William Conrad(1920-1994)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
William Conrad became a television star relatively late in his career.
In fact, the former Army Air Corps World War II fighter pilot began his
screen career playing heavies. He was Max, one of
The Killers (1946) hired to finish
off Burt Lancaster in his dingy lodgings.
He was the corrupt state inspector Turck working for the syndicate in
The Racket (1951). He was a mobster in
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948),
the murderous gunslinger Tallman in
Johnny Concho (1956) and sleazy
nightclub owner Louie Castro who claimed to be 60% legitimate in
Cry Danger (1951).
When not essaying outright villainy, Bill played characters like the
tough fight promoter Quinn in
Body and Soul (1947) or the
doom-laden province commissioner in
The Naked Jungle (1954). The
portly, balding, crumple-faced, self-confessed gourmand had an
ever-present weight problem (at one time 260 lbs.) which proved to be a
natural obstacle to progressing to more substantial leading film roles.
That, however, didn't hinder a very successful career in radio. In
fact, Bill himself estimated that he had played in excess of 7,000
radio parts. Even if that was an exaggeration, his gravelly, resonant
voice was certainly heard on countless broadcasts from "Buck Rogers" to
"The Bullwinkle Show", from portraying Marshall Matt Dillon in
"Gunsmoke" on the radio (before James Arness got the
part on screen) to narrating the adventures of Richard Kimball in the
television program
The Fugitive (1963). In "The Wax Works", an
episode of the anthology series
Suspense (1949) in 1956, he voiced
each and every part.
Since his corpulence effectively precluded playing strapping characters
like Matt Dillon, Bill began to concentrate on directing and producing
by the early 1960's. This, ironically, included episodes of Gunsmoke (1955).
In 1963, he contributed to saving
77 Sunset Strip (1958) for
yet another season. Later in the decade, he produced and directed
several films for Warner Brothers, including the thriller
Brainstorm (1965) with
Jeffrey Hunter and
Anne Francis. He returned
to acting in 1971 to become the unlikely star of the
Quinn Martin production
Cannon (1971), for which he is chiefly
remembered. Bill imbued the tough-talking, no-nonsense character of
Frank Cannon with enough humanity and wit to make the series compelling
but, despite the show's popularity, he made his views clear in a 1976
Times interview that he found himself poorly served by the scripts he
had been given. A planned sequel,
The Return of Frank Cannon (1980)
failed to get beyond the movie-length pilot, but the actor's popularity
resulted in another starring role in
Jake and the Fatman (1987)
as District Attorney McCabe, co-starring with
Joe Penny) and a brief run as eccentric
detective Nero Wolfe (1981). A
self-effacing man with a good sense of humor and never afraid to speak
his mind, Bill Conrad died of heart failure in February 1994. He was
elected to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and (posthumously)
to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.
In fact, the former Army Air Corps World War II fighter pilot began his
screen career playing heavies. He was Max, one of
The Killers (1946) hired to finish
off Burt Lancaster in his dingy lodgings.
He was the corrupt state inspector Turck working for the syndicate in
The Racket (1951). He was a mobster in
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948),
the murderous gunslinger Tallman in
Johnny Concho (1956) and sleazy
nightclub owner Louie Castro who claimed to be 60% legitimate in
Cry Danger (1951).
When not essaying outright villainy, Bill played characters like the
tough fight promoter Quinn in
Body and Soul (1947) or the
doom-laden province commissioner in
The Naked Jungle (1954). The
portly, balding, crumple-faced, self-confessed gourmand had an
ever-present weight problem (at one time 260 lbs.) which proved to be a
natural obstacle to progressing to more substantial leading film roles.
That, however, didn't hinder a very successful career in radio. In
fact, Bill himself estimated that he had played in excess of 7,000
radio parts. Even if that was an exaggeration, his gravelly, resonant
voice was certainly heard on countless broadcasts from "Buck Rogers" to
"The Bullwinkle Show", from portraying Marshall Matt Dillon in
"Gunsmoke" on the radio (before James Arness got the
part on screen) to narrating the adventures of Richard Kimball in the
television program
The Fugitive (1963). In "The Wax Works", an
episode of the anthology series
Suspense (1949) in 1956, he voiced
each and every part.
Since his corpulence effectively precluded playing strapping characters
like Matt Dillon, Bill began to concentrate on directing and producing
by the early 1960's. This, ironically, included episodes of Gunsmoke (1955).
In 1963, he contributed to saving
77 Sunset Strip (1958) for
yet another season. Later in the decade, he produced and directed
several films for Warner Brothers, including the thriller
Brainstorm (1965) with
Jeffrey Hunter and
Anne Francis. He returned
to acting in 1971 to become the unlikely star of the
Quinn Martin production
Cannon (1971), for which he is chiefly
remembered. Bill imbued the tough-talking, no-nonsense character of
Frank Cannon with enough humanity and wit to make the series compelling
but, despite the show's popularity, he made his views clear in a 1976
Times interview that he found himself poorly served by the scripts he
had been given. A planned sequel,
The Return of Frank Cannon (1980)
failed to get beyond the movie-length pilot, but the actor's popularity
resulted in another starring role in
Jake and the Fatman (1987)
as District Attorney McCabe, co-starring with
Joe Penny) and a brief run as eccentric
detective Nero Wolfe (1981). A
self-effacing man with a good sense of humor and never afraid to speak
his mind, Bill Conrad died of heart failure in February 1994. He was
elected to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and (posthumously)
to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.