William Redfield (January 26, 1927 – August 17, 1976) was an American actor and author who appeared in numerous theatrical, film, radio, and television roles.

Acting career

Born in New York City, Redfield appeared in the original 1938 Broadway production of Our Town. A founding member of New York's Actors Studio, Redfield's additional theatre credits include A Man for All Seasons, Hamlet, You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, and Dude. He also sang & danced the role of "Mercury" in Cole Porter's Out of This World.

Other Broadway credits include: Excursion (1937), Virginia (1937), Stop-over (1938), Junior Miss, Snafu, U.S.A., Barefoot Boy With Cheek (1947), Montserrat (1949), Misalliance (1953), Double in Hearts (1956), Midgie Purvis (1961), A Minor Adjustment (1967) and The Love Suicide at Schofield Barracks (1972).

His film credits include The Connection, Such Good Friends, Fantastic Voyage, A New Leaf, For Pete's Sake, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

On television, Redfield played the title role in the DuMont series Jimmy Hughes, Rookie Cop (1953), and appeared in The Philco Television Playhouse, Lux Video Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, Studio One, As the World Turns, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, Maude, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II, and The Bob Newhart Show. He is best known as Floyd, the younger brother of Felix Unger (played by Tony Randall), on The Odd Couple.

Author

In his book Letters from an Actor, Redfield published a colorful and personal recollection of his work in the renowned 1964 international stage production of Hamlet, starring Richard Burton and directed by Sir John Gielgud.

Death

Redfield's best known film appearance was as Dale Harding in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It was during the filming of the Oscar-winning movie that Redfield was diagnosed with leukemia. He died on August 17, 1976 at age 49, less than a year after the film was released.

Selected Filmography

• Back Door to Heaven (1939)
• Conquest of Space (1955)
• The Proud and Profane (1956)
• I Married a Woman (1958)
• The Connection (1961)
• Hamlet (1964)
• Morituri (1965)
• Duel at Diablo (1966)
• Fantastic Voyage (1966)
• Pigeons (1971)
• A New Leaf (1971)
• Such Good Friends (1971)
• The Hot Rock (1972)
• For Pete's Sake (1974)
• Death Wish (1974)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
• Mr. Billion (1977)