William Finley September 20 1940 April 14 2012 was an American actor who has appeared in the films Simon Silent Rage Phantom of the Paradise Sisters and The Wedding Party He had a longrunning friendship and collaboration with director Brian De Palma beginning with the student films Wotons Wake 1962 and Murder à la Mod 1968 Most recently he contributed a small but effective cameo in De Palmas 2006 release The Black Dahlia Under the name W Franklin Finley he wrote the screenplay for the 1983 film The First Time He was also the coauthor of the 1985 book Racewalking Finley graduated from Columbia University in 1963 He resided in New York City with his wife and son