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William Baldwin, better known by family and close friends as ' Billy ' was born the third son and fourth child of Irish Catholic parents, Alexander Rae Baldwin, Jr. and Carol Martineau Baldwin on February 21st, 1963 in Massapequa, Long Island ( New York ). William grew up in Nassau Shores behind the Pennisula Golf Course, with his 5 siblings, Beth, Alec, Daniel, Jane, and Stephen, and since their Dad, Alexander was a football coach, William and his brothers quickly got into sports. In fact, while in high school, his older brothers Alec and Daniel actually played football against their father's team at Massapequa High School, during their annual end of the year Thanksgiving football game. And along with this infamous Baldwin holiday came another Baldwin family tradition , their annual 'Thanksgiving Wheel Barrell Bet '. This infamous family bet included having the loser Baldwin of the big game had to wheel, yeah that's right, I mean " wheel " the winner Baldwin in a wheel barrell all the way from their house to the local Baskin Robbins ( according to older brother Daniel, about a mile and a half ) and buy the winner William Baldwin and all his friends, all the ice cream they could eat. Older brother, Alec won the bet his junior year, but lost his senior, while older brother Daniel lost his junior, sophomore, and senior years. William too, attended Alfred G. Berner High School from 1977 - 1981, and proved in true Baldwin style, just how good a sportsman William Baldwin really was. William Baldwin played not only football and baseball, but was also on the high school wrestling team with all of his brothers. In fact, William Baldwin was a very successful wrestler throughout both high school and college, even becoming an all-county wrestler. For college William Baldwin attended the State University of New York at Binghampton from 1981 - 1985, where William Baldwin majored in political science. He even became an aide on Capitol Hill to New York Democrat and U.S. Representive, Thomas J. Downey, but sadly though in June of 1983, his father, a highly respected history teacher and beloved football coach, died of lung cancer at the age of 55. Soon after, seeing the success of older brother Alec's new acting career, William had a change of heart and decided to give acting a try. And so while studying acting and trying to pay the bills, William got a job as a bartender and as a male model for Calvin Klein, ( who also hired his younger brother Stephen ).
Then in 1989, William Baldwin got his first role as an actor, playing killer Robert Chambers in the ABC tv movie, " The Preppie Murder ". Suddenly in 1990, tradegy almost struck again for William and his family, when his mother Carol, ( nicknamed " The Chief " ), was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Thankfully, though Carol survived her battle with Breast Cancer. ( In 1996, Carol created " The Carol M. Baldwin Research, Fund, Inc. " A sole purposed organization dedicated to raising money for more Breast Cancer research. You can find her link in on my links page for more info ). Then in 1991, William got his first big break, co-starring with famous actors Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell, and Donald Sutherland as the cute firefighter-turned-arson detective Brian McCaffery in the movie, Backdraft. And while on a plane later that same year ( 1991 ), William Baldwin met and fell in love with singer Chynna Phillips ( half sister of ' One Day At A Time ' star, actress MacKenzie Phillips, and daughter of famous The Mamas & The Papas founders, John Phillips and Michelle Gilliam Phillips ), who happened to be traveling with her Wilson Phillips band mates ( Wendy and Carnie Wilson, daughters of famous Beach Boy, Brian Wilson ). Then in 1994, William won an MTV Award, for Most Desirable Male, for his role as Zeke Hawkins, opposite actress Sharon Stone, in the movie Sliver. And finally after four years, on September 9th, 1995, William Baldwin and Chynna were married at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic Church in South Hampton, New York. Since then, William has been very busy. William Baldwin along his brothers, has become a major Hollywood actor, starring in over a dozen movies including, " A Pyromanic's Love Story ", " Three Of Hearts ", " Flatliners ", and " Virus ", as well as being heavily involved with politics, ( voicing his opinions with older brother Alec ), running The Creative Coaltion, and co-owning his Greenwich Village restaurant, Alaia's, with younger brother Stephen. And of course, things can only get better for William Baldwin, who with wife Chynna, now have a brand new baby girl, Jameson Leon, who was born on Sunday, February 27th, 2000.
That adorable boyish charm. Those striking blue eyes. Those irresistible pale colored lips. And that famous William Baldwin smile. Sweet. Sexy. Strikingly Handsome. These are just few of the words that describe the incredible William Baldwin. But for William, there is more to Life than just having a famous name.
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