David A. Hedison

David Hedison Biography Showing all 22 items Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (10) | Personal Quotes (4) | Salary (1) Overview (4) Born May 20, 1927 in Providence, Rhode Island, USA Died July 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, USA (undisclosed) Birth Name Albert David Hedison Jr. Height 6' 1" (1.85 m) Mini Bio (2) Albert David Hedison Jr. was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the elder son of Albert and Rose Hedison, naturalized United States citizens from Armenia. His father owned a jewelry enameling business and his son was expected to follow in his footsteps. Young Al had other ideas, having put his sights on an acting career after seeing Tyrone Power on the screen in Blood and Sand (1941). Following the completion of military service in the navy (as a Seaman 2nd Class, working on mothballing decommissioned warships), he enrolled at Brown University. Three years later, he joined the Neighborhood Playhouse School in Manhattan and studied acting under Sanford Meisner. He then underwent further training at the Actor's Studio with the legendary Lee Strasberg. When he finally made his theatrical debut he was billed as 'Al Hedison'. Voted most promising newcomer for his performance in the off-Broadway play "A Month in the Country", he received a Theatre World Award. More importantly, this opened the doors to work in the film business, albeit slowly. One of a myriad of struggling actors, Hedison had taken a temporary job as a radio announcer for a local station in North Carolina to make ends meet. Upon his return to New York, the offers began to come in and he made his screen bow in 1954. His first significant role was as the unfortunate scientist André Delambre whose matter transmitter experiments end up with him being turned into The Fly (1958). It did not end well for the poor man. For the actor, however, it set the tone for other forays into the genres of fantasy and science fiction, notably as Ed Malone in The Lost World (1960) and as Captain Lee Crane in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964) (arguably his most famous role), both Irwin Allen productions. He later recalled really 'hitting it off' with co-star Richard Basehart, saying "Richard and I had real chemistry. He taught me so much about being camera ready when I needed to be. Television filming is so very fast, we always had to keep moving on." Under contract to 20th Century Fox from 1958, Hedison next starred in the Cold War spy series Five Fingers (1959) portraying the part of an American counterintelligence officer (the accompanying change of his stage moniker to 'David Hedison' came about at the insistence of NBC and Fox). By the early 60s, Hedison had become a much sought-after, robust lead for made-for-TV films and TV series. He had befriended the actor Roger Moore while filming an episode of The Saint (1962) and this paved the way for him to appear in two James Bond films -- Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989) -- on both occasions as CIA operative Felix Leiter. Over the years followed numerous guest spots on crime dramas like The F.B.I. (1965), Cannon (1971), Ellery Queen (1975), Barnaby Jones (1973) and Murder, She Wrote (1984). In 2004, he joined the regular cast of the TV soap The Young and the Restless (1973) for some fifty episodes. Ultimately, however, he came to regard the stage as his favorite medium, saying "When I go back to the theater, I feel good about myself. When I do films or TV, it's to make a little bread to pay my mortgage..." - IMDb Mini Biography By: I.S.Mowis Born on Rhode Island to Armenian parents as a young man he was expected to join his fathers jewelry enameling business. After high school he briefly joined the U.S, Navy and on discharge as seaman 2nd class. After graduating from Brown University he moved to New York and joined the Neighbourhood Playhouse where he took lessons from Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham. To make money he sold Fuller brushes, and jewelry and worked as a busboy at the Waldorf Astoria's Empire Room. His Hollywood career began as a contract player at Twenteith Century Fox in 1956. in 'The Enemy Below' followed by 'The Fly, 'The Lost World' and 'Son of Robin Hood'.He was the main player in the television series 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5 Spouse (1) Bridget Hedison (29 June 1968 - 22 February 2016) ( her death) ( 2 children)