David Hedison was born David Albert Heditsian on May 20th 1927, in Providence RI. Of Armenian descent, David was expected to follow his father’s footsteps into the jewelry business, but David had already made up his mind: John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney were his heroes and after watching Tyrone Power and Rita Hayworth’s superb performances in “Blood and Sand” (1941), David decided to become an actor.

In 1945, David joined the Navy as a Seaman 2nd Class. Hearing that John Ford was going to be shooting a movie in Mexico, David wrote a letter asking him for a chance to act in the movie. Ford wrote him back, explaining that the movie was not going to be shot after all and kindly included a list of contacts in California. David went back to Providence to announce his intention of becoming an actor to his parents. His father wanted his only child to attend Brown University and wasn’t thrilled with David’s decision. David gave university a try anyway and, while he didn’t much enjoy his situation, Brown was the place where he began to take acting very seriously. By appearing in a series of plays at Sock and Buskin, the faculty-student board that selects and produces theatrical productions. David was very driven and ambitious, and departed for New York, which was the place to be for an actor. He did a variety of jobs to pay for his tuition and in 1949, he aced a role in the play “Molière”. It was a decisive time for David: at that very moment, he knew that he belonged to the acting world.

In 1950, David left for the Newport Theater in Rhode Island, where he performed in and helped build the sets for several plays: among them, “The Velvet Glove” and “This Thing Called Love”. He worked with Lillian Gish and Zazu Pitts on “Miss Mable” and “Post Road”. He also tried to save money to pay for a year’s worth of schooling at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in New York City. David recalls these lean times: “I lived in a five-dollars a week room on east 50th street”, but he was exactly where he wanted to be.

As 1950 was drawing to a close, David was chosen by Frederic March to perform at the Barter Theatre in Virginia for the 1951 season. David also kept on studying his craft at the Neighborhood Playhouse where he attended classes with the great Steve McQueen and the beautiful Joanne Woodward. At the same time he also appeared in two plays: “Paris Bound” and “Much Ado About Nothing”. Meanwhile, he also had plenty of jobs to support himself: a DJ gig for a local radio station, and appearances on New York TV shows. David worked extremely hard and kept appearing in plays, like “Phoenix too Frequent” and “Clash by Night”. His star was on the rise and the industry started buzzing about his potential: in 1956, David was one of the 14 actors voted “Most Promising” in Daniel Blum’s “Theatre World” book, a yearly pictorial and statistical record of the American theatre scene.

In 1957, David signed his first contract with Fox, and co-starred with Robert Mitchum in “Enemy Below”. His career was taking off: in 1958, he landed the role of scientist André Delambre in “The Fly”. The movie was a huge hit. Then, he starred in “The Son of Robin Hood” (1959) and in “The Lost World” (1960), based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s book.

From 1959 to 1961, David appeared in his first television show, “Five Fingers”. It aired on NBC and was cancelled after 14 episodes. In 1961, he starred in another movie, “Marines Let’s Go” and performed in the play “King of Hearts”. It was at that time that David underwent a name change: from Albert David Heditsian, he became Al Hedison and finally, David Hedison.

In 1962, he appeared in “Perry Mason” with Raymond Burr, and in 1963 he was an apostle in “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. He then appeared in the popular TV sci-fi series “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” (1964-1968), where he portrayed Captain Lee Crane with much grace, sharing the screen with the excellent Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson. The show went on for four seasons and was released in many countries. Meanwhile, he kept on following his passion for theater with “Teahouse of the August Moon”. He then left for Italy to star in the movie “Kemek”. It was in Italy that David met Bridget Mori, who would become his wife. They wed on June 29th, 1969, and from this union two beautiful daughters were born: Alexandra and Serena.

Over the next two decades and into the 90s, David was one of Hollywood’s busiest actors. He appeared in a variety of TV shows including FBI, Cannon and Barnaby Jones. He also appeared in several TV productions, like Cat Creature and Murder in Peyton Place. During the second half of the 70s, he appeared on the Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Charlie’s Angels, and Dynastie II.

In 1979, David was back again on the stage for “Chapter Two” and in 1981, for “Marriage Go Round”. In 1985, he went to California for “Forty Deuce” and “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been”, an Allan Miller production. He also starred in the movie “Northsea Hijack”. David then went on to appear in “Live and Let Die” (1973), as James Bond’s CIA ally Felix Leiter. David was brought back in “Licence to Kill” (1989), making him the first actor to have ever have reprised the role of Felix Leiter. David still made theater appearances, with “Come Into my Parlor” (1988), and “Catch Me If You Can” (1990). He also guest starred in several Aaron Spelling productions: Hart to Hart, Hooker, Matt Houston, Knight Rider, and Murder She Wrote. David was also a regular on “Another World” as Spencer Harrison for several years (1991-1996, and 1999). Stagewise, he acted in “Social Security” (1996) and toured with Anita Gillette for “Love Letters” and “Alone Together” (1998). He returned to New York for “First Love”, and another stage appearance in “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” at the Cape Play House in Massachusetts. Recent appearances on the big screen were in “Fugitive Mind” (1999), “Mach 2″ (2000), and “Meggido” (2002) where he portrayed a man at several stages of his life, a veritable acting challenge in which David excelled. “Spectres” was released on DVD in 2005 and his latest movie, “Reality Trap” was featured at the Avignon Film Festival in France, in June 2005. Last but not least, David also notably appeared in the daytime drama “The Young and the Restless” as Arthur Hendrix in 2004.

Nowadays, David is still very much active in the acting community, at the Actors Studio, at numerous conventions and autograph shows. He has recorded four audio books and from time to time returns to his first love, theater. In 2007, he returned in “Love Letters” and in 2008, fans and cast members celebrated The Fly’s 50th anniversary. A long, prolific and successful career spanning over more than five decades.

David is most known for being a famous actor from America to Europe and in so many other parts of the world, especially thanks to “Voyage…” which is internationally known. But he has done so much more, and most importantly he was never “typecast.” He portrayed many different characters over these past five decades and always did so with elegance and sincerity. David is the epitome of a true gentleman, and he is certainly one of the most handsome men to ever grace the screen.

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