Bill Williams (actor)

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Bill Williams (* 21st May 1915 in Brooklyn , New York as Hermann August Wilhelm Katt ; † 21st September 1992 in Burbank , California ) was an American actor .

life and career

Bill Williams was born under the name Hermann August Wilhelm Katt as the son of German emigrants in Brooklyn and attended the Pratt Institute . In his youth, Williams was considered a great swimming talent and initially became a professional swimmer before he began his acting career with appearances in regional theaters and vaudeville shows. After serving in World War II , he signed a studio contract with RKO Pictures . Here he quickly got larger supporting roles in larger film productions as well as some leading roles in B-films. He played the partner of Susan Hayward in the film noir Deadline at Dawn (1946) , was in Edward Dmytryk's drama Till the End of Time (1946) and starred alongside Robert Mitchum and Dorothy McGuire . Williams also played in numerous westerns.

He reached the peak of his popularity in the USA in the 1950s with the television series The Adventures of Kit Carson , in which he embodied a fictionalized version of the trapper Kit Carson in a total of 105 episodes . He played Betty White's husband in the sitcom Date with the Angels between 1957 and 1958 , and he had another leading role in the series between 1960 and 1961 as driver of a charter boat in the adventure series Assignment: Underwater . Later, Williams roles were mostly limited to guest appearances on US television. In 1970 he was in Howard Hawks ' last film Rio Lobo alongside John Wayne can be seen in a supporting role as Sheriff. Williams made his last appearance in 1981 as a cowboy in the television movie Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood on the side of OJ Simpson .

On June 22, 1946, Williams married his colleague Barbara Hale , the marriage lasted until his death and both starred together in several films, including the 1975 trash strip Attack of the Giant Spider . The couple have two daughters, Jody and Juanita, and also as Actor known son William Katt . Bill Williams died of a brain tumor in 1992 at the age of 77 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills . Bill Williams is remembered by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the television category .

Filmography (selection)

  • 1944: Murder in the Blue Room
  • 1944: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo)
  • 1945: The Body Snatcher (The Body Snatcher)
  • 1945: Sing Your Way Home
  • 1946: Deadline at Dawn
  • 1946: Till the End of Time
  • 1949: The Clay Pigeon
  • 1949: Fighting Man of the Plains
  • 1949: The Stratton Story
  • 1949: A Woman's Secret
  • 1950: The Death Canyon of Arizona (The Cariboo Trail)
  • 1951–1955: The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV series, 105 episodes)
  • 1951: His Last Outpost (The Last Outpost)
  • 1952: The Devil of the Ocean (Torpedo Alley)
  • 1952: Pale Face Junior (Son of Paleface)
  • 1956: Against the Law (The Broken Star)
  • 1957–1958: Date with the Angels (TV series, 33 episodes)
  • 1958: Space Rocket X 7 (Space Master X-7)
  • 1958: Dezernat M ( M Squad ; TV series, episode Girl Lost )
  • 1959: Al Capone Returns (The Scarface Mob)
  • 1960: Saipan raid party (Hell to Eternity)
  • 1960–1961: Assignment: Underwater (TV series, 39 episodes)
  • 1962–1965: Perry Mason (TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 1962/1963: 77 Sunset Strip (TV series, 2 episodes)
  • 1964: Law of the Lawless
  • 1965: Cowboy Melody (Tickle Me)
  • 1967: Eight on the Lam
  • 1970: Rio Lobo
  • 1973: The Streets of San Francisco ( The Streets of San Francisco , television series, episode The Unicorn )
  • 1974–1978: Make-Up and Pistols ( Police Woman ; TV series, 4 episodes)
  • 1975: The Giant Spider Invasion (The Giant Spider Invasion)
  • 1978: A Fire in the Sky (TV movie)
  • 1981: Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood (TV movie)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Associated Press: Bill Williams, 77, Actor Who Played Kit Carson on TV . In: The New York Times . September 25, 1992, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 12, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Bill Williams | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos. Retrieved April 11, 2019 (American English).
  3. ^ The Associated Press: Bill Williams, 77, Actor Who Played Kit Carson on TV . In: The New York Times . September 25, 1992, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 12, 2019]).
  4. ↑ Bill Williams at Find A Grave
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Bill
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Katt, Hermann August Wilhelm (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH May 21, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1992
Place of death Burbank , California