Pheaturing Billy Dee Williams

Hey there, welcome to the 315th entry of the Phile... with today's guest the one and only Billy Dee Williams! It's gonna be awhile before I get a bigger celebrity then that. The Phile is a proud sponsor of...I haven't seen the new Shrek movie yet but hope to see it today. DreamWorks is saying that this will be the last Shrek movie — unless it makes money. For the first time ever, scientists have created artificial life. The hope is that it can revolutionize healthcare, generate clean energy, become super-intelligent, take over the world, make us all its slaves, etc. President Obama’s big financial reform bill passed. From now on, bankers will be required to dress like robbers. They put a cap on ATM transaction fees, though a lot of the senators didn’t want to discuss it because they’ve never used an ATM. The Senate has mobile cash machines — they’re called “lobbyists.” There was a huge art theft in Paris. The problem there is that the guards can be distracted by unfiltered cigarettes and stinky cheese. Dell has announced that it is releasing a competitor for the iPad. It’s a great alternative for people that own an iPad but are fed up with it working all the time. Jesse James apologized to Sandra Bullock on “Good Morning America,” and then he apologized again on “Nightline.” He was planning to apologize again on “Wife Swap,” but decided against it. Remember that "Brady Bunch" episode when Jesse James met the kids on a train? Back to the President... President Obama has reached a deal with Congress to replace the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the military with a “whoever felt it dealt it” policy. A new study has found that use of Viagra can double your chances of hearing loss. What? The FDA may be on the verge of approving Viagra for women. They say the chemicals in it may reduce the incidence of fake headaches before bed. So, Lee Dewyze is the new karaoke champion. I don’t know who he took the crown from, but the important thing is that it’s over. It was Simon Cowell’s last night on “American Idol.” He had a special way of telling us that we suck. Now the only people that we have to yell at us are Judge Judy and Dr. Phil. And one more thing, I heard that Tiger Woods is building a new house in Florida. You can tell it’s Tiger’s house because it has a front, a back, and a side that nobody knows about. I was at a comic book store the other day and I found a Star Wars toy that I never knew existed.

This is something I should ask Billy about... I wonder if he knows there's a cologne named after Lando. Check it out.


And hey, I found another Star Wars motivational poster, kids.



Art Linkletter
July 17, 1912 - May 26, 2010
Art no longer imitates life.

1923
Henry Kissinger is born in Fuerth, Germany. 50 years later, Dr. Kissinger receives the Nobel Peace Prize for quitting the Vietnam War. No kidding.
1942
A couple of Czech assassins ambush the car carrying Reinhard Heydrich and toss a grenade into the front seat. The man who headed the Wannsee Conference is mortally wounded in the attack, and dies of septicemia a week later. The Nazis retaliate by obliterating the Catholic village of Lidice, Czechoslovakia and its inhabitants.
1977
After the pressing plant initially refuses to duplicate the record and the printer refuses to make the covers, Virgin finally releases "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols in time for the monarch's Jubilee celebration.
1991
Cannibal killer Jeffrey Dahmer manages to convince Milwaukee police that the dazed naked boy found staggering on the sidewalk and bleeding from the ass is his drunken lover, instead of a 14-year-old boy struggling to fight the effects of date-rape drugs. The MPD officers chalk it up to a "homosexual lovers spat" and escort them both back to Dahmer's apartment. After the cops leave, Jeffrey strangles the boy, rapes his corpse, and eats some flesh from the carcass of his twelfth victim.
1993
Five are killed and 37 wounded when a Fiat Fiorino explodes outside the Uffizi museum in Florence, Italy. The car bomb (a combination of PETN, T4, and TNT) also manages to obliterate three priceless artworks and substantially damage thirty more. The bombing appears to have been the work of the Sicilian Mafia.
1995
During the third jump of an equestrian event in Charlottesville, Virginia, actor Christopher Reeve is thrown headfirst over his horse. Reeve breaks his neck in two places, instantly rendering him a quadriplegic, unable to move or breathe without assistance.

This is the 9th book in the P.P.B.C. It's available on Amzon.com and in a few weeks the author Kimberly Raiser will be a guest on the Phile. And now... the greatest interviewee ever to grace the Phile.


Today's guest is an American actor, artist, singer, and writer, best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in the original Star Wars trilogy. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Empire Strikes Back, and set to appear at Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios from June 4th through the 6th, please welcome to the Phile, the one and only Billy Dee Williams.


Me: How are you doing, Billy? Welcomne to the Phile. So, do you like to do conventions like MegaCon a lot?

Billy: Yeah, I enjoy it. I like to come out and meet folks who are supporting you throughout the years and it’s something to do.

Me: When was the lat time you you came to Orlando?

Billy: I was in Orlando maybe in '03… or four years ago at Disney.

Me: For Star Wars Weekends, right?

Billy: Yeah, I’ll be going back there in June.

Me: I heard people ask you about Colt 45. Does that annoy you when they ask you things like that?

Billy: No, nothing annoys me anymore… I’m past that stage.

Me: What was your favorite roll you have ever played?

Billy: Well, there’s not one favorite roll. I played a lot of different rolls. Either on stage or on fim. There’s been quite a few.

Me: What has been your least favorite roll, that you were like why am I doing this roll?

Billy: If it’s the least then I have forgotten about it.

Me: I have to ask you about the Harvey Dent roll. So, did they tell you you weren’t going to be Harvey Dent in the Batman Forever film?

Billy: No. They sold it to Sony and everything changed at that point.

Me: I think you would of made a great Two Face if you had a chance.

Billy: I thought it was a good idea. That’s the reason I decided to do a Harvey Dent, so I could play Two-Face eventually. It’s just one of those things. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t work out.

Me: And you did a lot of sitcoms like "Scrubs", that "70’s Show", and when you did shows like "Lost", which is not a sitcom, but do you like doing rolls like that? A lot of different type of rolls?

Billy: You know, with this juncture in my life, I had a long career, and when people ask me to do these sort of cameo type of things it’s fun for me.

Me: I thought it was great how you played yourself on Lost… playing the Cobra.

Billy: Jimmy Kimmel loves "Lost" so he always asks me to come on and do a parody on some of the episiodes and as a result the "Lost" people called me up for me to play myself, Billy Dee Williams playing the killer.

Me: Did you realize that Cobra is also the name of Lando's ship?

Billy: No, I didn't. I don't pay attention to stuff like that. Lando's ship was the Falcon I thought.

Me: And you were also great in "Robot Chicken". You got to do more of those if they ask you.

Billy: Well, Seth Green is my good friend and he always asks me to come play with him. He asks me to come out and pay General Goodface.

Me: You wrote a book called "Twilight", a romance novel. Are you annoyed about the new "Twilight" book that’s called that became more popular?

Billy: I am not annoyed at anything anymore. There’s no reason to be annoyed. You keep what you do and move along.

Me: And you paint and you write and are you gonna write any other books in the future?

Billy: That’s a possibility. I co-authored these books. I don’t exactly sit down and do all the work. I come up with the idea but most of the time when I come up with the ideas I am really looking forward to do a movie or television with something like that with it. Only because we are always being fed the same kind of stuff. In my life and career I always try to be an original person. And not fall into the trap or traps of the business. The kind of stuff that lacks is the kind of stuff where we should be in the social and political… where we should be social and political in the world. I always wanted to come out in my own litte way and tribute with my own little point of view.

Me: One more question, is it true you additioned for the role of Han Solo before the first film came out or is that a rumor?

Billy: No, that’s a rumor. They asked me to play Lando.

Me: Billy, thanks for taking time out to do this interview. Thank you so much.

Billy: My pleasure. You’re welcome, Jason.

There you go. Thanks to Mr. Williams for taking time out to do the interview and a special thanks to Derek Maki from Coolwaters Productions for hooking it up. Derek, you're the best! Thanks also to Wikipedia and of course you the reader. The Phile will be back next week, and next month, with gorgeous singer, songwriter Meaghan Smith. It's the start of the Most Phantastic Summer Ever here on the Phile. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye love you bye.