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William Conrad

William Conrad

Birthday: 1920-09-27 | Place of Birth: Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1987
Jake and the Fatman

as    Jason McCabe

1985
In Like Flynn

as    Sgt. Dominic

1983
Manimal

as    Narrator (uncredited)

1981
Nero Wolfe

as    Nero Wolfe

1980
The Return of Frank Cannon

as    Frank Cannon

1980
The Return of the King

as    Lord Denethor (voice)

1977
Moonshine County Express

as    Jack Starkey

1977
The City

as    Narrator (voice)

1977
The Making of Star Wars

as    Narrator (voice)

1977
Catastrophe

as    Narrator (voice)

1971
Cannon

as    Frank Cannon

1966
Chamber of Horrors

as    Narrator

1963
The Fugitive

as    Narrator

1957
The Ride Back

as    Sheriff Chris Hamish

1956
The Conqueror

as    Kasar

1956
Johnny Concho

as    Tallman

1955
5 Against the House

as    Eric Berg

1953
Cry of the Hunted

as    Goodwin

1953
The Desert Song

as    Lachmed

1951
The Racket

as    Det. Sgt. Turk

1951
Cry Danger

as    Louie Castro

1951
The Sword of Monte Cristo

as    Major Nicolet

1950
Dial 1119

as    Chuckles

1950
The Milkman

as    Mike Morrel

1949
Tension

as    Lt. Edgar Gonsales

1949
East Side, West Side

as    Lt. Jacobi

1948
Sorry, Wrong Number

as    Morano