Biography
William Redfield (26 January 1927 – 17 August 1976) was an American actor and author. Born in New York City, he made his Broadway debut as a child in the 1936 musical Swing Your Lady and appeared in numerous theatrical productions over four decades, including the original 1938 production of Our Town and as Guildenstern in the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet.
His film roles include Fantastic Voyage (1966), Morituri (1965), A New Leaf (1971), The Hot Rock (1972), Death Wish (1974) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), in which he played Dale Harding. He also appeared in television series such as The Odd Couple (1970) and The Bob Newhart Show (1972). Redfield wrote the 1967 book Letters from an Actor about his experience in the Hamlet production.
Redfield died in New York City at the age of 49 from a respiratory ailment complicated by leukaemia. He had two children; his son Adam Redfield became an actor.
