---
name: "William S. Burroughs"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-s-burroughs"
fi1m_id: "william-s-burroughs"
imdb_id: "nm0123221"
tmdb_id: 6471
wikidata_id: "Q188176"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "5 February 1914"
died: "2 August 1997"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-26T01:55:02.272959+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William S. Burroughs

## Identity

William S. Burroughs

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/william-s-burroughs
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** william-s-burroughs
- **IMDb ID:** nm0123221
- **TMDB ID:** 6471
- **Wikidata ID:** Q188176
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188176, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0123221/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6471

Writer. Born 5 February 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Died 2 August 1997.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 5 February 1914, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- **Died:** 2 August 1997
- **Active:** 1989–2024
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 1 acting, 2 writing
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 83 (1), 1990s 78 (1), 2020s 68 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S._Burroughs, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188176, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0123221/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6471

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Drugstore Cowboy*](https://film.one/film/drugstore-cowboy.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

William S. Burroughs (5 February 1914 – 2 August 1997) was an American writer. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he wrote the novels *Naked Lunch* (1959) and *Queer* (1985).

His work provided the source material for the films *Naked Lunch* (1991) and *Queer* (2024). Burroughs appeared as Tom the Priest in Gus Van Sant’s *Drugstore Cowboy* (1989).

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (1)

- *Drugstore Cowboy* (1989), Fi1m 83, as Tom the Priest — [page](https://film.one/film/drugstore-cowboy.md)

### Wrote (2) — the average rests on these

- *Queer* (2024), Fi1m 68, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/queer.md)
- *Naked Lunch* (1991), Fi1m 78, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/naked-lunch.md)

## Complete filmography (44)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Queer* (2024), Novel — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/queer.md)
- *The Wild Boys* (2017), Original Story
- *Robert E. Fulton III Edit of Burroughs: The Movie* (2015), Actor
- *William S. Burroughs: The Possessed* (2015), Actor
- *William S. Burroughs Birthday Bash* (2014), Writer
- *The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye* (2012), Actor
- *Nova Express* (2009), as Narrator (voice) · Writer
- *Ma bande magnétique arrière* (2009), Writer
- *Joy Division* (2009), Actor
- *The Japanese Sandman* (2008), Writer
- *Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs On the Road* (2007), Actor
- *Wanderlust* (2006), as Tom the Priest
- *The Last Words of Dutch Schultz* (2001), Writer
- *The Making of Drugstore Cowboy* (1999), Actor
- *The Book of Life* (1998), as Preacher on Radio (voice)
- *Good Will Hunting* (1997), In Memory Of — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/good-will-hunting.md)
- *Ah Pook Is Here.* (1994), Narrator, Novel
- *The Junky's Christmas* (1993), Narrator, Novel
- *Naked Lunch* (1991), Novel — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/naked-lunch.md)
- *Wax, or The Discovery of Television Among the Bees* (1991), as James "Hive" Maker
- *Thanksgiving Prayer* (1991), as A Speaker · Writer
- *The Black Rider* (1990), Writer
- *Bloodhounds of Broadway* (1989), as Butler
- *Drugstore Cowboy* (1989), as Tom the Priest — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/drugstore-cowboy.md)
- *Twister* (1989), as Man in Barn
- *It Don't Pay to Be an Honest Citizen* (1985), as Mafioso
- *The Final Academy Documents* (1984), Actor
- *Decoder* (1984), as Old Man
- *Pirate Tape* (1983), Actor
- *The Discipline of D.E.* (1982), Story
- *Taking Tiger Mountain* (1982), Writer
- *American Playhouse* (1982), series, as Butler
- *Ghost at No. 9* (1982), Writer
- *Pirates: William Burroughs in London* (1982), Actor
- *Energy and How to Get It* (1981), Actor
- *Shamans of the Blind Country* (1981), as Narrator (voice)
- *Une semaine dans la vie de camarades* (1976), Actor
- *Bill and Tony* (1972), Writer
- *Ice Cream* (1970), Writer
- *Witchcraft Through the Ages* (1968), Narrator, Writer
- *Chappaqua* (1966), as Opium Jones
- *The Cut-Ups* (1966), Story
- *Towers Open Fire* (1963), Writer
- *William Buys a Parrot* (1963), Writer

## Gallery

- ![William S. Burroughs](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-6561ceac1703.png) William S. Burroughs — Revista Panorama Número 297 de Enero, 1973., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/William_Burroughs_en_1973.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William S. Burroughs receiving his Birthday cake in 1983, aged 70.burroughs1983](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-c3898a85804c.jpg) William S. Burroughs receiving his Birthday cake in 1983, aged 70.burroughs1983 — Chuck Patch, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Burroughs1983.jpg/1280px-Burroughs1983.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Burroughs enjoying cake and alcohol at his 70th birthday. (1983)](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-567080f7e97c.jpg) William Burroughs enjoying cake and alcohol at his 70th birthday. (1983) — Chuck Patch, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Burroughs1983_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Burroughs, portrait by italian artist Graziano Origa, pen&ink, 1997](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-8cebc3745d6a.jpg) William Burroughs, portrait by italian artist Graziano Origa, pen&ink, 1997 — Origafoundation, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Burroughs_by_origa_bw.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William S. Burroughs](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-d13c1ac46140.jpg) William S. Burroughs — Image via TMDB
- ![William S. Burroughs](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-645ea3fce2ff.jpg) William S. Burroughs — Image via TMDB
- ![William S. Burroughs](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-9cf1ebc05f94.jpg) William S. Burroughs — Image via TMDB
- ![Backdrop from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Taken in the Beatles Museum in Liverpool UK. (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-9cddde61e462.jpg) Backdrop from the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Taken in the Beatles Museum in Liverpool UK. (2011) — Ronald Saunders from Warrington, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flickr_-_ronsaunders47_-_The_Beatles-Sgt_Pepper_backdrop..jpg/1280px-Flickr_-_ronsaunders47_-_The_Beatles-Sgt_Pepper_backdrop..jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Graves of William Seward Burroughs I (1857–1898), Mortimer P. Burroughs (1885–1965), Laura Lee Burroughs (1888–1970), and William Seward Burroughs II (1914–1997 (2025)](https://film.one/media/person/10344/gallery-48f99e53a63b.jpg) Graves of William Seward Burroughs I (1857–1898), Mortimer P. Burroughs (1885–1965), Laura Lee Burroughs (1888–1970), and William Seward Burroughs II (1914–1997 (2025) — Nick Number, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Graves_of_William_Seward_Burroughs_I_%281857%E2%80%931898%29%2C_Mortimer_P._Burroughs_%281885%E2%80%931965%29%2C_Laura_Lee_Burroughs_%281888%E2%80%931970%29%2C_and_William_Seward_Burroughs_II_%281914%E2%80%931997%29_at_Bellefontaine_Cemetery%2C_St._Louis.jpg/1280px-thumbnail.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- Locus Award for Best Short Story 1988: Locus Award for Best Short Story (nominated), for *The Ghost Lemurs of Madagascar*
- Nebula Award for Best Novel 1966: Nebula Award for Best Novel (nominated), for *Nova Express*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-s-burroughs