With his debonair graying hair, suave looks and charismatic delivery its no wonder that the roles of President of the USA, member of the United States Senate, Cabinet Member, United States Secretary of State and potential vice-presidential nominee have all been his for the taking. 

William Devane was born into a family linked to politics with his father, Joe, being the chauffeur of the then Governor of New York, Franklin D Roosevelt. On September 5^th 1937 in Albany, New York, Joe Devane and his wife welcomed the birth of their son William. 

While attending high school in Albany William first showed an interest in acting but before his career took off Devane worked as an apprentice electrician and a construction worker in  Albany. After moving to New York he later took acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and by 1976 he was making his debut appearance in an off-Broadway production of the angry satire, ‘MacBird’.

Although William Devane had a successful film career he is probably best known for his television movie and soap opera roles which he undertook during the 1970’s and 1980’s. With his strong resemblance to the Kennedy’s he was an obvious choice for the role of a Teddy-like patriarch in the 1995 series ‘The Monroes’ a soap opera  about a political family and their turbulent lives. The scripts often borrowed plot ideas from the lives of the real life Kennedy family.  He also brought just the right blend of aggression, indignation and confusion to his portrayal of TV personality John Henry Faulk in ‘Fear on Trial’ in 1977 when he appeared with George C Scott. 

In the made for TV series in 1979 based on the movie, Devane took the landing role of Sgt Mike Walden in ‘From Here to Eternity’ which saw him acting alongside a young Kim Basinger, Don Johnson and Barbara Hershey.  Knots Landing was the show that really put Devane’s career on the TV map when in 1983, for ten years, he played the role of scheming, scandalous  state senator Greg Sumner with a cast consisting of Ted Shackelford, Donna Mills, Joan Van Ark and Michele Lee. 

In the early 1990’s after ‘Knots Landing’ was cancelled, William’s career stayed on a high and he found himself in demand for roles such as tennis coach Lou Della Rosa in ‘The Phenom’ in 1993 and ‘Forgotten Sins’ in 1996, and in 1999 his character of Carter in ‘Payback’ saw him starring with Mel Gibson.  Into the new millennium his role as Eugene Davis in the 2000 movie, ‘Space Cowboys’ saw William acting with the star studded cast of Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones and James Garner. 

Along with his sporting prowess Devane can add to his resume the titles of screenwriter, producer, director and actor which has seen him nominated for an Emmy in 1975 and 1976 and in 1987 he was nominated for a Golden Globe. Devane has played members of the United States Cabinet on two different evening dramas.

In 2004, Devane guest-starred as United States Secretary of State. In the successful television series ‘The West Wing’ he landed the role of potential vice-presidential nominee Lewis Berryhill. In 2005, he joined Kiefer Sutherland and  Elisha Cuthbert on the set of ‘24’ as United States Secretary of Defense James Heller in the show's fourth season. His return to the show in the 5^th & 6^th season  Devane appeared once again with his former screen pal Martin Sheen who was the show's fictional President Josiah Bartlet.

Devane and his family own two Italian restaurants in Southern Palm Springs, California, which he operates with his sons, Josh and Jake.  Over the years he has developed another passion in his life, all manner of equestrian sports and with his love of horseback riding it was only natural that combining sport and riding he would become an avid polo player and his skill in the sport is reflected in the many awards he has won while on horseback. 

ABB