William Youmans
Encyclopedia
William Youmans is an American
Broadway
, film
and television
actor
and singer, best known for originating the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked
.
. William made his Broadway debut in 1981, playing Leo Hubbard in The Little Foxes
. He performed numerous roles in the original productions of Big River
and Titanic
, and sang the role of Alcindoro in the Baz Luhrmann
-directed revival of La Bohème
. He also portrayed Sir Richard Bingham in The Pirate Queen
and performed in the play The Farnsworth Invention
.
In 2003, Youmans originated the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked
. After a San Francisco tryout, in which the role was played by John Horton
, the original Broadway
production opened October 30, 2003, starring Kristin Chenoweth
and Idina Menzel
. Youmans left the role of July 24, 2005 and later reprised the role in the Chicago
production for a limited engagement from December 12, 2006 through January 14, 2007. He can be heard on the show's original Broadway cast recording
.
, Compromising Positions
, Nadine
, Fresh Horses
and the independent film Last Supper.
Youmans' first television appearance was a made-for-television movie of a Mark Twain
story, The Private History of a Campaign That Failed. He has since appeared on episodes of The Equalizer
, Spenser: For Hire
, NYPD Blue
, Law & Order
and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and singer, best known for originating the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
.
Broadway
Youmans was born into a performing family; his great-uncle was Broadway composer Vincent YoumansVincent Youmans
Vincent Youmans was an American popular composer and Broadway producer.- Life :Vincent Millie Youmans was born in New York City on September 27, 1898 and grew-up on Central Park West on the site where the Mayflower Hotel once stood. His father, a prosperous hat manufacturer, moved the family to...
. William made his Broadway debut in 1981, playing Leo Hubbard in The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in...
. He performed numerous roles in the original productions of Big River
Big River (musical)
Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical with a book by William Hauptman and music and lyrics by Roger Miller.Based on Mark Twain's classic 1884 novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it features music in the bluegrass and country styles in keeping with the setting of the novel...
and Titanic
Titanic (musical)
Titanic is a musical with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone that opened on Broadway in 1997. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical...
, and sang the role of Alcindoro in the Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
-directed revival of La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. He also portrayed Sir Richard Bingham in The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen is a musical written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, best known for their adaptation of Les Misérables. John Dempsey is the co-lyricist. The Pirate Queen marks the first time Boublil and Schönberg have created a musical with American collaborators...
and performed in the play The Farnsworth Invention
The Farnsworth Invention
The Farnsworth Invention is a stage play by Aaron Sorkin adapted from an unproduced screenplay about Philo Farnsworth's invention of the television and David Sarnoff, the RCA president who stole the design.- Screenplay :...
.
In 2003, Youmans originated the role of Doctor Dillamond in Wicked
Wicked
Wicked is generally used as an adjective to mean evil or sinful.Wicked may also refer to:* Wicked Pictures, an American pornographic studio...
. After a San Francisco tryout, in which the role was played by John Horton
John Horton
John Horton is a film and television actor.-Selected filmography:*The Shawshank Redemption , as 1946 Judge*Thinner , as Judge Cary Rossington*Donnie Brasco , as FBI Director-TV-series:*Moment of Truth , as Eric...
, the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production opened October 30, 2003, starring Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
and Idina Menzel
Idina Menzel
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked.-Early life:...
. Youmans left the role of July 24, 2005 and later reprised the role in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
production for a limited engagement from December 12, 2006 through January 14, 2007. He can be heard on the show's original Broadway cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
.
Film and television
Youmans appeared in the films Mrs. SoffelMrs. Soffel
Mrs. Soffel is a 1984 American film drama based on the true Buck McGovern and the Biddle Boys case of 1901 Pittsburgh, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson. It was filmed on location in and around the Serez family Farm in Mulmer Ontario, as well as Wisconsin and establishing shots in Pittsburgh...
, Compromising Positions
Compromising Positions
Compromising Positions is a 1985 film released by Paramount and directed by Frank Perry. The screenplay, by Susan Isaacs, was adapted from her 1978 detective novel. The plot concerns a Long Island housewife and former journalist who becomes involved in a murder investigation...
, Nadine
Nadine (1987 film)
Nadine is a 1987 comedy film directed by Robert Benton that stars Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger.It is the story of a woman living in 1950's Austin, Texas who persuades her ex-husband into helping her break into a photographer's studio to retrieve embarrassing cheesecake pictures...
, Fresh Horses
Fresh Horses
Fresh Horses is a 1988 drama film starring Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald, directed by David Anspaugh.-Plot:A Cincinnati college student breaks off his engagement to his wealthy fiancée after he falls in love with a backwoods Kentucky girl he meets at a party...
and the independent film Last Supper.
Youmans' first television appearance was a made-for-television movie of a Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
story, The Private History of a Campaign That Failed. He has since appeared on episodes of The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
, Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
, NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.