William Talman (actor)

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William Whitney Talman Jr. ( February 4, 1915 in Detroit , Michigan , † August 30, 1968 in Encino , California ) was an American actor .

life and career

William Talman came from a wealthy family in Detroit. After studying law at the University of Michigan , he got his first theater roles with the help of an actor friend. From November 1940 Talman was seen as a performer on Broadway , but had to interrupt his acting career a little later because of a deployment in World War II. In the United States Army he achieved the rank of major for his service in the Pacific. After the war he worked again at the theater before he made his film debut in 1949 as a gangster in Red, Hot and Blue at the side of Betty Hutton and Victor Mature . In the following years Talman played particularly often in film noirs , with villains being his specialty. Most notable was his portrayal of a psychopathic criminal in Ida Lupino's The Hitch-Hiker , based on the real serial killer Billy Cook , who is hitchhiked by two average Americans and makes their lives a nightmare.

He was best known to a wide audience through the role of prosecutor Hamilton Burger in the CBS television series Perry Mason , which he played in a total of 225 episodes over a period of nine years. A running gag of the series was that Talman lost almost all of the series' trials against the title character played by Raymond Burr . In 1960, Talman was temporarily fired from CBS because he was caught at a kind of cannabis party by the police and the tabloids cannibalized this. The charges were dropped, however, and because of his popularity in the role, producer Gail Patrick eventually brought him back. After the end of Perry Mason , he was still in front of the camera for the Doris Day Western Das Teufelsweib von Texas (1967), again in the role of a public prosecutor, which was to be his last film work.

The long-time smoker died of lung cancer in August 1968 at the age of only 53. Just weeks before his death, he recorded two commercials for the American Cancer Society in which he warned against smoking, with a reference to Perry Mason : "You know, I didn't really care that I lost all of these trials, But now I'm in a fight that I don't want to lose at all Because if I lose him, it means losing my wife and children who they just saw. I have lung cancer (...) so take the advice about smoking and losing from someone who has been doing both for years (...) if you don't smoke, you don't start. If you smoke then stop! (...) Don't be a loser! ”William Talman became the first Hollywood actor to be part of a public campaign against smoking and broke a taboo in the film industry.

From his first marriage to actress Lynne Carter , which lasted from 1942 to 1952, he had one child. His marriage to actress Barbara Read (1917–1963) from 1952 to 1960 had two children, whom Talman looked after after Read’s suicide in 1963. In 1961 he married Margaret Larkin Flanigan for the third time, whose two children he adopted and with whom he remained married until his death. William Talman was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park , Hollywood Hills .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Talman | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  2. ^ The Broadway League: William Talman - Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  3. ↑ | Profile: Detroit-born 'Perry Mason' Actor William Talman. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  4. ^ William Talman | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Meriden Record - Google News Archive Search. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  6. ^ William Talman-TV Guide 4/27/63. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Commercial on YouTube You know, I didn't really mind losing those courtroom battles, but I'm in a battle now I don't want to lose at all. Because if I lose it, it means losing my wife and those kids you just met. I've got lung cancer [...] So take some advice about smoking and losing from someone who's been doing both for years [...] If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, quit! [...] Don't be a loser
  8. ↑ Some thoughts on William Talman from his son, Tim. Retrieved February 16, 2018 .
  9. ^ Profiles: Detroit-born 'Perry Mason' Actor William Talman . ( hourdetroit.com [accessed February 16, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Talman, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Talman, William Whitney Junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 4, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Detroit , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1968
Place of death Encino , California