William Bludworth

William Bludworth
Full Name	William John Bludworth
AKA	William Mr. Bludworth Bill JB
Gender	Male
Height	6'5"
Hair Color	Black (in childhood) Bald
Eye Color	Brown
Place of Origin	New York, USA
Born	Circa 1962 - 1964
Age	Early 60's
Status	Unknown (Presumably Deceased)
Died	2024/2025 (Implied)
Cause of Death	Either Death came for him or he succumbed to his terminal cancer. (Implied)
Occupation	Coroner Undertaker Mortician
Relations	Evie Bludworth - Mother; Deceased Iris Campbell－Longtime friend; Deceased Isaac Palmer - Corpse; Deceased Sam Lawton－Visitor; Deceased Molly Harper－Visitor; Deceased Peter Friedkin－Visitor; Deceased Nathan Sears－Visitor; Deceased Tod Waggner - Corpse; Deceased Alex Browning－Visitor; Deceased Clear Rivers－Visitor; Deceased Evan Lewis - Corpse; Deceased Kimberly Corman－Visitor; Alive Thomas Burke－Visitor; Alive Rinoka Aratsu - Corpse; Deceased Danny King－Visitor; Deceased Louise King－Visitor; Alive Mary-Beth Bradbury －Visitor; Deceased Bodil Raden－Visitor; Deceased John Doe - Corpse; Deceased Chelsea Cox - Corpse; Deceased Jack Curtis－Visitor; Deceased Amy Tom－Visitor; Deceased Stefani Reyes－Visitor; Deceased Charlie Reyes－Visitor; Deceased Darlene Campbell－Visitor; Deceased Bobby Campbell－Visitor; Deceased Erik Campbell－Visitor; Deceased
Actor	Tony Todd Jayden Oniah (child)
First Appearance	Final Destination (theatrically) Final Destination Bloodlines (chronologically)
Last Appearance	Final Destination Bloodlines

In Death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps and no escapes. William, to Alex and Clear.

William John Bludworth is a main character in the Final Destination series. He is a mortician and the owner of Bludworth Funeral Homes. William has the most knowledge of Death and its forces and capacities. First appearing in Final Destination, he's become one of the most popular characters in the franchise.

He is one of the many survivors of The Sky View collapse after Iris Campbell's warning, and it is implied that he died last, making him both theatrically and chronologically the last survivor to die in the entire franchise.

Biography

William is mysterious, agitated, and imminent to some of the survivors when they evade Death. He works as a mortician in Bludworth Funeral Homes. He speaks with an intimidating, ragged baritone voice. He was revealed to have survived The Sky View disaster in 1969, explaining his intimate connection to Death.

Final Destination

Play your hunch, Alex. If you think you can get away with it. But remember: the risk of cheating the plan, of disrespecting the design, could incite a fury that could terrorize even the Grim Reaper. And you don't even wanna fuck with that Mack Daddy! William's advice and warning to Alex.

William talking to Clear and Alex about how to cheat death.

After the death of Tod Waggner, Alex Browning and Clear Rivers went to see his corpse at the morgue. William catches them in the act and asks why they came. He tells them that they had cheated Death by getting off the doomed Volée Airlines Flight 180, but now Death has a new design for all of them. Offering his help, he explains to them about the rule of Death: those who cheat death will be revisited by Death once more to claim back their lives, which should've been lost. He also tells them about Death's list, a list of the order of deaths of the survivors in the original incident, and how it will work on them once again. Finally, he states that ruining the list can affect the remaining survivors.

Final Destination 2

Hello, Clear. I've been expecting you. William, to Clear.

One year later, Clear visits William again, along with Kimberly Corman and Thomas Burke, who survived the pileup on Route 23. William, who cremates the body of the recently deceased Evan Lewis, only mentions to them that new life can defeat Death.

Originally thought that Isabella Hudson's pregnancy can give new life, Kimberly's second premonition reveals that she is the only one who can cheat Death by dying and then being revived.

End of the Line

Have you come to see the body? Not afraid of me, are you? Unnamed mortician, asking Danny and his group.

Although unnamed, a mortician matching William's description and personality appears in the novel. He was working at St. Stephen's Hospital just as Death began to target those who were supposed to die in the 34th Street collision. When most of the survivors went to the morgue to take a look at the corpse of the first victim, Rinoka Aratsu, the mortician greets them, allows them to see the heavily deformed body, and offers cryptic advice.

Death of the Senses

Who are you? Amy, addressing the strange man watching her and Jack. I'm the mortician. William, replying to Amy. Where's Robert? Amy, questioning William. He's on vacation, I'm covering for him while he's away—I normally work upstate. My name's William. Call me Bill. William, replying to Amy.

Due to a usual coroner being on vacation, William (going by just Bill) was transferred to a New York morgue, just in time for Death to begin targeting those who were supposed to die at the hands of a would-be serial murderer killed in self-defense by Jack Curtis. When Jack and his friend, Officer Amy Tom, stop by the morgue to take a look at the corpses of the first victim, Chelsea Cox, and the murderer, Bill greets them, allows them to see the bodies, and offers cryptic advice.

Final Destination 5

Death...doesn't like to be cheated. William, to Sam and Peter.

William talking to Sam, Molly, Nathan Sears, and Peter about how he knows about Death.

After a complete absence from Final Destination 3 and The Final Destination, Sam Lawton, Molly Harper, and friends first encountered William at the North Bay Bridge Memorial, where he tells them that Death doesn't like to be "cheated". The second time they met was at Candice Hooper's death. They met him again at the scene of Isaac Palmer's demise, where he told them of Death's design, and by taking a life, can they live, for they will receive the lifespan of the person they've killed, and in turn, scratch their name off Death's list. 

Peter Friedkin seemed to be the most willing to kill another person in order to save himself. When William meets up with the survivors of the bridge collapse, he says, "I've seen this before", meaning that people surviving an accident are meant to die sooner or later. Later on, these events are revealed to have taken place before the first Final Destination. Soon after these events, he is promoted from "Undertaker" to "Mortician".

Final Destination Bloodlines

I intend to enjoy the time I have left, and I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when... Good luck. William's final words of the series to the Campbell family before retiring.

"JB" notices Iris being taken away by security guards.

In the sixth film, William's knowledge of Death is finally revealed as he is visited by Stefani Reyes and her remaining family members at the hospital where he works. He reveals himself to be a child survivor of the 1969 Sky View Tower collapse, nicknamed J.B. by his mother. William was intended to be the last to die in The Sky View collapse, right after Iris. Years later, after The Sky View, he was tracked down by Iris, where she convinced him of the plans and workings of Death. William befriended Iris and was upset by her death, leading to Stefani realizing that Iris staying alive not only kept her descendants from dying but also William himself, since he was next in line as the final survivor to die once the Campbell bloodline ends. William explains the methods to disrupt Death's plan, sharing that Kimberly Corman had survived and beaten death. However, Iris did not attempt that because so many things could go wrong. After revealing that he is also suffering from terminal cancer and that he was tired of advising people on Death's list, William recommends them to wait for Death to claim their lives and to live life to the fullest, as he too shall soon follow. The final fate of William is unknown, but given that Stefani fails to prevent the deaths of herself and her family, and William is next in line after Iris, it is possible that he either dies of cancer or that Death returns for him more than 50 years later. However, it is also possible that William was spared until his old age.

William would be indirectly responsible for the deaths of Erik and Bobby Campbell as they attempt to use Kimberly's method to escape death after being told about her by William.

Appearances

• Final Destination (portrayed by Tony Todd)
• Final Destination (novel)
• Final Destination 2 (portrayed by Tony Todd)
• Final Destination 2 (novel)
• Final Destination: End of the Line (novel)
• Final Destination: Death of the Senses (novel)
• Final Destination 5 (portrayed by Tony Todd)
• Final Destination Bloodlines (portrayed by Tony Todd and Jayden Oniah)

Trivia

• Many fans have long theorized that William is the very personification of Death or a major representative of it. However, this has been confirmed to be false by the producers of Bloodlines.
• In the morgue in Final Destination 2, William can be seen wearing Evan Lewis' diamond-studded Rolex. How he obtained the watch is unknown, unless no one took off his watch prior to the autopsy. This may suggest that he steals the belongings of those whose bodies he examines.
  • This may be referenced in the opening of Final Destination 5 by Evan's microwave exploding behind Tony Todd's name.
• At the beginning of Final Destination 2, when Kimberly wakes up, viewers can hear Tony Todd's voice saying "Kimberly". Considering the conductor of Train 081 was also voiced by Tony Todd, it is unknown whether this is the voice of William or a supernatural force.
• William makes the most appearances in the series. He appears in more than two different Final Destination movies, and thus is the only character able to survive the events of more than one film. He has made major appearances in Final Destination, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 5, and Bloodlines. Tony Todd also voiced the Devil in front of the Devil's Flight from Final Destination 3, although this is not necessarily William. He also appears in two of the novels: Final Destination: Death of the Senses and Final Destination: End of the Line. The only film not to feature Tony Todd in any way is The Final Destination.
• Final Destination 5 ends with William saying, "You all just be careful now," following the death montage. This makes him the last person to ever be seen in a Final Destination film before the massive hiatus between the fifth film and Final Destination Bloodlines.
  • With 5 being a prequel to the first film, either the CGI effects artists forgot to make William younger, or this was simply not done to hide the fact that the film is a prequel to the first one.
• William appears for the last time in Bloodlines. Tony Todd's return was confirmed in 2023; however, he was already secretly battling stomach cancer, and the crew knew it would likely be his final performance on film. Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein encouraged Todd to improvise and write William's final monologue as if he were imparting advice to the fans. Todd died in November 2024, with the film released posthumously in May 2025. He became the "acting highlight" of Bloodlines and serves as a poignant reminder that in real life, as in the movies, death comes for everybody.
  • In Bloodlines, the last film to star Tony Todd, William suggests to his visitors to enjoy every second of life to the fullest, and leaves saying, "Good luck".
  • William's final fate remains unknown after Stefani was unable to prevent her and her family's death, but given that he is terminally ill, he may die from his cancer. There is also a possibility that he will live with the disease until a very old age, if only Death decides to spare him, since he stopped fighting death and began to live in the present.
  • Because of this, William Bludworth is visibly skinnier and in rougher shape compared to his previous appearances. This was due to his actor, Tony Todd, battling stomach cancer; he nonetheless powered through for his final performance within the Final Destination franchise.
• In Bloodlines, when the Iris' descendants meet him, he names them all, but notices that Julia and Howard are missing, most likely meaning that William had been tracking the Campbell bloodline.
  • He makes no mention of Erik Campbell, indicating that he somehow knew Erik was not meant to die.