Willy DeVille

Willy DeVille

Birth : 1950-08-25, Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.

Death : 2009-08-06

History

Willy DeVille, born William Paul Borsey Jr., was an American singer/songwriter and actor. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. A fourteen year old kid has just settled in on the roof of a building on MacDougal Street. We’re in the early sixties, New York. The West Village. Sounds of the raucous and throaty voice of Fred Neil, of Bob Dylan's unbridled folk hymns and of the electroshock guitar of Jimi Hendrix waft out of the clubs on the street. And the kid living on the roof, he takes it all in. Willy DeVille's introduction to music contains within it the true and complete character of an urban tale.

Profile

Willy DeVille

Movies

Willy DeVille: Live at Rockpalast (1995 & 2008)
Himself
Live concert of Willy DeVille. TWO ‘LIVE AT ROCKPALAST’ PERFORMANCES: DVD 1: Museumsplatz, Bonn, Germany, 19th July, 2008 DVD 2: Biskuithalle, Bonn, Germany, 25th March, 1995
Mink DeVille: Live at Montreux 1982
Self
1982 found Mink DeVille in the middle of the transition from their CBGB's New York punk origins to a more subtle, rootsier sound blending soul, R & B, Cajun and other influences. Led by Willy DeVille, whose unique style and inimitable gravelly voice always made them stand out from the crowd, Mink DeVille released their first album in 1977 and immediately had a huge hit with the track Spanish Stroll. By the time of this appearance at Montreux in 1982 they were touring in support of the fourth album Coup De Grace and the show features tracks from across their career to that point as well as a couple of unreleased gems including their cover of the Ben E. King classic Stand By Me.
Willy DeVille: Live in the Lowlands
Filmed at the Paradiso in Amsterdam in autumn 2005, Live In The Lowlands is the first-ever live DVD from Willy DeVille. The show took place on the tour for his most recent album, Crow Jane Alley, and includes performances that span both his solo career and his years with Mink DeVille. The DVD also includes a brand new interview with Willy as a bonus feature.
Willy DeVille: The Berlin Concerts
Himself
"The Berlin Concerts" comprises two quite different performances, which Willy DeVille gave in Berlin in 2002 and which complement each other: an unplugged concert in small trio format, which took place in the Columbiahalle on 21 March, and a regular live gig with full band line-up in the Metropol on 24 June.
Born to Lose: The Last Rock and Roll Movie
Himself
Veteran documentary filmmaker and hipster Lech Kowalski creates this film about his friend and hard-partying rock god Johnny Thunders, member of legendary proto-punk band the New York Dolls. Through archive footage and interviews with such musicians as Dee Dee Ramone and Sylvain Sylvain, the film details his stint with the Dolls, the formation of his other band, the Heartbreakers; his rise to fame, particularly in Japan; his descent into heroin addiction, and the mysterious circumstances of his death.
Cypress Edge
Alfred Waxman
Reeling from the news of his sister's suicide, Beau McCammon returns home to his family after a long absence. His father, who has just barely won another term as senator, doesn't take things well when Beau approaches him with the sinking suspicion that the suicide may have actually been a murder. Determined to solve the mystery, Beau uncovers a plethora of family secrets, deception, and implications of unspeakable political wrongdoings.
Beautiful Losers
Willy DeVille live in concert.
Bullet
Willy Lookout
A tough, Jewish ex-con just released from prison crosses a powerful drug dealer and former prison rival in his return to a life of crime.
Homeboy
Moe's bodyguard
Johnny Walker is a cowboy and a boxer. He is very shy and a bit of a fool. He is in love with Ruby, but he cannot tell her. He is also a bit old to keep on boxing, but its the only thing he does well.
The Princess Bride
The Balladeer (voice) (uncredited)
In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of unusual size. But even death can't stop these true lovebirds from triumphing.
Va Banque
Hustler
Three ordinary, disillusioned citizens decide to rob an armored car.