Bill Williams (actor)

Bill Williams

Born Herman August Wilhelm Katt
(1915-05-15)May 15, 1915
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died September 21, 1992(1992-09-21) (aged 77)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Other names Bill MacWilliams
Occupation Actor
Years active 1933–1981
Spouse(s) Barbara Hale (1946–1992; his death)
Children 3

Bill Williams (born Herman August Wilhelm Katt,[1] May 15, 1915 – September 21, 1992) was an American television and film actor. He is best known for his starring role in the early television series, The Adventures of Kit Carson, which aired in syndication from 1951-55.

Career

Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York[1] to German immigrant parents. He attended Pratt Institute, calling himself William H. Katt, and became a professional swimmer, performing in underwater shows. He landed a walk-on role as a theatre usher in King Kong (1933). He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, but was discharged before the end of the conflict and became an actor. He made his credited debut in The Blue Room in 1944, using the professional name Bill Williams. His first starring role opposite Susan Hayward in Deadline at Dawn (1946) made him a star.

Williams had appeared in ten films before he landed the lead role in The Adventures of Kit Carson, which ran for 104 episodes. After the series ended, Williams' star power quickly fizzled out. It was briefly revived in 1957 when he co-starred with Betty White in television's Date with the Angels. Williams played Federal agent Martin Flaherty in The Scarface Mob (1959), the pilot for ABC's The Untouchables. In the series, however, the role went to Jerry Paris. In 1958, Williams turned down the lead in Sea Hunt because he believed that an underwater show would not work well on television. Lloyd Bridges accepted the part and turned it into a hit. Williams then starred as a former Navy frogman in Assignment: Underwater, which ran for just one season. He played a variety of roles on Perry Mason, in which his wife Barbara Hale co-starred with Raymond Burr as his secretary Della Street. In the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Crippled Cougar," he played defendant Mike Preston. In 1963 he played murder victim Floyd Grant in "The Case of the Bluffing Blast." In 1965 he played murderer Charles Shaw in "The Case of the Murderous Mermaid," and murderer Burt Payne in "The Case of the 12th Wildcat". Williams appeared in a final season episode of Ironside along with his son, bringing him together again with Raymond Burr. He also made guest appearances on television and worked in low-budget science fiction films until his retirement.

Personal life

Williams married actress Barbara Hale June 22, 1946.[2] They had met during the filming of West of the Pecos and would have two daughters, Jodi and Juanita, and a son, actor William Katt.

Williams died of a brain tumor at age 77 in 1992.[3]

For his contribution to the television industry, Bill Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is at 6161 Hollywood Blvd.

Acting roles

Star of his own television series

Multiple appearances on a television series

Well of Anger (1955)
Angels in the Sky (1956)
The Hastings Secret (1955) Bill Twining
Project 44 (1956) Dr. Arnold Bryan
The Mind Machine (1956) Dr. Alan Cathcart
Jupitron (1956) Dr. John Barlow
Killer Tree (1957) Paul Cameron
Texas John Slaughter:
The Man From Bitter Creek (1959) Paul
The Slaughter Trail (1959) Paul
Gallagher Goes West
Tragedy on the Trail (1967) Joe Carlson
Trial by Terror (1967) Joe Carlson
Chester, Yesterday’s Horse (1973) Ben Kincaid
The Flight of the Grey Wolf, Parts 1 and 2 (1976) The Sheriff
The Kathy Munson Story (1956) Donald Abbott
Millionaire Martha Halloran (1959) Clint Halloran
The Untouchables, Parts 1 and 2 (1959) Martin Flaherty
The Case of the Crippled Cougar (1962) Mike Preston
The Case of the Bluffing Blast (1963) Floyd Grant
The Case of the Murderous Mermaid (1965) Charles Shaw
The Case of the 12th Wildcat (1965) Burt Payne
Fine Finny Fiends (1966)
Multimillionaire-Batman Makes the Scenes (1966)
Climb the Mountain Slowly (1964) Vince
Lassie and the Buffalo (1966) Jed Bingham
The Runaways (1968) David Warren
The Lost Man (1974) Crawford
Nightmare Trip (1972) Lt. Dacker
The Rolling Y (1975) Sheriff Callahan
Pick-Up (1971) William Taylor (his wife, Barbara Hale, also appeared in the episode)
Routine Patrol: The Drugstore Cowboys (1974) Fred Wheeler
Three Hours to Kill (1973) Captain Fin Whitfield
Get Ryker (1973) Captain Fin Whitfield
Something Less Than a Man (1974) Captain Johnson
The End Game (1974) Lt. Graumann
Sarah Who? (1976) Captain

Miscellaneous television appearances

Theatrical films

References

  1. 1 2 Wright, Gilson (April 15, 1973). "Barbara Hale is "my kind of people" says writer". The Journal News. p. 12. Retrieved September 4, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ York, Cal (September 1962). "Raymond Burr Saved My Marriage". TV Radio Mirror. 58 (4): 62–64. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Bill Williams, 77, Actor Who Played Kit Carson on TV". The New York Times. 1992-09-25. Retrieved 2009-07-23.

External links

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