"Effortlessly charming. . . [Williams] writes with clarity and intimacy, revealing the person behind the persona." -Maya S. Cade, The New York Times Book Review

"Effortlessly charming. . . [Williams] writes with clarity and intimacy, revealing the person behind the persona." -Maya S. Cade, The New York Times Book Review

"The story of a legend, written by the legend himself! Impressive, inspiring, entertaining and endearing." -J. J. Abrams

Billy 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.