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{{short description|American actor}}
]
{{Other people}}
{{Infobox person
|image = Hometown Heroes 2015 (16395443631).jpg
|caption = Williams in 2015
|name = Victor Williams
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|9|19}}
|birth_place = ], U.S.
|occupation = Actor
|yearsactive = 1984–present
|education ={{ubl|] {{small|(])}}|] {{small|(])}}}}
}}
'''Victor L. Williams''' (born September 19, 1970) is an American actor best known as ]'s (]) best friend ] on ''].'' He has also appeared on several other hit TV shows, including ''],'' ''],'' ''],'' ''],'' ''],'' '']'' and ''].''<ref></ref> In 2012, Williams was seen and heard as a pitchman for ] television commercials.<ref>{{cite web |title= Whatever happened to the actor who played Deacon Palmer on King of Queens? |work= USA Today |date= April 13, 2012 |first1= Gayle Jo |last1= Carter |first2= Brian |last2= Truitt |url= http://vip.usaweekend.com/2012/04/q-whatever-happened-to-the-actor-who-played-deacon-palmer-on-king-of-queens/ |access-date= October 19, 2013 |archive-date= October 19, 2013 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20131019004031/http://vip.usaweekend.com/2012/04/q-whatever-happened-to-the-actor-who-played-deacon-palmer-on-king-of-queens/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>


==Early life==
When Victor Williams was a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, he never dreamed about becoming a professional actor. Instead, he dreamed about playing basketball for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, just like the great Michael Jordan.
Williams was born in ]. He attended ], where he played on the school basketball team with his height at 6&nbsp;ft 5 1/2 in (1.97 m). He went on to attend college at ] in ]. Then he received a ] degree in acting from ]'s ] at the ].<ref>{{cite web | title=NYU Graduate Acting Alumni | url=http://gradacting.tisch.nyu.edu/object/ga_alumbios.html | year=2011 | access-date=2011-12-08 | archive-date=2012-07-05 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705121632/http://gradacting.tisch.nyu.edu/object/ga_alumbios.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Filmography==
Things didn't work out as planned; they worked out better. Instead of becoming a basketball standout, the Binghamton University alumnus has become a TV standout, with a regular role in the long-running CBS sitcom King of Queens. The prime-time show has gained in the ratings every year and is now in both its sixth season on CBS and a run in syndication.


===Film===
On the show, Williams has earned kudos for his portrayal of Deacon Palmer, a delivery truck driver who's the best friend of the lead character, Doug Heffernan, played by Kevin James. A few admirers have even likened Williams' Palmer to Art Carney's Ed Norton character in the classic The Honeymooners program of the 1950s.
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1984
| '']''
| Little Creature
|
|-
| '']''
| Onlooker
|
|-
| 1996
| '']''
| Robbie
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1997
| '']''
| Russell
|
|-
| '']''
| Black Man
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1999
| ''Graham's Diner''
| -
|
|-
| ''Disaster Video''
| Security Guard
| Short
|-
| 2001
| '']''
| Jersey
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2003
| '']''
| Kenneth
|
|-
| '']''
| Dan
| Voice, direct-to-video
|-
| ''World Record''
| Dan
| Voice, short
|-
| 2004
| ''First Breath''
| Eddie
| Short
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2005
| '']''
| Police Officer
|
|-
| ''The Toy Warrior''
| Voice
|
|-
| 2006
| '']''
| Darrell
|
|-
| 2007
| ''A New Tomorrow''
| Joby / Interviewer
|
|-
| 2008
| ''Tomorrow Never Knows''
| Kevin
| Short
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2009
| ''Lenox Avenue''
| Dallas Kirkland
|
|-
| ''Release''
| Reggie
| Short
|-
| ''Dream State''
| Dr. Forsythe
| Short
|-
| 2010
| ''Notes on Being Young''
| Dr. Christenfeld
| Short
|-
| 2011
| ''Kissed by the Devil''
| Jordan King
| Short
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2012
| ''Single Hills''
| Rob Francis
|
|-
| ''It's Just Funny I'm Saying''
| Don Jaun
| Television film
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2013
| ''Home''
| Hamilton
|
|-
| ''80/20''
| Vic
|
|-
| 2014
| '']''
| Social Worker
|
|-
| 2015
| ''I'll Text You''
| -
| Short
|-
| 2016
| ''Saturday in the Park''
| Henry
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2017
| '']''
| Ray
|
|-
| '']''
| Mr. Broadus
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2018
| '']''
| Howard
|
|-
| ''Jewtah''
| Lone Man
|
|}


===Television===
A modest guy, Williams doesn't buy such flattering comparisons, calling them "a bit lofty." But, after more than five years of working on the show and sweating through series and contract renewals, he's finally beginning to believe he might have some job security in television. "It's such an unsure business," he said. "This is the first year that I've allowed myself to enjoy its success."
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1996
| '']''
| Ishmael Al-Hadj
| Episode: "Scene of the Crime"
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1997
| '']''
| Uniform Policeman Wilson
| Episode: "Legacy"
|-
| '']''
| Freddie James
| Episode: "The Solomon Papers"
|-
| '']''
| Det. Beckley
| Episode: "Blue Highway"
|-
| 1998
| '']''
| Leon
| Episode: "Soul Mate to Cellmate"
|-
| 1998-2001
| '']''
| Roger McGrath
| Recurring cast: season 4, guest: season 5 & 7
|-
| 1998-2007
| '']''
| Deacon Palmer
| Main cast
|-
| 2000
| '']''
| Officer Craig Armstrong
| Episode: "Blowing Smoke"
|-
| 2003
| '']''
| Snooty British Director, Lieutenant
| Voice, episode: "Eclipsed"
|-
| 2005
| '']''
| Marcus
| Episode: "Pilot"
|-
| 2008
| '']''
| Mr. Hines
| Episode: "Stand and Deliver"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2009
| '']''
| Police Officer West
| Recurring cast: season 2
|-
| '']''
| Phil
| Episode: "Inner Child"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2010
| '']''
| Robert Mercer
| Episode: "I Saw This Pig and I Thought of You"
|-
| '']''
| Oliver
| Episode: "Samaritan"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2012
| '']''
| Friend
| Episode: "Friend"
|-
| '']''
| Sgt. Michael Conrad
| Recurring cast
|-
| 2013
| '']''
| Todd
| Episode: "Interns"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2014
| '']''
| Ron Jensen
| Episode: "Penguin One, Us Zero"
|-
| '']''
| Carter Greyson
| Episode: "Sticky Content"
|-
| 2014-18
| '']''
| Detective Jeffries
| Recurring cast: season 1-2 & 4
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2016
| '']''
| Officer
| Episode: "Susan Hargrave"
|-
| '']''
| Mike
| Episode: "Museebat"
|-
| '']''
| Assessor
| Recurring cast: season 1
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2017
| '']''
| Richard
| Recurring cast: season 1
|-
| '']''
| Anthony Colvert
| Episode: "Minefield"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2018
| '']''
| Jon Hoyt
| Episode: "The Worms Crawl in, the Worms Crawl Out"
|-
| '']''
| D.A. Hutchinson
| Recurring cast: season 2
|-
| 2018-19
| '']''
| Gerald
| Main cast
|-
| 2018-21
| '']''
| AUSA Rosenberg
| Recurring cast: season 2, guest: season 5
|-
|rowspan="3"| 2020
| '']''
| Pastor Don
| Episode: "Welcome to the New Pastor"
|-
| '']''
| Detective Kennedy Groton
| Recurring cast
|-
| '']''
| Coachman Jim
| Recurring cast
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2021
| '']''
| Special Agent Moses Reed
| Episode: "Chattaboogie"
|-
| ''A Luv Tale: The Series''
| Preston/George
| Recurring cast
|-
| 2022
| '']''
| Makawon Butterfield
| Episode: "I Speak in the Tongues of Men and Angels"
|-
| 2023
|'']''
|Wendell Robinson
| Recurring cast
|-
| 2024
| '']''
| Aaron Pritchard
| Episode: "The Wrong Stuff"
|}


==References==
The 33-year-old actor, who graduated from Binghamton with a theater degree, has plenty of other acting credits. Besides starring in King of Queens, he's appeared in such dramatic programs as ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue and The Practice. He has also appeared in such films as The Preacher's Wife, Cop Land and Me and Mrs. Jones, and done voiceovers for Gatorade's national TV advertising campaign.
{{Reflist}}

But it's the beer-drinking, sports-loving, truck-driving Deacon Palmer who has put Williams on the map in Hollywood. To this day, he still can't believe that a simple blue-collar sitcom few thought would last more than a season or two would prove to be his big break.

"Comedy was never my strength," he said. "I was the least likely to wind up on a sitcom. But I am sort of the straight guy, the set-up man."

Williams' character has his comic moments, too. For example, in his favorite episode, Palmer and his wife, Kelly, go off on a romantic weekend with Heffernan and his wife, Carrie. While Doug and Carrie grope with their insecurities about being away together in one bedroom, they learn that Deacon and Kelly are groping in a different way next door. Through the thin walls dividing the two rooms, the Heffernans hear their friends' favorite lovemaking music, Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," play constantly throughout the night. "I bask in the glow of Deacon being a sexual machine," Williams said, chuckling.

Unlike many professionals, Williams didn't spend his youth performing in school and community shows. His first theater experience didn't come until his senior year at Midwood High School in Flatbush, when a good friend convinced him to take an English class that involved acting.

"I stumbled upon it," he said. "I did a scene with her and loved it."

Williams then headed off to Binghamton. When he found out that he wasn't talented enough to realize his basketball ambitions, he chucked his hoop dreams and set his sights on political science and preparing for law school. As a lark, he decided to take a few acting classes, too.

But, after three years, Williams realized that he had taken more acting than political science courses. He also realized that he was scoring higher grades in theater than in his major.

"I felt excited about going to my theater classes," he said. "Being on stage was where I felt I belonged.

Williams' theater professors also urged him on. In particular, two professors -- Richard Cuyler, now associate professor emeritus, and Don Boros, associate professor -- advised him to give acting a shot. He switched his major, taking extra theater classes and starring in several plays, including his favorite, Lanford Wilson's The Rimers of Eldritch.

"It's great to follow your passion," he said. "But you also need someone who's good at what you do and tells you you're good."

After graduating from Binghamton, Williams earned a master of fine arts in acting from New York University and turned professional. Three years later, he won the Deacon Palmer part for the King of Queens pilot. With the show's creators seeing Palmer as just a guest star, Williams shot the pilot and went back to New York, thinking he was done. Then he got a call that CBS had picked up the show and the producers wanted him back as a cast member.

"You always wait for the break to come," he said. "You expect it to be such a big event. But it was a trickle -- a pilot, then a show, then a lot of people who thought it wouldn't succeed." Now that the show has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, Williams is running into greater demands on his time. In addition to learning his lines and rehearsing Monday through Thursday and then spending 12 hours rehearsing and shooting each episode on Friday, he's getting called on to do lots of publicity events, photo shoots and interviews this season. Not that he's really complaining. "It's not as bad as people want to make it out," he said. Although "it's time consuming, it's a lot of fun for me."

'''Victor L. Williams''' (born ], ] in ]) is an ] ].

He first appeared on TV in the series '']'', but is best known as ]'s best friend ] on
'']''.

Victor Williams attended ] in ], and played power forward on the basketball team.

He stands 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) in height.


==External links== ==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.victor-williams.com}}
*{{imdb|id=0931879|name=Victor Williams}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0931879|name=Victor Williams}}

{{authority control}}
{{US-tv-actor-1970s-stub}}

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] {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Victor}}
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Latest revision as of 07:02, 10 December 2024

American actor For other people named Victor Williams, see Victor Williams (disambiguation).
Victor Williams
Williams in 2015
Born (1970-09-19) September 19, 1970 (age 54)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Education
OccupationActor
Years active1984–present

Victor L. Williams (born September 19, 1970) is an American actor best known as Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) best friend Deacon Palmer on The King of Queens. He has also appeared on several other hit TV shows, including Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, ER, New York Undercover, Girlfriends, Fringe and The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2012, Williams was seen and heard as a pitchman for Verizon Fios television commercials.

Early life

Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Midwood High School, where he played on the school basketball team with his height at 6 ft 5 1/2 in (1.97 m). He went on to attend college at Binghamton University in Upstate New York. Then he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues Little Creature
Beat Street Onlooker
1996 The Preacher's Wife Robbie
1997 Cop Land Russell
A Brooklyn State of Mind Black Man
1999 Graham's Diner -
Disaster Video Security Guard Short
2001 Me & Mrs. Jones Jersey
2003 With or Without You Kenneth
The Animatrix Dan Voice, direct-to-video
World Record Dan Voice, short
2004 First Breath Eddie Short
2005 Bewitched Police Officer
The Toy Warrior Voice
2006 Traci Townsend Darrell
2007 A New Tomorrow Joby / Interviewer
2008 Tomorrow Never Knows Kevin Short
2009 Lenox Avenue Dallas Kirkland
Release Reggie Short
Dream State Dr. Forsythe Short
2010 Notes on Being Young Dr. Christenfeld Short
2011 Kissed by the Devil Jordan King Short
2012 Single Hills Rob Francis
It's Just Funny I'm Saying Don Jaun Television film
2013 Home Hamilton
80/20 Vic
2014 Hungry Hearts Social Worker
2015 I'll Text You - Short
2016 Saturday in the Park Henry
2017 Trouble Ray
November Criminals Mr. Broadus
2018 The Land of Steady Habits Howard
Jewtah Lone Man

Television

Year Film Role Notes
1996 Homicide: Life on the Street Ishmael Al-Hadj Episode: "Scene of the Crime"
1997 Law & Order Uniform Policeman Wilson Episode: "Legacy"
New York Undercover Freddie James Episode: "The Solomon Papers"
Profiler Det. Beckley Episode: "Blue Highway"
1998 The Jamie Foxx Show Leon Episode: "Soul Mate to Cellmate"
1998-2001 ER Roger McGrath Recurring cast: season 4, guest: season 5 & 7
1998-2007 The King of Queens Deacon Palmer Main cast
2000 The Practice Officer Craig Armstrong Episode: "Blowing Smoke"
2003 Justice League Snooty British Director, Lieutenant Voice, episode: "Eclipsed"
2005 Love, Inc. Marcus Episode: "Pilot"
2008 Girlfriends Mr. Hines Episode: "Stand and Deliver"
2009 Flight of the Conchords Police Officer West Recurring cast: season 2
Fringe Phil Episode: "Inner Child"
2010 Mercy Robert Mercer Episode: "I Saw This Pig and I Thought of You"
Blue Bloods Oliver Episode: "Samaritan"
2012 Delocated Friend Episode: "Friend"
NYC 22 Sgt. Michael Conrad Recurring cast
2013 The Michael J. Fox Show Todd Episode: "Interns"
2014 The Leftovers Ron Jensen Episode: "Penguin One, Us Zero"
The Good Wife Carter Greyson Episode: "Sticky Content"
2014-18 The Affair Detective Jeffries Recurring cast: season 1-2 & 4
2016 The Blacklist Officer Episode: "Susan Hargrave"
High Maintenance Mike Episode: "Museebat"
People of Earth Assessor Recurring cast: season 1
2017 Sneaky Pete Richard Recurring cast: season 1
Madam Secretary Anthony Colvert Episode: "Minefield"
2018 Elementary Jon Hoyt Episode: "The Worms Crawl in, the Worms Crawl Out"
The Sinner D.A. Hutchinson Recurring cast: season 2
2018-19 Happy Together Gerald Main cast
2018-21 Bull AUSA Rosenberg Recurring cast: season 2, guest: season 5
2020 The Neighborhood Pastor Don Episode: "Welcome to the New Pastor"
Hunters Detective Kennedy Groton Recurring cast
The Good Lord Bird Coachman Jim Recurring cast
2021 FBI: Most Wanted Special Agent Moses Reed Episode: "Chattaboogie"
A Luv Tale: The Series Preston/George Recurring cast
2022 The Righteous Gemstones Makawon Butterfield Episode: "I Speak in the Tongues of Men and Angels"
2023 Justified: City Primeval Wendell Robinson Recurring cast
2024 Elsbeth Aaron Pritchard Episode: "The Wrong Stuff"

References

  1. Starpulse.com
  2. Carter, Gayle Jo; Truitt, Brian (April 13, 2012). "Whatever happened to the actor who played Deacon Palmer on King of Queens?". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  3. "NYU Graduate Acting Alumni". 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2011-12-08.

External links

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