William Yelton was born in August of 1993 in Wilmington, North Carolina. William expressed an interest in becoming an actor at a very young age. His early work began in local theater, school productions, and church choir. He also landed roles on several student films produced by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Film Studies Department. However, his real desire was to become a film/television actor. In August of 2005 he was given a small extra role on the local television series, One Tree Hill. He also appeared in two episodes of Surface, a television series which was filmed in Wilmington, NC. In the summer 2006, he landed his first movie role in the film, Hounddog, starring Dakota Fanning, Robin-Wright Penn, and David Morse. Several months later, he was cast in The 27 Club, where he portrays young rocker, "Elliot," during his troubled teen years. William auditioned for director Tom Hooper in early 2007 for a small role in the HBO mini-series, John Adams. He was selected to become the "first casualty" of the Boston Massacre in his role as "Sam Maverick." William had a wonderful experience with this series and was privileged to meet Tom Hanks (executive producer) and Paul Giamatti ("John Adams") on the set during pre-production. William also worked on the locally filmed movie, Bolden! in the spring of 2007 as a young teen in New Orleans set during the 1930's jazz era. Following Bolden, William landed his first break-out role as "Joe Woodard" on Mandie and the Secret Tunnel in the fall of 2007. William and his two teen co-stars worked with former Disney star, Dean Jones, and shot at many various locations in the mountains of North Carolina. The film was released to DVD in September of 2009. William reprised his role as "Joe Woodard" in the Mandie Sequel, Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure, which was released to DVD in October of 2010. William also appears in the film, The 5th Quarter, which premiered in select theaters in March of 2011. William attends Hoggard High School and is a member of the honors drama department. He also volunteers at the Learning Network Television Station as an Entertainment Reporter. He writes, edits, and tapes entertainment segments to air on public television. He also enjoys many things Wilmington has to offer: including boating, jet skiing, water skiing, swimming, surfing and most importantly, the close proximity to Eue Screen Gems Studios.
In February, 2006, young Luke Abbate accepted a ride home from a fellow student following his high-school team practice. In a severe case of irresponsible and reckless teen-age driving, and over the objections of Luke and the other young passengers, the driver lost control of the car at nearly 90 miles-per-hour, spinning off a narrow road and landing in an embankment some seventy feet below. Luke suffered irreparable brain damage, and died in the hospital two days later - just four days before his sixteenth birthday.
6.3 
