David Hedison, R.I.P.

Actor David Hedison, best known for his portrayal of Captain Lee Crane in the 1960's ABC TV series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and CIA agent Felix Leiter in the James Bond films Live & Let Die and License to Kill, passed away on July 18th at the age of 92. No cause of death has been released.


Born Al Hedison in Providence, Rhode Island, he studied acting at Brown University before moving to New York City where he studied with the likes of Martha Graham, Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner. After appearing in several Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, Hedison signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. His first notable role was the lead role in 1959 sci-fi/horror film The Fly. His starring turn in The Fly led to him to his first major TV role in the short-lived NBC adventure series The Five Fingers. It was at this point that Hedison went by his middle name David.


Hedison would return to film in 1960 starring in The Lost World. Directed by Irwin Allen, he offered Hedison a chance to star in his next film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea in the role of Captain Crane, but Hedison declined. Three years later, Hedison would accept the same role for TV and his career changed forever.

Hedison would appear in a litany of TV shows throughout the 1970's and 1980's - Barnaby Jones, Wonder Woman, The Bob Newhart Show, Charlie's Angels, Hart to Hart, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and the pilot episodes of both Benson and T.J. Hooker. Hedison also appeared in soap operas Another World and The Young and The Restless. I remember his portrayal of Spencer Harrison on Another World (Yes, I watched daytime soaps when I was university during the early 1990's). At the time, I didn't know the body of his work. I'm glad I got a chance to become more familiar with the body of his work before he was called up to that Flying Sub in the sky. R.I.P.