William Needles (George) William Needles, C.M., LL.D., actor and teacher, was born in 1919 in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Kitchener, Ontario. Ira Needles, his father, was president of BF Goodrich, Canada, and chancellor and a founder of the University of Waterloo. William received his theater training at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago.