealing the person behind the persona.\" --Maya S. Cade, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"The story of a legend, written by the legend himself! Impressive, inspiring, entertaining and endearing.\" --J. J. Abrams\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBilly Dee Williams was born in Harlem in 1937 and grew up in a household of love and sophistication. As a young boy, he made his stage debut working with Lotte Lenya in an Ira Gershwin\/Kurt Weill production where Williams ended up feeding Lenya her lines. He studied painting, first at the High School of Music and Art, with fellow student Diahann Carroll, and then at the National Academy of Fine Art, before setting out to pursue acting with Herbert Berghoff, Stella Adler, and Sidney Poitier. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHis first film role was in \u003ci\u003eThe Last Angry Man\u003c\/i\u003e, the great Paul Muni's final film. It was Muni who gave Billy the advice that sent him soaring as an actor, \"You can play any character you want to play no matter who you are, no matter the way you look or the color of your skin.\" And Williams writes, \"I wanted to be anyone I wanted to be.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe writes of landing the role of a lifetime: co-starring alongside James Caan in \u003ci\u003eBrian's Song\u003c\/i\u003e, the made-for-television movie that was watched by an audience of more than fifty million people. Williams says it was \"the kind of interracial love story America needed.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd when, as the first Black character in the Star Wars universe, he became a true pop culture icon, playing Lando Calrissian in George Lucas's \u003ci\u003eThe Empire Strikes Back\u003c\/i\u003e (\"What I presented on the screen people didn't expect to see\"). It was a role he reprised in the final film of the original trilogy, \u003ci\u003eThe Return of the Jedi, \u003c\/i\u003e and in the recent sequel \u003ci\u003eThe Rise of Skywalker.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA legendary actor, in his own words, on all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBILLY DEE WILLIAMS was born and raised in New York City. He has starred in forty movies, seven Broadway plays, and has made more than forty television shows and TV movies combined. He lives in Los Angeles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 288\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.5 x 9.3 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 13, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47374520451250,"sku":"9780593318607","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/b9b6504fce55099238cdb86c67681931.webp?v=1777671745","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/what-have-we-here-portraits-of-a-life-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}