General articles: Arts and culture
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William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was an American talent agency founded in New York in 1898 as a vaudeville booking service, merging with Endeavor in 2009 to form WME.
William Moseley (actor)
William Moseley (William Peter Moseley, born 1987, Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire) is an English actor best known as Peter Pevensie in the Narnia films (2005-2010) and as Prince Liam in E!'s The Royals (2015-2018).
William Orbit
William Orbit (William Mark Wainwright, 1956–2026), English ambient-electronica producer behind Madonna's Ray of Light, Blur's 13, All Saints' Pure Shores, the Strange Cargo series and Pieces in a Modern Style.
William Ospina
William Ospina, born 1954 in Padua, Tolima, Colombia, is a Colombian poet, essayist, and novelist best known for the Amazon trilogy of historical novels retelling El Dorado.
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty (1928-2017), American novelist and screenwriter of Lebanese descent, author of the 1971 bestseller The Exorcist and its Oscar-winning 1973 screenplay; earlier a comedy writer for Blake Edwards films.
William Petersen
William Petersen (William Louis Petersen, born 1953, Evanston, Illinois) is the American actor and producer famous as Gil Grissom in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and CSI: Vegas; earlier roles include Manhunter and To Live and Die in L.A.; distinct from the Minnesota senator and the sociologist of the same name.
William Plomer
William Plomer (1903–1973) was a South African-born British novelist, poet, and librettist whose debut novel Turbott Wolfe scandalized white South Africa; he later shaped London publishing at Jonathan Cape.
William Powell
William Horatio Powell (1892–1984), American film actor of over 90 films, star of the six Thin Man movies with Myrna Loy, three-time Best Actor Oscar nominee, retired 1955.
William Preucil
William Preucil (born 1958) is an American violinist, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra 1995–2018 and first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet, fired in 2018 after a sexual misconduct investigation; distinct from his father William Preucil Sr.
William R. Moses
William R. Moses (William Remington Moses, born 1959, Los Angeles) is an American actor known for Cole Gioberti on Falcon Crest, Ken Malansky in the Perry Mason TV movies, Jack Davis in the Jane Doe films, and Jeff Webber on General Hospital.
William Ragsdale
William Ragsdale (Robert William Ragsdale, born 1961, El Dorado, Arkansas) is an American actor best known as Charley Brewster in Fright Night (1985) and Part 2 (1988), Herman Brooks on Herman's Head, Eugene Jerome on Broadway, and Gary Hawkins on Justified.
William Redfield (actor)
William Redfield, born William Henry Redfield, was an American actor best known as Dale Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and for the memoir Letters from an Actor (1967).
William Riker
William T. Riker (Will Riker, Number One), fictional Starfleet first officer of the Enterprise under Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, born 2335 in Valdez, Alaska; later captain of the Titan, husband of Deanna Troi, played by Jonathan Frakes.
William Roache
William Roache, also known as Bill Roache, born 25 April 1932, is the English actor who has played Ken Barlow in ITV's Coronation Street since its first episode on 9 December 1960, holding the Guinness World Record as the longest-serving TV soap star.
William Russ
William Russ (William Hardy Russ IV, born 1950) is an American character actor from Portsmouth, Virginia, known as Alan Matthews on Boy Meets World, Roger LoCocco on Wiseguy, and for Pastime and American History X; distinct from the silent-film and Doctor Who William Russells.
William Russell (English actor)
William Russell (William Russell Enoch, 1924-2024), English actor who played Ian Chesterton, Doctor Who's first male companion (1963-65), also Sir Lancelot and Coronation Street's Ted Sullivan; held the Guinness record for longest gap between TV appearances.
William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997), St. Louis-born Beat Generation writer, author of Naked Lunch and Junkie, pioneer of the cut-up technique with Brion Gysin, later a countercultural icon influencing music, film, and postmodern literature.
William S. Hart
William S. Hart (William Surrey Hart, 1864-1946), American silent-film Western star, director, and producer; creator of the 'good badman' persona; star of Hell's Hinges (1916) and Tumbleweeds (1925); former stage actor and friend of Wyatt Earp.
William S. Paley
William S. Paley (1901–1990), American broadcasting executive, bought United Independent Broadcasters in 1928 and built it into CBS, creating CBS News and leading television ratings for two decades.
William Sadler (actor)
William Thomas Sadler (born 1950, Buffalo, New York) is an American character actor known as the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted, Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption, Colonel Stuart in Die Hard 2, and Sheriff Valenti in Roswell.
William Sanderson
William Sanderson (born 1944, Memphis) is an American character actor known as Larry on Newhart, J.F. Sebastian in Blade Runner, and E.B. Farnum in Deadwood; not the British actor of AI-generated profiles.
William Saroyan
William Saroyan (1908–1981), Armenian American writer and playwright from Fresno, author of The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram, and The Human Comedy; won and refused the 1940 Pulitzer Prize.
William Schallert
William Schallert (1922-2016), American character actor of nearly 70 years, played Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show, Nilz Baris in Star Trek's 'The Trouble with Tribbles,' and served as Screen Actors Guild president 1979-1981.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English playwright, poet, and actor of Stratford-upon-Avon and London. Known for the 1623 First Folio, Globe playhouse, extensive co-authorship findings, and the unresolved authorship debate.
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931, Montreal) is a Canadian actor best known as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek (1966-69) and seven films, and as Emmy-winning Denny Crane on Boston Legal; in 2021 he became the oldest person in space.
William Simons
William Simons (Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons, 1940–2019), Welsh actor; played PC Alf Ventress in all 18 series of ITV's Heartbeat (1992–2010, 355 episodes); also Crown Court, Cribb, The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries.
William Singe
William Singe (Liam Anthony Singe, born 1992), Australian R&B-pop singer and producer; ex-The Collective on X Factor Australia 2012, viral YouTube covers of 'Hotline Bling' and '679', RCA deal, Jonas Blue's 'Mama'.
William Smith (actor)
William Smith (1933–2021), American character actor, played Falconetti in Rich Man, Poor Man, Joe Riley in Laredo, and villains in Any Which Way You Can, Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn; former Air Force NSA recruit.
William Steig
William Steig (1907–2003), American cartoonist and children's author, the 'King of Cartoons' of The New Yorker; wrote Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (Caldecott Medal 1970) and Shrek! (1990), basis of the DreamWorks films.
William Street
"William Street" is a sixteen-line poem by the Australian poet Kenneth Slessor, published in 1939, in which the speaker insists on the beauty of a poor Sydney street most would call ugly.