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David Hedison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert David Hedison, Jr (b. May 20, 1927, Providence, Rhode Island) is an American actor who has made more than 150 appearances in film, television, and theatre. From 1950-1959, he is credited as Al Hedison. When he was cast in the TV series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name, so he suggested using his middle name and has been David Hedison ever since.
Hedison decided he wanted to be an actor after he saw Tyrone Power in the film Blood and Sand. He began his acting career with the Sock & Buskin Players at Brown University before moving to New York to study with Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse and with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio.
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His work on the New York stage includes the off-Broadway production of A Month in the Country, directed by Sir Michael Redgrave and starring Uta Hagen. He won a Theater World Award for his performance in the play. He toured with Anita Gillette in Neil Simon's Chapter Two and appeared in the West Coast premiere of Forty Deuce. He toured with Elizabeth Ashley in Come into My Parlour and was in the world premiere run of Bernard Slade's Return Engagements. He also starred in the New York City premiere of First Love with Lois Nettleton. His most recent theatrical production was The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.
After his role in A Month in the Country, Hedison signed a film contract with 20th Century-Fox. His first movie with them was the classic war film The Enemy Below, which also starred Robert Mitchum. He followed that up with the 1958 horror classic The Fly. The film was selected as one of "The Sci-Fi 100" in Entertainment Weekly as being one of the all-time greatest works of science fiction.
His other films include The Son of Robin Hood; Marines, Let's Go!; The Lost World with producer Irwin Allen; The Greatest Story Ever Told; ffolkes, with Roger Moore; the mini-series A.D.; Megiddo: The Omega Code II; and Spectres. He is also notable as the only actor to have played James Bond's ally Felix Leiter in more than one film (Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill).
Much of Hedison's acting career has been on television. He was cast as a counter espionage agent who traveled the world as a Hollywood talent agent in the TV series Five Fingers. The show ran for sixteen episodes. He followed that up with a starring role in the TV version of Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea with Richard Basehart. The show ran for four years. He also had a semi-regular role on The Colbys.
In 1990, he was the series host for Phenomenal World. His television guest appearances include The Saint with Roger Moore; The Love Boat; Fantasy Island; The Bob Newhart Show; Charlie's Angels; The A-Team; and Knight Rider; among many others.
He also starred as Spencer Harrison on the American soap opera Another World from 1991 to 1996. He followed that up in 2004 with a role on The Young and the Restless as Arthur Hendricks.
His most recent role is in the 2005 film The Reality Trap.
He married his wife Bridget in London on June 29, 1968, and they have two adult children, Actress/Director/Photographer Alexandra Hedison and Serena. Like her father, Alexandra has done some acting, starring in the L.A. Firefighters and The L Word on Showtime.
Hedison was offered the role of Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch, but he turned it down. He was also offered a role on the TV series Twin Peaks but could not accept the role because he had already agreed to appear in a play in England.
In Licence to Kill, an early scene involved Felix Leiter parachuting to a church. The parachute jump was filmed with a double, but Hedison was filmed landing by being attached to a crane and brought to the ground. Director John Glen asked the crane operator to speed the crane up to allow Hedison to land quicker, but it was done too quickly and as a result of this, Hedison had a limp for the rest of the film.