William Conrad
Born: 1920-09-27 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Died: 1994-02-11
Known For: Acting
Biography
William Conrad (September 27, 1920 - February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director. He was born William Cann in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of a theatre-owner who moved to southern California, where he excelled at drama and literature while at school. Starting work in radio in the late 1930s in California, Conrad went on to serve as a fighter pilot in World War II. He entered the army in 1942, and was commissioned at Luke Field, Arizona in 1943 (now Luke Air Force Base). On the day of his commission he married June Nelson. He returned to the airwaves after the war, going on to accumulate over 7,000 roles in radio by his own estimate. Among Conrad's various film roles, where he was usually cast as threatening figures, perhaps his most notable role was his first credited one, as one of the gunmen sent to eliminate Burt Lancaster in the 1946 film The Killers. He also appeared in Body and Soul (1947), Sorry, Wrong Number, Joan of Arc (both 1948), and The Naked Jungle (1954). As a producer for Warner Brothers, he made a string of feature films, including An American Dream (1966, retitled See You in Hell, Darling for British release), A Covenant With Death (1966), First to Fight (1967) and The Cool Ones (1967), and also directed My Blood Runs Cold, Brainstorm and Two on a Guillotine (all 1965).
Filmography
2024
- The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout as Self (archive footage)
2009
- The Box as Self (voice) (uncredited)
1991
- Hudson Hawk as Narrator (voice)
1987
- Jake and the Fatman as Jason McCabe
- The Highwayman as Narrator
- Daws Butler: Voice Magician as Self—Host
1986
- Matlock as James McShane
- Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo as Jim Dunn
- Killing Cars as Mr. Mahoney
1985
- In Like Flynn as Sgt. Dominic
- Blitz as Mr. Mahoney
1984
- Murder, She Wrote as Anatole Karzof
1983
- The Mikado as The Mikado
1982
- Hotel
- Police Squad! as Stabbed Man
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid as (in "The Killers") (archive footage)
- Shock-Trauma as Dr. R. Adams Cowley
1981
- Nero Wolfe as Nero Wolfe
- Side Show as Ring Announcer (voice)
1980
- The Return of the King as Lord Denethor (voice)
- The Murder That Wouldn't Die as William Battles
- Turnover Smith as Thaddeus Smith
- The Return of Frank Cannon as Frank Cannon
1979
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as Opening Narrator / Draconian officer (uncredited) (voice)
1978
- Night Cries as Dr. Whelan
- Keefer as Col. Keefer
1977
- How the West Was Won as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected as Narrator
- The Making of Star Wars as Narrator (voice)
- Moonshine County Express as Jack Starkey
- The City as Narrator (voice)
- The Force of Evil as Narrator (voice)
- Catastrophe as Narrator (voice)
1976
- The Sonny and Cher Show as Self
- The Macahans as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1975
- Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1974
- Tony Orlando and Dawn as Self
- The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One as Narrator (voice)
- Hamburgers as self
- Voices as Narrator (voice)
1973
- Barnaby Jones as Frank Cannon
- The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts as Self
1971
- Cannon as Frank Cannon
- The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour
- Cannon as Frank Cannon
- O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra as Keegan
- The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill as Chief Vincent Kovac
1970
- Chisum as Narrator - Opening Credits (voice) (uncredited)
- The Brotherhood of the Bell as Bart Harris
1969
- The Dudley Do-Right Show
- The Learning Tree ... (Executive Producer)
1968
- The Name of the Game as Arnold Wexler
- Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Self
- Assignment to Kill ... (Executive Producer)
- Chubasco ... (Producer)
1967
- The Carol Burnett Show as Self - Guest / Various Characters
- The High Chaparral as China Pierce
- Countdown as TV Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
- First to Fight ... (Executive Producer)
- The Cool Ones ... (Executive Producer)
1966
- An American Dream ... (Producer)
- Chamber of Horrors as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1965
- The Dean Martin Show
- F Troop
- Battle of the Bulge as Narrator (uncredited)
- Two on a Guillotine as Fat Man in Hall of Mirrors (uncredited)
- Brainstorm as Mental Patient (uncredited)
- Eggs Benedict as Narrator
- My Blood Runs Cold ... (Director)
1963
- The Fugitive as Narrator
- Temple Houston ... (Director)
- The Man from Galveston ... (Director)
1962
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as Sergent Cresse
- Saints and Sinners ... (Director)
- General Electric True
- Design for Disaster as Narrator
1960
- Route 66 ... (Director)
- The Aquanauts as Corey
- The Case of the Dangerous Robin ... (Director)
- Klondike ... (Director)
1959
- The Bullwinkle Show as Narrator (voice)
- The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends as Narrator (voice)
- Lock-Up ... (Director)
- Men Into Space ... (Director)
- The Man and the Challenge
- Bold Venture ... (Director)
- This Man Dawson as Narrator (voice only)
- -30- as Jim Bathgate
1958
- The Rifleman ... (Director)
- Naked City ... (Director)
- Bat Masterson as Clark Benson
- 77 Sunset Strip as Bystander (uncredited)
- The Rough Riders ... (Director)
- Mackenzie's Raiders ... (Director)
1957
- Have Gun, Will Travel
- Tombstone Territory as Frank Banter
- Zero Hour! as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
- The Ride Back as Sheriff Chris Hamish
1956
- The Conqueror as Kasar
- Johnny Concho as Tallman
1955
- Highway Patrol ... (Director)
- Gunsmoke as Narrator (voice)
- 5 Against the House as Eric Berg
- The Naked Sea as Narrator
1954
- The Naked Jungle as Commissioner
1953
- Cry of the Hunted as Goodwin
- The Desert Song as Lachmed
1952
- Lone Star as Mizette
1951
- The Racket as Turk
- The Sword of Monte Cristo as Major Nicolet
- Cry Danger as Louie Castro
1950
- One Way Street as Ollie
- The Milkman as Mike Morrel
- Dial 1119 as Chuckles
1949
- East Side, West Side as Lt. Jacobi
- Tension as Lt. Edgar Gonsales
- Any Number Can Play as Frank Sistina
1948
- Bambi as Self
- The Ed Sullivan Show as Self
- Joan of Arc as Guillaume Erard, a Prosecutor
- Sorry, Wrong Number as Morano
- Arch of Triumph as Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
- Four Faces West as Sheriff Egan
- To the Victor as Farnsworth
1947
- Body and Soul as Quinn
1946
- The Killers as Max
1945
- Pillow to Post as First Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)