Bill Mumy
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| Bill Mumy | |
 Billy Mumy as "Will Robinson" in the Irwin Allen science-fiction series Lost in Space, circa 1967. |
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| Birth name | Charles William Mumy, Jr. |
| Born | February 1, 1954 (age 53) San Gabriel, California, USA |
| Other name(s) | Billy Mumy |
| Official site | BillMumy.com |
| Notable roles | Will Robinson in Lost in Space (TV) Erasmus Leaf in Dear Brigitte Lennier in Babylon 5 (TV) |
Charles William Mumy, Jr., (MOO-mee), (born February 1, 1954 in San Gabriel, California, USA) is an American actor, musician, voice-over actor and a figure in the science fiction community.
Mumy entered professional entertainment at the age of five by his own decision. With red hair, freckles and a boyish-charm, he was favored by a generation of movie-goers. Mumy has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has appeared in 18 feature films, including Dear Brigitte, Rascal and Papillon.
He has appeared in over 400 television episodes, many of which have been deemed "classic" due to his performances. Among these are The Twilight Zone, Bewitched and The Munsters. Mumy is best known by fans around the world for the creation of his memorable role as the heroic boy astronaut Will Robinson on the classic Irwin Allen series Lost in Space. From 1993 through 1998 he played his most famous adult role, the noble, mystical "Lennier" in the popular science fiction series Babylon 5.
Mumy survived and thrived beyond his child actor days, much to his credit and that of his family. Throughout his career and personal life, Mumy has been recognized for his easy-going and personable nature, although known to be a prankster at times.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and career
He began his professional career at the age of 5 and has worked on over 400 television episodes, 18 motion pictures, various commercials and scores of voice over work as well as working as a musician, songwriter, recording artist and writer.
[edit] Television career
He is well known as a player in the original The Twilight Zone, especially in the episode, "It's a Good Life", where he played the all-powerful and evil child "Anthony" who completely dominates and terrorizes his town. He later played an adult Anthony, whose daughter (played by his real-life daughter Liliana Mumy) has similar powers, in the second revival of The Twilight Zone.
Mumy was the first choice for the role of Eddie Munster but his parents objected because of the extensive make-up; Billy did appear in one episode as a friend of Eddie.
He is probably best known as "Will Robinson" from the 1960s television series Lost in Space and as Lennier. As the alien ambassadorial aide Lennier from Babylon 5, Mumy has garnered the praise of many fans for his depiction of the character. Initially a gentle, intelligent, and naive person who serves Minbari ambassador Delenn out of genuine admiration. He eventually falls in love with Delenn but is forced to suppress his feelings, seeing himself as an inadequate counterpart for Delenn. He understands that Delenn has a grand destiny before her that includes Earthforce Captain John Sheridan, not himself. He begins to exhibit his dark side in the episode Ceremonies of Light and Dark (his love for Delenn is also first revealed here), his normal gentleness and calm demeanor replaced with anger as he worries for Delenn after she is abducted by human terrorists aboard the station. He grows more and more jealous of the love Delenn has for the human captain, eventually leading him to "betray" Sheridan by leaving him for dead in a fire aboard one of the Whitestar ships. When Sheridan is rescued moments later, Lennier leaves, ashamed of what he had done.
He played a Starfleet member in the acclaimed Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Siege of AR-558". To his delight, he plays a human character who assists Ezri Dax in turning cloaked Dominion mines against an army of Jem'hadar.
[edit] Voice-over career
Mumy has narrated over 50 episodes of the Arts & Entertainment Channel's Biography series as well as hosting and narrating several other documentaries and specials for A & E, Animal Planet, The Sci Fi Channel and E!. His voice over acting talents can be heard on animated shows like Ren and Stimpy, Scooby Doo, Batman: The Animated Series, Steven Spielberg's Animaniacs, Little Wizard Adventures, The Oz Kids and Disney's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. He also voices dozens of national commercials such as Farmer's Insurance, Ford, Bud Ice, Blockbuster, Twix, and McDonald's.
[edit] Music career
Mumy is an accomplished musician who plays guitar, bass, keyboards, banjo, mandolin, harmonica and percussion. Among his various musical credits Bill has recorded and written songs with America, toured with Shaun Cassidy and played in Rick Springfield's band in the film, Hard to Hold. He also created the band The Be Five with other Babylon 5 actors. Along with comic book artists who also are musicians, he'll perform at SDCC in a band called Seduction of the Innocent.
Mumy has released a number of solo CDs, including Dying To Be Heard, In The Current, Pandora's Box, "After Dreams Come True", "Los Angeles Times" and "Ghosts" as well as 9 albums with partner Robert Haimer as Barnes and Barnes. Their most famous hit is the song "Fish Heads" which was named as one of the top 100 videos of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
[edit] Personal life
Unlike many child actors, Mumy entered the profession at his own insistence, and his parents took pains to make sure he matured properly in his job. His father, who was a cattle rancher, carefully invested his son's income, and thereby avoided problems encountered by other child actors of his period, like Charles Herbert.
He currently lives in Hollywood Hills, California, with his wife Eileen and their two accomplished child actor children, Seth and Liliana.
[edit] Current activity
His most recent acting performances can be seen in a 2006 episode of Crossing Jordan and the SciFi original film A.I. Assault.
[edit] Trivia
- Mumy is currently a member of the band The Jenerators. They have released three CDs: Jenerators, Hitting the Silk and Pony Up.
- Mumy is the co-creator with writer Peter David of the award winning children's television series Space Cases. The two have also written screenplays, comic books and short stories together.
[edit] Select filmography
- See the complete Bill Mumy filmography at IMDB
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Wizard of Baghdad | Aladdin (uncredited) |
| 1961 | Tammy Tell Me True | Neil Bateman (uncredited) |
| 1963 | A Child Is Waiting | Boy counting Jean's pearls |
| 1963 | A Ticklish Affair | Alex Martin |
| 1963 | Palm Springs Weekend | 'Boom Boom' Yates |
| 1965 | Dear Brigitte | Erasmus Leaf |
| 1968 | Wild in the Streets | Boy |
| 1969 | Rascal | Sterling North |
| 1971 | Bless the Beasts & Children | Teft |
| 1973 | Papillon | Lariot |
| 1982 | Fish Heads | Art Barnes |
| 1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Tim (Segment #3) |
| 1984 | Hard to Hold | Keyboard Player |
| 1991 | Captain America | Young General Fleming |
| 1992 | Double Trouble | Bob |
| 1995 | Three Wishes | Neighbor |
| 1997 | The Monkey Prince | Voice of Sam |
| 1997 | Underground Adventure | Voice of Sam |
| 1997 | The Weird Al Show | UPS guy |
| 2005 | Holly Hobbie and Friends: Surprise Party (Direct to DVD) |
Voice of Bud (Amy's father) |
[edit] Notes
With his manifold artistic careers, Mumy attributes his eclectic career to his love for art.
| “ | I get bored doing one thing only. I've been very lucky to explore a lot of different artistic territory and I don't see why I won't continue on that path. | ” |
[edit] External links
- Bill Mumy at the Internet Movie Database
- Bill Mumy at TV.com
- Bill Mumy article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- http://www.billmumy.com/
