William Fichtner

photo by PrPhotos

Birth Name: William Edward Fichtner

Place of Birth: Mitchel Field Air Force Base, East Meadow, Long Island, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: November 27, 1956

Ethnicity: German, as well as Irish, English, and Dutch

William Fichtner is an American actor. His roles include the films Strange Days, Heat (1995), Contact, Switchback, Armageddon, Go, Drowning Mona, The Perfect Storm, Black Hawk Down, Crash (2004), Nine Lives (2005), Ultraviolet, Blades of Glory, The Dark Knight, Drive Angry, The Lone Ranger (2013), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Homesman (2014), Independence Day: Resurgence, Hot Summer Nights, Krystal, 12 Strong, Traffik, and Hypnotic (2023), and television’s Invasion (2005), Prison Break, Crossing Lines, Mom, Joe vs. Carole, and The Company You Keep.

William was raised in Cheektowaga, a Buffalo suburb. He is the son of Patricia and William Fichtner. His father had German, and some English and Dutch, ancestry. His mother was of approximately five eighths German and three eighths Irish descent.

He has a son with his wife Kymberly Kalil; and one child with his former wife, actress Betsy Aidem.

William’s paternal grandfather was Charles John Fichtner (the son of Charles John Fichtner and Helen Bernadine Behnke). William’s grandfather Charles was born in New York, and was of German descent. William’s great-grandfather Charles was the son of Johan William Fichtner and Frieda Louise Strodtbeck. Helen was the daughter of Henry B. Behnke/Belinke and Lillian E. Bluhen.

William’s paternal grandmother was Margaret Josephine Baldwin (the daughter of William Henry Baldwin and Augusta Lottie Veltman). Margaret was born in New York. William was the son of Thomas Baldwin and Sarah. Augusta was the daughter of Lawrence E. Veltman and Harriet Gertrude Wicks.

William’s maternal grandfather was Theodore J. Steitz (the son of Louis Duncan Steitz and Catherine Murray). Theodore was born in Massachusetts. Louis was born in Massachusetts, the son of Theodore Frederick Steitz/Steit, a German immigrant, and of Catherine I. McDonnell/McDonald, who was born in Canada, and had Irish ancestry. William’s great-grandmother Catherine Murray was born in Rhode Island, to Irish parents, Joseph A. Murray and Annie Spillane.

William’s maternal grandmother was Margaret Dietl (the daughter of Joseph Dietl and Matilda/Margaret Pepka). William’s grandmother Margaret was born in New York, of German origin.

Sources: Genealogy of William’s paternal grandmother, Margaret Josephine Baldwin (focusing on her mother’s side) – http://www.longislandsurnames.com

William’s maternal grandfather, Theodore J. Steitz, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

William’s maternal great-grandfather, Louis Duncan Steitz, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

William’s maternal grandmother, Margaret Dietl, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org