William Conrad

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).

Known For

The Fugitive

Murder, She Wrote

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

Matlock

Have Gun, Will Travel

Have Gun, Will Travel

Hotel

Cannon

All Movies (70)

• The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout2024 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Box2009 · as Self (voice) (uncredited)
• Hudson Hawk1991 · as Narrator (voice)
• Daws Butler: Voice Magician1987 · as Self—Host
• Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo1986 · as Jim Dunn
• Killing Cars1986 · as Mr. Mahoney
• In Like Flynn1985 · as Sgt. Dominic
• Blitz1985 · as Mr. Mahoney
• The Mikado1983 · as The Mikado
• Shock-Trauma1982 · as Dr. R. Adams Cowley
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid1982 · as (in "The Killers") (archive footage)
• Side Show1981 · as Ring Announcer (voice)
• The Return of Frank Cannon1980 · as Frank Cannon
• Turnover Smith1980 · as Thaddeus Smith
• The Return of the King1980 · as Lord Denethor (voice)
• The Murder That Wouldn't Die1980 · as William Battles
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century1979 · as Opening Narrator / Draconian officer (uncredited) (voice)
• Keefer1978 · as Col. Keefer
• Night Cries1978 · as Dr. Whelan
• The Making of Star Wars1977 · as Narrator (voice)
• Moonshine County Express1977 · as Jack Starkey
• Catastrophe1977 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Force of Evil1977 · as Narrator (voice)
• The City1977 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Macahans1976 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan1975 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One1974 · as Narrator (voice)
• Hamburgers1974 · as self
• Voices1974 · as Narrator (voice)
• O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra1971 · as Keegan
• Cannon1971 · as Frank Cannon
• The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill1971 · as Chief Vincent Kovac
• The Brotherhood of the Bell1970 · as Bart Harris
• Chisum1970 · as Narrator - Opening Credits (voice) (uncredited)
• Countdown1967 · as TV Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
• Chamber of Horrors1966 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• Battle of the Bulge1965 · as Narrator (uncredited)
• Battle of the Bulge1965 · as Narrator (voice)
• Brainstorm1965 · as Mental Patient (uncredited)
• Two on a Guillotine1965 · as Fat Man in Hall of Mirrors (uncredited)
• Eggs Benedict1965 · as Narrator
• Design for Disaster1962 · as Narrator
• -30-1959 · as Jim Bathgate
• Zero Hour!1957 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• The Ride Back1957 · as Sheriff Chris Hamish
• Johnny Concho1956 · as Tallman
• The Conqueror1956 · as Kasar
• The Naked Sea1955 · as Narrator
• 5 Against the House1955 · as Eric Berg
• The Naked Jungle1954 · as Commissioner
• The Desert Song1953 · as Lachmed
• Cry of the Hunted1953 · as Goodwin
• Lone Star1952 · as Mizette
• The Racket1951 · as Turk
• The Sword of Monte Cristo1951 · as Major Nicolet
• Cry Danger1951 · as Louie Castro
• Dial 11191950 · as Chuckles
• The Milkman1950 · as Mike Morrel
• One Way Street1950 · as Ollie
• East Side, West Side1949 · as Lt. Jacobi
• Tension1949 · as Lt. Edgar Gonsales
• Any Number Can Play1949 · as Frank Sistina
• Joan of Arc1948 · as Guillaume Erard, a Prosecutor
• To the Victor1948 · as Farnsworth
• Sorry, Wrong Number1948 · as Morano
• Four Faces West1948 · as Sheriff Egan
• Arch of Triumph1948 · as Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
• Body and Soul1947 · as Quinn
• The Killers1946 · as Max
• Pillow to Post1945 · as First Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)

All TV Shows (44)

• Jake and the Fatman1987 · as Jason McCabe
• The Highwayman1987 · as Narrator
• Matlock1986 · as James McShane
• Murder, She Wrote1984 · as Anatole Karzof
• Hotel1982
• Police Squad!1982 · as Stabbed Man
• Nero Wolfe1981 · as Nero Wolfe
• How the West Was Won1977 · as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
• Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected1977 · as Narrator
• The Sonny and Cher Show1976 · as Self
• Tony Orlando and Dawn1974 · as Self
• The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts1973 · as Self
• Barnaby Jones1973 · as Frank Cannon
• Cannon1971 · as Frank Cannon
• The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour1971
• The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour1971 · as Self
• The Dudley Do-Right Show1969
• The Name of the Game1968 · as Arnold Wexler
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In1968 · as Self
• The Carol Burnett Show1967 · as Self - Guest / Various Characters
• The Carol Burnett Show1967 · as Self
• The High Chaparral1967 · as China Pierce
• The Dean Martin Show1965
• F Troop1965
• The Fugitive1963 · as Narrator
• General Electric True1962
• The Alfred Hitchcock Hour1962 · as Sergent Cresse
• Target: The Corruptors!1961
• The Aquanauts1960 · as Corey
• The Bullwinkle Show1959 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends1959 · as Narrator (voice)
• This Man Dawson1959 · as Narrator (voice only)
• The Man and the Challenge1959
• 77 Sunset Strip1958 · as Bystander (uncredited)
• 77 Sunset Strip1958 · as Clapper (uncredited)
• 77 Sunset Strip1958 · as Baseball Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
• Bat Masterson1958 · as Clark Benson
• Bat Masterson1958 · as Dick MacIntyre
• Tombstone Territory1957 · as Frank Banter
• Have Gun, Will Travel1957
• Have Gun, Will Travel1957 · as Moses Kadish
• Gunsmoke1955 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Ed Sullivan Show1948 · as Self
• Bambi1948 · as Self