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A review by komet2020
What Have We Here?: Portraits of a Life by Billy Dee Williams
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? : Portraits of a Life is Billy Dee Williams' memoir. Actor, artist, bon vivant, ladies man, seeker, humanitarian. Taken together, these words encapsulate the essence of a unique and extraordinary man whose work as an actor spanned and, in many ways, defined the second half of the 20th century.
Prior to reading this book, I had to some extent been aware of Billy Dee Williams' work as an actor from the 1970s, having watched him in movies such as "Lady Sings the Blues", "Mahogany", "Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi." I also remember seeing him during the 1980s in a series of seductive TV beer commercials and in the popular night-time soap "Dynasty" opposite Diahann Carroll (whom I learned in the memoir had attended the same high school as Billy Dee in New York). He struck me as a cool, urbane dude. But at the same time, I never evinced any interest or curiosity about his personal life. All I knew about the latter is that he had married a Japanese-American woman and had children.
In WHAT HAVE WE HERE?, Billy Dee Williams speaks with considerable candor about his life, his family (both his parents were strivers, hard working, and loving and supportive of Billy Dee and his twin sister whom the family affectionately referred to as 'Lady'; Williams also speaks with affection and respect for his maternal grandmother, a British subject who hailed originally from the Caribbean island of Monserrat and had immigrated with her husband to the U.S. in the early 20th century; following the death of her husband, she lived with Williams and his family and wielded a considerable influence in his early life, along with his mother whom he dearly loved and cherished), and the people -- many of them some of the most famous and notable people in the movies and music -- with whom he worked and had relationships, professional and/or personal.
It surprises me how some reviewers decry the use of "name dropping" by the memoirist in tracing the arc of his/her life. That makes no sense to me. After all, don't most of us read memoirs of famous or noteworthy people because we want to know something, not only about the memoirist, but also the correspondingly famous or notable people who figured significantly in the life of the memoirist? Well, I love the "name dropping", especially when it's spiced with stories by the memoirist that give me, the reader, a glimpse or insight into what that person was really like on a uniquely human level.
I'm glad I read this book because I learned A LOT MORE about Billy Dee Williams, who, it became clear to me, has an artistic soul and humanist approach to life. The memoir has plenty of photos from various times in Billy Dee Williams' life in addition to photos of his paintings, which display his talents in that medium as well.
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? is one of the best, most interesting memoirs I've read in a long time. It has deepened both my respect and admiration for Billy Dee Williams, who, despite the obstacles and challenges he faced in his life and career, refused to sell himself short. Soon to be 87, he's still going strong.
Prior to reading this book, I had to some extent been aware of Billy Dee Williams' work as an actor from the 1970s, having watched him in movies such as "Lady Sings the Blues", "Mahogany", "Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi." I also remember seeing him during the 1980s in a series of seductive TV beer commercials and in the popular night-time soap "Dynasty" opposite Diahann Carroll (whom I learned in the memoir had attended the same high school as Billy Dee in New York). He struck me as a cool, urbane dude. But at the same time, I never evinced any interest or curiosity about his personal life. All I knew about the latter is that he had married a Japanese-American woman and had children.
In WHAT HAVE WE HERE?, Billy Dee Williams speaks with considerable candor about his life, his family (both his parents were strivers, hard working, and loving and supportive of Billy Dee and his twin sister whom the family affectionately referred to as 'Lady'; Williams also speaks with affection and respect for his maternal grandmother, a British subject who hailed originally from the Caribbean island of Monserrat and had immigrated with her husband to the U.S. in the early 20th century; following the death of her husband, she lived with Williams and his family and wielded a considerable influence in his early life, along with his mother whom he dearly loved and cherished), and the people -- many of them some of the most famous and notable people in the movies and music -- with whom he worked and had relationships, professional and/or personal.
It surprises me how some reviewers decry the use of "name dropping" by the memoirist in tracing the arc of his/her life. That makes no sense to me. After all, don't most of us read memoirs of famous or noteworthy people because we want to know something, not only about the memoirist, but also the correspondingly famous or notable people who figured significantly in the life of the memoirist? Well, I love the "name dropping", especially when it's spiced with stories by the memoirist that give me, the reader, a glimpse or insight into what that person was really like on a uniquely human level.
I'm glad I read this book because I learned A LOT MORE about Billy Dee Williams, who, it became clear to me, has an artistic soul and humanist approach to life. The memoir has plenty of photos from various times in Billy Dee Williams' life in addition to photos of his paintings, which display his talents in that medium as well.
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? is one of the best, most interesting memoirs I've read in a long time. It has deepened both my respect and admiration for Billy Dee Williams, who, despite the obstacles and challenges he faced in his life and career, refused to sell himself short. Soon to be 87, he's still going strong.