William LeMassena

Who was William LeMassena?

William LeMassena was an American stage and television actor who appeared in occasional films.

LeMassena was a graduate of NYU. His first Broadway job was with the Theatre Guild, appearing in the 1939 production of The Taming of the Shrew, starring the Lunts. "Billy Lem", as he was known by his friends, became a regular part of the Lunt's unofficial rep company of actors,

In the later part of his career, LeMassena did several seasons of regional work at Meadowbrook Theatre in Rochester, Michigan, and also had a long run in Broadway's Deathtrap.

He appeared as the Heavenly Friend who serves as a guide to Gordon MacRae on his return trip to Earth in the 1956 film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Massena appeared in other roles, however, including a stint towards the end of his life as Ambrose Bingham, on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns.