John McLiam

John McLiam (born John Williams; January 24, 1918 – April 16, 1994) was a Canadian actor noted for his skill at different accents.

Early life He attended St. Mary's College of California (Moraga, California). During World War II he served in the United States Navy as an intelligence officer, having received a Bronze Star.

His acting career began in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset in San Francisco in 1946. After a few roles in plays in California he moved to New York. John acted as the pilot/flight instructor for Aunt Bee in Season 8 of The Andy Griffith Show, "Aunt Bee's Big Moment" Halls of Anger (1970), Woody Allen's Sleeper (1973), rancher David Braxton in The Missouri Breaks (1976), and Orval in First Blood (1982). He played Jimmy Tomorrow in John Frankenheimer's American Film Theater movie of The Iceman Cometh (1973), alongside Fredric March, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Jeff Bridges.

McLiam portrayed Ellis Carter, a young man seeking freedom from his domineering brother, in the 1961 episode "The Big Spender" of the television series Window on Main Street. He appeared in "The Wild Wild West" S3 E17 "The Night of the Headless Woman" as Tucker (1967).

In the 1979 television miniseries Freedom Road, he played Ulysses S. Grant. He appeared in several episodes of the western series The Virginian (one of which was in 1970 as Parker on "The Men From Shiloh" which was the rebranded name that year for The Virginian) and Gunsmoke, and was Doc Holliday in the pilot of Bret Maverick. He portrayed the lead character's father in T.J. Hooker, and as Elsworth Chisolm in two 1989 episodes of Dynasty after appearing five years prior as another character. In 1980, he played retired attorney Nathan Moore in an episode during the final season of The Waltons. He guest starred in a 1970 episode of Bonanza, three episodes of Little House on the Prairie (1977–1983), and in a two episodes of Highway to Heaven, all opposite Michael Landon. He had guest roles in dozens of other television series, including The Twilight Zone, Mannix, Magnum, P.I., M*A*S*H, Murder, She Wrote, The A-Team, and Perry Mason.

He was John of Gaunt in William Woodman's filmed version of Shakespeare's Richard II (1982): while the cast's acting was generally judged as poor, Charles R. Forker said McLiam delivered Gaunt's most famous speech "like an operatic aria" but in general was no match for Sir John Gielgud at speaking verse.

Writing His play The Sin of Pat Muldoon, about a Roman Catholic family, ran for five performances from March 13 to 16, 1957 at the Cort Theatre on Broadway. The central character, played in that production by James Barton, is a father who renounces his faith following the death of his son and spends his savings on partying and loose women before having a heart attack. Though he attempts to resolve some of his family's problems, he dies unrepentant. Playwright and producer Maxwell Anderson, given the script to consider producing it, condemned the play as lying on well-trampled ground following Seán O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, declaring, "I've grown weary of the whole subject. An ancient, irritable, blasphemous, dying but loveable Irishman says his last ten thousand words and goes to his own place. The hell with him."

Selected filmography

1957: Decoy as Mike, and as Father Kelly 1961: Dead to the World as Goody 1964: My Fair Lady as Harry (uncredited) 1965: Honey West (TV Series) as Gordon 1967: Cool Hand Luke as Boss Kean 1967: In Cold Blood as Herbert Clutter 1968: Madigan as Dunne (uncredited) 1968: Riverrun as Jeffries 1968: The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) as Mac 1969: The Reivers as Van Tosch 1970: Halls of Anger as Boyd Wilkerson 1970: R. P. M. as Reverend Blauvelt 1970: Monte Walsh as Joe 'Fightin' Joe' Hooker 1971: Big Jake as Army Officer (uncredited) 1972: The Culpepper Cattle Co. as Thorton Pierce 1973: Showdown as F.J. Wilson 1973: The Iceman Cometh as Jimmy Tomorrow 1973: Sleeper as Dr. Agon 1974: The Dove as Lyle Graham 1975: Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins as John Beachwood 1975: Bite the Bullet as Gebhardt 1975: Lucky Lady as Rass Huggins 1976: The Missouri Breaks as David Braxton 1976: The Food of the Gods as Mr. Skinner 1979: Freedom Road as President Ulysses S. Grant 1982: The End of August as Colonel 1982: First Blood as Orval Kellerman 1982: Voyager from the Unknown as Dr. Bernard 1987: Walk Like a Man as H.P. Truman 1988: Split Decisions as Pop McGuinn