List of Famous people named W

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte founded, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. These Savoy operas are still frequently performed in the English-speaking world and beyond.

Sri Lankabhimanya Wannakuwattawaduge Don Albert Perera, better known by his adopted name Amaradeva, was a prominent Sri Lankan vocalist, violinist and composer. Primarily using traditional instruments like sitars, tablas and harmoniums, Amaradeva incorporated Sinhala folk music with Indian ragas in his work. Many consider Pandit Amaradeva's contribution to the development of Sinhala music as unmatched; hence, he is occasionally cited as the "Maestro of Sri Lankan Music".

W. S. "Fluke" Holland was an American drummer who played with Carl Perkins, and later for Johnny Cash in the bands The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band.

William Edmund Butterworth III, better known by his pen name W. E. B. Griffin, was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. 21 of those books were co-written with his son, William E Butterworth IV. He also published under 11 other pseudonyms and three versions of his real name.

Wilum Hopfrog Pugmire, was a writer of weird fiction and horror fiction based in Seattle, Washington. His works typically were published as W. H. Pugmire and his fiction often paid homage to the lore of Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraft scholar, biographer, and literary executor S. T. Joshi described Pugmire in 2011 as "the prose-poet of the horror/fantasy field; he may be the best prose-poet we have," and "perhaps the leading Lovecraftian author writing today."

William Earl Brown is an American actor, screenwriter, producer, musician, and songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Kenny in the film Scream (1996), Warren in the film There's Something About Mary (1998), Dan Dority on the HBO series Deadwood (2004–2006), and the voice and motion capture of Bill in the video game The Last of Us (2013). He has appeared in films such as Backdraft, The Master, Being John Malkovich, The Sessions, Vanilla Sky, The Lone Ranger, and Bloodworth, as well as series such as Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, The X-Files, Six Feet Under, Preacher, Bates Motel, True Detective, American Horror Story, and The Mandalorian.

Walter Bryce Gallie was a Scottish social theorist, political theorist, and philosopher.

William Thomas Molloy was a Canadian lawyer, treaty negotiator, and Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan. He was the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, the viceregal representative of Queen Elizabeth II of Canada in the Province of Saskatchewan.

William Graham Claytor Jr. was an American lawyer, naval officer, and railroad, transportation and defense administrator for the United States government, working under the administrations of three US presidents.