Albert David Hedison Jr. was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Albert and Rose Hedison, naturalized United States citizens from Armenia. His father owned a jewelry enameling business, and his son was expected to follow in his footsteps. However, young Al had other aspirations, having been inspired by Tyrone Power's performance in Blood and Sand (1941) to pursue an acting career.
After serving in the navy, Hedison enrolled at Brown University and later studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in Manhattan under Sanford Meisner and at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg. He made his theatrical debut as 'Al Hedison' and received a Theatre World Award for his performance in the off-Broadway play "A Month in the Country".
To make ends meet, Hedison took a temporary job as a radio announcer in North Carolina, but upon his return to New York, he began to receive offers for film and television roles. His first significant role was as André Delambre in The Fly (1958),which set the tone for his future work in fantasy and science fiction.
Hedison's notable roles include Ed Malone in The Lost World (1960) and Captain Lee Crane in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964),both Irwin Allen productions. He also starred in the Cold War spy series Five Fingers (1959) and appeared in numerous made-for-TV films and TV series.
Hedison befriended Roger Moore while filming an episode of The Saint (1962) and later appeared in two James Bond films as CIA operative Felix Leiter. He also made guest appearances on crime dramas like The F.B.I. (1965),Cannon (1971),Ellery Queen (1975),Barnaby Jones (1973),and Murder, She Wrote (1984).
In 2004, Hedison joined the regular cast of the TV soap The Young and the Restless (1973) for fifty episodes. Ultimately, he came to regard the stage as his favorite medium, saying, "When I go back to the theater, I feel good about myself. When I do films or TV, it's to make a little bread to pay my mortgage..."
