David Hedison Biography
David Hedison was a talented American actor who made a name for himself in both film and television. Born in Providence, Rhode Island on May 20, 1927 he was inspired to pursue a career in acting after seeing Tyrone Power in Blood and Sand.
After training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre and the Actors Studio in New York, Hedison made his mark on the stage, earning recognition as one of the most promising personalities of the 1955-56 season.
David Hedison’s film and television career took off in the late 1950s, and he was eventually cast as the character Victor Sebastian in the espionage series Five Fingers. This role led to a change in his stage name from Al Hedison to David Hedison.
He became famous for his role as CIA agent Felix Leiter in two James Bond films, Live and Let Die (1973) and 16 years later in Licence to Kill (1989). He was the first actor to reprise the role of Felix Leiter and the only actor to play him with two different James Bond actors, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton.
Throughout his career, David Hedison appeared in many popular American TV shows, including Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Benson, Hart to Hart, TJ Hooker, The Fall Guy, Dynasty, Knight Ryder, and The A-Team among many others. His last tv appearance was as Arthur Hendricks in The Young and the Restless.
He was married to Bridget Hedison, with whom he had two daughters, Alexandra and Serena. Alexandra went on to become an actress, director, and photographer and is married to actress Jodie Foster, while Serena became an editor and producer. David Hedison passed away in 2019, but his legacy as an actor and his contribution to the film and television industry lives on through his multiple different roles.
