Marvelously quirky, distinctive and versatile character actor William Finley was born on September 20th, 1942 in New York City. Finley attended Sarah Lawrence College, where he first met future film director Brian De Palma. The lanky 6'4" Finley first began acting on the New York stage. He made his film debut in Pe Palma's odd short movie "Woton's Wake." Finley went on to play a deliciously rich a ...
show all Marvelously quirky, distinctive and versatile character actor William Finley was born on September 20th, 1942 in New York City. Finley attended Sarah Lawrence College, where he first met future film director Brian De Palma. The lanky 6'4" Finley first began acting on the New York stage. He made his film debut in Pe Palma's odd short movie "Woton's Wake." Finley went on to play a deliciously rich and colorful array of strikingly idiosyncratic parts for De Palma: a slow-witted stage hand in "Murder a la Mod," the disapproving friend of a guy who's about to be married in "The Wedding Party," the wicked titular villain in "Dionysus;" splendid as Margot Kidder's freaky psychiatrist husband in "Sisters;" excellent and engaging in a rare substantial lead as the meek and nerdy struggling songwriter Winslow Leach in the delightfully outrageous "Phantom of the Paradise," and a seedy psychic in "The Fury." Finley tackled a couple of equally memorable off-center roles in a pair of superior Tobe Hooper fright features: he's Marilyn Burns' deranged husband in "Eaten Alive" and a pathetic drunken carnival magician in "The Funhouse." Finley was once again fine as a mad scientist in the exciting Chuck Norris horror/action hybrid "Silent Rage." In addition to acting, Finley composed the theme song for "Murder a la Mod" and co-wrote the script for the offbeat teen coming-of-age comedy "The First Time." William Finley more recently had a small, yet chilling part as a creepy private investigator in the disappointing "The Black Dahlia."
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