American film, television, and stage actor David Hedison, best known for his lead role in the horror classic The Fly as well as the James Bond films Live and Let Die and Licence to Kill, passed away on July 18, 2019, at 92. 

His daughters confirmed his passing, saying in part: “Even in our deep sadness, we are comforted by the memory of our wonderful father. He loved us all dearly and expressed that love every day. He was adored by so many, all of whom benefited from his warm and generous heart. Our dad brought joy and humor wherever he went and did so with great style.”

Albert David Hedison Jr. was born on May 20, 1927, in Providence, Rhode Island. After beginning his acting career with the Sock and Buskin Players at Brown University, Hedison moved to New York to study with Sanford Meisner and Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He later studied with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, before acting at the Newport Casino Theatre and winning the 1951 Barter Theatre Award for most promising young actor. 

Venturing onto the New York stage, Hedison appeared in a 1952 production of Much Ado About Nothing as well as the Broadway production of A Month in the Country. The latter production ran for 48 performances on Broadway with the Theatre World declaring Hedison as one of the most promising theatre personalities of the 1955-1956 season. This stage role also led to Hedison signing a film contract with 20th Century Fox. 

His roles with 20th Century Fox include the classic war film The Enemy Below alongside Robert Mitchum, scientist Andre Delambre who turned into an insect in The Fly, and the titular hero in The Son of Robin Hood. He followed this with the lead on NBC’s short-lived Five Fingers along with guest roles on Hong Kong, Bus Stop, Marines, Let’s Go, Perry Mason, The Saint, and the film The Greatest Story Ever Told. Alongside Richard Basehart, Hedison starred as Captain Lee Crane in the television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea from 1964 to 1968.

After moving to London, Hedison guest starred on such series as Journey to the Unknown, Love, American Style, ITV Sunday Night Theatre, BBC’s Play of the Month, The F.B.I., and The New Perry Mason. He could also be seen in Kemek, A Kiss Is Just a Kiss, Crime Club, The Cat Creature, The Man in the Wood and Summer and Smoke. In 1973, Hedison was cast as Felix Leiter in Live and Let Die and later became the first actor to play James Bond’s ally in more than one film when he reprised the role in Licence to Kill.

In his later career, Hedison was a regular on the long-running soap opera Another World and returned to the stage for productions of First Love, Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Love Letters, The Scent of Jasmine, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, I Never Sang for my Father, and The Marriage Play. 

Hedison was married to his wife Bridget, a producer on Dynasty and its spin-off The Colbys, from 1968 until her passing in 2016. They had two daughters, actress/director/photographer Alexandra and editor/producer Serena, both of whom survive him.