Join us for a 90-minute Career Retrospective with actor Fred Williamson. Moderated by Nelson George.
BIO: Fred Williamson graduated from Northwestern University (’60) with a degree in Architectural Engineering. At Northwestern he played football under legendary coach, Ara Parseghian before going to the pros where he became an All-Pro defensive cornerback - playing under Al Davis as an original Raider, then the Kansas City Chiefs with the distinction of playing in Super Bowl I as well as four Pro-Bowls.
Moving to Hollywood, Fred starred with Diahann Carroll in the “Julia” television series. He starred in Robert Altman’s “M*A*S*H” as ‘Spearchucker Jones’, then Otto Preminger’s “Tell Me You Love Me, Junie Moon”. Learning from the best he formed his own production company, producing and directing more than 30 films worldwide. Fred has been an enduring action star in more than 80 films thru four decades, ranging from the ‘70’s classics “Black Caesar” and “Hell Up in Harlem”, the 80’s “Three the Hard Way” and “One Down, Two to Go”, the ‘90’s “From Dusk till Dawn” and “Original Gangstas”, then into the new millenium co-starring with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the smash hit “Starsky and Hutch”, and the 2012 patriotic feature “Last Ounce of Courage”. More recent films include “Atomic Eden” filmed in Germany, “Checkpoint”, “VFW”, and “Victory by Submission”.
A proud national spokesman for the Wounded Warrior Project he’s a former Marine and an advocate for all vets. After spending almost three decades in Palm Springs, California, Fred and his wife, Linda, have moved back to the Chicago Gold Coast, where they can enjoy the city life and the beautiful lake.
Run time: 90 minutes
