Photo: ABC / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
William Devane is a stage actor, film actor and television actor, born on September 5, 1939 in Albany, New York, United States. William Devane is 87 years old as of 2026. Schooling on record includes Albany High School.
My Take
William Devane is one of those actors who quietly built one of the most dependable careers in American entertainment without ever becoming a tabloid fixture, and honestly that's part of what makes him so compelling. Growing up in Albany, he came up through stage work before carving out a niche in 1970s cinema — his turns in Marathon Man and Rolling Thunder showed he could carry serious dramatic weight alongside the biggest names of that era. Then came Knots Landing, where he played Greg Sumner for nearly a decade and proved he could hold a primetime audience in the palm of his hand. His run as Secretary of Defense James Heller on 24 added another dimension entirely — gravitas without grandstanding. He's the rare kind of actor whose face alone tells you a character has lived a complicated life, and that's a gift no acting school can manufacture.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- William Devane
- Name (Japanese)
- ウィリアム・ディヴェイン
- Reading
- うぃりあむ・でぃゔぇいん
- Born
- September 5, 1939 (age 87)
- Origin
- Albany, New York, United States
- Occupation
- stage actor / film actor / television actor / screenwriter / voice actor
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Rabbit
2. Background
- High school
- Albany High School
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was William Devane born?
William Devane was born on September 5, 1939 and is 87 years old.
Where is William Devane from?
William Devane is from Albany, New York, United States.
What does William Devane do?
William Devane works as stage actor, film actor, television actor, screenwriter, voice actor.
Which high school did William Devane attend?
William Devane attended Albany High School.
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