William Devane

Alumnus of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1961.

)He made his movie debut as a revolutionary in the independently produced In the Country (1967) and began appearing on series TV. He had a small but memorable part as the lawyer committed to free-enterprise in Robert Altman's masterpiece McCabe & Mrs.

William Devane, the movie and television actor, was born in Albany, New York, the son of Joseph Devane, who served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York. After graduating from New York City's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he appeared on-stage. He finally made his Broadway debut in "The Watering Place" with Shirley Knight, a flop that lasted but one performance. (He was more successful with "The Chinese and Dr. Fish" during the 1970 season, which lasted three weeks. His sole Broadway directorial effort, the Vietnam War drama "G. R.

Miller (1971) in 1971, but what made his reputation was his turn as President John F.

Kennedy in the The Missiles of October (1974), a 1973 telefilm about the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He made a bid for stardom with major roles in Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976) and John Schlesinger's Marathon Man (1976) (both 1976) and The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) (1977), as well as roles in Schlesinger's Yanks (1979) and the TV adaptation of James Jones' classic barracks drama From Here to Eternity (1979).

Point," lasted for 32 performances in 1979 and brought Michael Jeter a 1979 Theatre World Award.

Devane moved over to nighttime series TV, playing the cad Greg Sumner on the night-time soap opera Knots Landing (1979) for 10 years.

However, any chances for a successful movie career essentially were doomed by the monumental failure of Schlesinger's comedy Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), one of the great flops its time, bringing in only $2 million at the box office against a $24 million budget.

Best-known for political roles, largely because of his Kennedyesque looks and mannerisms. Played the President of the United States in Stargate SG-1 (1997), Stargate: Continuum (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and 24 (2001). Also played the Secretary of State in The West Wing (1999). Similarly, his character Greg Sumner on Knots Landing started as a politician.

Has the rare distinction of being in two movies that opened on the same weekend in the U.S.: Hollow Man (2000) and Space Cowboys (2000) (August 6, 2000).

Owned a restaurant, Devane's, that specializes in New York-Italian cuisine. Originally located in Indio, the restaurant expanded to Rancho Mirage, CA. Additional restaurants in La Quinta and Palm Springs were slated for a 2008 opening, but due to the economy, they closed.