Willard Whyte is a fictional character from the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He was played by American actor and singer Jimmy Dean.

Jimmy Dean as Willard Whyte in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’.

Biography: James Bond traces suspicious activity back to the recluse Willard Whyte, who resides in his penthouse apartment in the Whyte House in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Felix Leiter, no one has seen him for years, yet he still apparently runs his multi-billion-dollar business empire single handed.

In reality, Whyte has been imprisoned in his own desert mansion by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is using a voice simulator to impersonate the billionaire. Once the deception is uncovered by Bond, Whyte uses his contacts and funds to assist in the destruction of Blofeld’s lair on an oil rig off the coast of Baja California.

The character of Whyte takes several traits from eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, such as the reclusive behavior and the similar name.