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William Devane

American actor (born 1939) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William Devane
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William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing (1983–1993)[1] and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas 24 (2001–2010) and 24: Live Another Day (2014). He is also known for his work in films such as Family Plot (1976), Marathon Man (1976), Rolling Thunder (1977), Payback (1999), and Space Cowboys (2000).

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Early life

Devane was born on September 5, 1939, in Albany, New York,[2] the son of Joseph Devane, who had been Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was governor of New York.[3] His father was of Irish descent and his mother Kate had Dutch and German ancestry.[4] Devane graduated from Philip Schuyler High School in Albany, and then the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1962.[2]

Career

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Devane began his acting career with the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he performed in fifteen plays.[2]

In 1966, Devane portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in the off-Broadway spoof MacBird.[2] He gained acclaim for his role as President John F. Kennedy in a television docudrama about the Cuban Missile Crisis, The Missiles of October (1974)[2] and again when he played blacklisted radio personality John Henry Faulk in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie Fear on Trial (1975).[5] Devane starred as Master Sgt. Milt Warden in the miniseries remake of From Here to Eternity (1979);[5] he later reprised that role in a weekly series that was canceled after one season. Devane is widely known for his ten years as the ambitious and hardnosed politician-turned-corporate titan Greg Sumner on Knots Landing.[5]

In 1971, he starred off-Broadway as Randle McMurphy in the first stage revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest alongside Danny DeVito as Martini, who would go on to reprise the role in the acclaimed film of the same name alongside Jack Nicholson.[6][7]

In 1994, Devane appeared as Al Capone in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in an episode entitled "That Old Gang of Mine".[5] He had a recurring role as the lead character's father on the CBS show Early Edition (1996–2000),[5] and appeared in the films McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971);[5] Lady Liberty (1971);[5] Family Plot (1976),[5] directed by Alfred Hitchcock; Marathon Man (1976);[5] Rolling Thunder (1977);[5] Yanks (1979);[5] with Jane Alexander in Testament (1983);[5] with Lauren Hutton and Klaus Kinski in Timestalkers (1987);[5] with John Shea in Forgotten Sins (1996);[5] Exception to the Rule (1997);[5] Payback (1999);[5] Hollow Man (2000),[5] and Space Cowboys (2000).[5]

Devane has played members of the Presidential Cabinet on two evening dramas. In 2004, on The West Wing, he guest-starred as the secretary of state and potential vice presidential nominee.[8] Devane appeared in several scenes with Martin Sheen; they also appeared together as President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, respectively, 30 years earlier in The Missiles of October (1974).[5] In 2005, he joined the cast of 24 as Secretary of Defense James Heller for seasons four through six.[5]

Later career

In 2004, Devane appeared in three episodes of Stargate SG-1 as President Henry Hayes and appears in the direct-to-DVD movie Stargate: Continuum.[5] He also co-starred in the short-lived sitcom Crumbs[5] and as Brian's real-estate broker father in What About Brian (2006–07).[5] In 2008, he appeared in Russ Emanuel's Chasing the Green alongside Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, and Robert Picardo. He also appears as police officer turned psychologist Dr. Dix in the Jesse Stone mystery movies with Tom Selleck.[5] In 2010, he appeared in the NCIS[5] episode "Worst Nightmare" as a grandfather who is not what he appears to be, and is actually a former U.S. deep-cover special-operations agent, of a child kidnapped from Marine Corps Base Quantico. Also in 2010, Devane guest starred as retired Detective Peters along with Carl Weathers in episode 6 of season 5 of Psych,[5] Viagra Falls.[5]

In 2012, Devane began a recurring role as Grandpa Edward Grayson on the ABC primetime soap opera Revenge.[9] Devane also played the President of the United States in the Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight Rises. Devane reprised his role as James Heller, now President, in the limited-run series 24: Live Another Day (2014).[5]

Devane had a cameo role as Williams, as part of NASA, in the film Interstellar (2014),[5] and was also part of the regular cast of the sitcom The Grinder.[5] In 2022, he appeared in a four-episode guest arc on the Amazon Prime Video detective series Bosch: Legacy.[5]

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Personal life

He married Eugenie McCabe in 1961. They lived in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, with their two sons.[2]

Filmography

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[5]

Film

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Television

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References

External links

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