William Conrad

William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr., September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose entertainment career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television.

A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after serving in World War II as a fighter pilot and played a series of character roles in films, beginning with the film noir The Killers (1946). He originated the role of Marshal Matt Dillon for the radio series Gunsmoke (1952–1961) and narrated the television adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1964), Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties (1959–1964), The Fugitive (1963–1967), and Hoppity Hooper (1964–1967).

Finding fewer onscreen roles in the 1950s, he changed from actor to producer-director with television work, narration, and a series of Warner Bros. films in the 1960s. Conrad found stardom as a detective in the TV series Cannon (1971–1976) and Nero Wolfe (1981) and as district attorney Jason Lochinvar "J. L., Fatman" McCabe in the legal drama Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992).

Early life William Conrad (also known as John William Conrad) was born John William Cann Jr., on September 27, 1920, in Louisville, Kentucky. His parents, John William Cann and Ida Mae Upchurch Cann, owned a movie theatre,

Conrad served as a fighter pilot in World War II. On the day he was commissioned in 1943 at Luke Field, he married June Nelson (1920–1977) of Los Angeles. He left the United States Army Air Forces with the rank of captain and as a producer-director of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Career

Radio Conrad estimated that he played more than 7,500 roles during his radio career. At KMPC, the 22-year-old Conrad produced and acted in The Hermit's Cave (c. 1940–1944), the Los Angeles incarnation of a popular syndicated horror anthology series created at WJR Detroit.

Conrad was among the supporting cast for the espionage drama The Man Called X (1944–1948); the syndicated dramatic anthology Favorite Story (1946–1949); the adventure dramas The Count of Monte Cristo (Mutual 1947–1948), The Voyage of the Scarlet Queen (Mutual 1947–1948), The Green Lama (CBS 1949), and Night Beat (NBC 1950–1952); Romance (1950); Hollywood Star Playhouse (1950–1953); Errol Flynn's The Modern Adventures of Casanova (Mutual 1952); and Cathy and Elliott Lewis's On Stage (CBS 1953–1954).

Conrad was the voice of Escape (1947–1954), a high-adventure radio series. He played Warchek, a menacing policeman, in Johnny Modero: Pier 23 (Mutual 1947), a detective series starring Jack Webb, and was in the cast of Webb's crime dramas Dragnet (NBC, 1947–1951) and Pete Kelly's Blues (NBC, 1951). He played newspaper editor Walter Burns opposite Dick Powell's reporter Hildy Johnson in the ABC radio drama The Front Page (1948). He was Dave the Dude in the syndicated drama anthology series The Damon Runyon Theater (1948); Lt. Dundy in the NBC radio series The Adventures of Sam Spade (1949–1950); boss to government special agent Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Silent Men (NBC 1951); and a New Orleans bartender in the NBC adventure drama Jason and the Golden Fleece (1952–1953).

Most prominently, Conrad's deep, resonant voice won him the role of Marshal Matt Dillon on CBS Radio's gritty Western series Gunsmoke (1952–1961). The producers originally rejected him for the part because of his ubiquitous presence on so many radio dramas and the familiarity of his voice, but his impressive audition could not be dismissed, and he became the clear choice for the role. Conrad voiced Dillon for the show's nine-year run, and he wrote the June 1953 episode "Sundown". When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, executives at CBS did not cast Conrad or his radio costars despite a campaign to get them to change their minds.

His other credits include Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Lux Radio Theatre; Fibber McGee and Molly; and Suspense. In "The Wax Works", a 1956 episode of Suspense, Conrad performed every part. Conrad directed and narrated the 1957 episode "Epitaphs", an adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters's poetry volume Spoon River Anthology.

"And '1489 Words' (Feb. 10, 1957) remains a favorite of many, a powerful Conrad performance proving that one picture is not necessarily worth a thousand words," Dunning concluded. "A lovely way to end a day, a decade, or an era."

Film

As an actor in feature films, Conrad was often cast as a threatening figure. His most notable role may be the first for which he was credited, as one of the gunmen sent to eliminate Burt Lancaster in The Killers (1946). Conrad also appeared in Body and Soul (1947), Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), Joan of Arc (1948), and The Naked Jungle (1954).

In 1961, Conrad moved to the production side of the film business, producing and directing for Warner Bros. film studio. In 1965 he produced and directed Two on a Guillotine, My Blood Runs Cold and Brainstorm as well as narrating the opening of Battle of the Bulge. Brainstorm was a latter-day film noir that has come to be regarded as "a minor masterpiece of the 1960s" and "the final, essential entry in that long line of films noir that begins at the end of the Second World War."

Conrad was the executive producer of Countdown (1968), a science-fiction thriller starring James Caan and Robert Duvall that was the major studio feature début of director Robert Altman.

Conrad narrated the documentary Design for Disaster, produced by the Los Angeles City Fire Department, about the November 1961 Bel Air wildfire that gutted several neighborhoods, at the time the worst conflagration in Los Angeles history.

As a token of appreciation from Jack L. Warner, head of Warner Bros., Conrad received one of the two original lead-metal falcon statues used in the classic film The Maltese Falcon (1941). The falcon sat on a bookshelf in Conrad's house from the 1960s. Standing 11.5 in (29.2 cm) high and weighing 45 lb (20.4 kg), the figurine had been slashed during the making of the film by Sydney Greenstreet's character Kasper Gutman, leaving deep cuts in its bronze patina. After Conrad's death, the statue was consigned by his widow Tippy Conrad to Christie's, which estimated it would bring $30,000 to $50,000 at auction. In December 1994, Christie's sold the falcon for $398,500. The purchaser was Ronald Winston, president of Harry Winston, Inc. jewelers. In 1996, Winston resold the prop to an unknown European collector "at an enormous profit"for as much as $1 million.

Late in life, Conrad narrated the opening and closing scenes of the 1991 Bruce Willis feature film Hudson Hawk.

Television

Voice As "Bill Conrad", he narrated and contributed character voices to Jay Ward's animated Rocky and Bullwinkle series from 1959 to 1964. Conrad's "narrator" voice in this series was far removed from his usual rumbling baritone. He adopted a brisk, high-pitched, nasal tenor that suited the mock urgency of the narratives. He reserved this voice for the Rocky cartoons and did not employ it elsewhere.

Conrad narrated This Man Dawson, a 33-episode syndicated crime drama starring Keith Andes in the 1959–1960 television season, and then became the familiar voice narrating The Fugitive, starring David Janssen, on ABC television from 1963 to 1967. He also introduced Count Basie's Orchestra and Frank Sinatra on Sinatra's 1966 Live at the Sands album.

Conrad intoned a rhyming narration heard over the credits of the 1970 John Wayne film Western Chisum. His voice is heard in the Clio Award-winning 1971 public-service announcement about pollution featuring Iron Eyes Cody, created for Earth Day by Keep America Beautiful and the Ad Council. From 1973 to 1978, Conrad narrated the TV nature program Wild, Wild World of Animals. Also during the 1970s, he appeared in and narrated a number of episodes for ABC's American Sportsman and in the CBS documentary The Lost Treasure of the Concepcion. He later narrated The Making of Star Wars (1977), the disaster documentary Catastrophe! (1977), the 1978 World Series U.S.-baseball highlight film, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979), and The Rebels (1979). Conrad also performed the role of Denethor in the 1980 animated TV version of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King. His other voice work included narration for The Highwayman and the "High Flight" sign-off featuring an F-15.

Directing Conrad directed episodes of NBC's Klondike in the 1960–1961 season. His other credits as a director include episodes of The Rifleman, Bat Masterson, Route 66, Have Gun – Will Travel, 77 Sunset Strip, Temple Houston and Ripcord, as well as ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors!.

Acting

Conrad guest-starred in NBC's science-fiction series The Man and the Challenge and in the syndicated skydiving adventure series Ripcord, with Larry Pennell and Ken Curtis. In 1962, he starred in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and guest-starred in episodes of ABC's crime drama Target: The Corruptors!. He appeared as Major Anatole Karzof in a 1984 episode of Murder, She Wrote called "Death Takes a Curtain Call".

From 1971 to 1976, he starred in the television detective series Cannon, which was broadcast on CBS. While starring in the show, he weighed , and ballooned to or more.

"I heard that Weight Watchers had banned its members from watching the show, but it turned out to be a gag," Conrad said in 1973. "The publicist for Weight Watchers did call and suggest that I have lunch with their president. I said sure – if I could pick the restaurant."

From the early 1980s to the early 1990s, he starred in two other TV series, Nero Wolfe (in the title role of Rex Stout's brilliant detective, 1981) with Lee Horsley, and Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992) with Joe Penny.

Hosting Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, Conrad served as the armchair-and-fireside host of the CBS All-American Thanksgiving Day Parade morning broadcasts in which he anchored the network's annual holiday telecast of parades from around the U.S. and Canada, including parades from Detroit, Hawaii, New York City, Philadelphia, and Toronto.

Other appearances In the 1970s and 1980s, Conrad appeared in a few Pittway First Alert Smoke Alarm commercials as the host, explaining the need for the alarms.

Personal life In 1957, Conrad was married to former fashion model Susan Randall (1928–1979), and the couple had one son, Christopher. In 1980, Conrad married Tipton "Tippy" Stringer (1930–2010), a broadcast pioneer and the widow of NBC newscaster Chet Huntley. She helped manage his career during their 14-year marriage.

Hobbies Conrad was an avid outdoorsman and accomplished fisherman. Having been known for his prowess using light tackle, as documented in the magazine Field & Stream, on May 23, 1972, in the Yucatán Channel of Mexico, Conrad caught a 62 lb, 4 oz sailfish on thread-like 6-lb-test line.

Death Conrad died of a heart attack at age 73 in Los Angeles on February 11, 1994. He was buried in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery, California.

Recognition Conrad was posthumously elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame in 1997, and also to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.

Filmography

Actor Year Title Role Notes 1945 Pillow to Post First Motorcycle Cop Uncredited 1946 The Killers Max 1947 Body and Soul Quinn 1948 Arch of Triumph Policeman at Accident Uncredited 1948 To the Victor Farnsworth 1948 Four Faces West Sheriff Egan 1948 Sorry, Wrong Number Morano 1948 Joan of Arc Guillaume Erard, a Prosecutor 1949 Any Number Can Play Frank Sistina 1949 East Side, West Side Lt. Jacobi 1950 Tension Lt. Edgar Gonsales 1950 One Way Street Ollie 1950 The Milkman Mike Morrel 1950 Dial 1119 Chuckles 1951 Cry Danger Castro 1951 The Sword of Monte Cristo Major Nicolet 1951 The Racket Detective Sergeant Turk 1952 Lone Star Mizette 1953 Cry of the Hunted Goodwin 1953 The Desert Song Lachmed 1954 The Naked Jungle Commissioner 1954 The Bob Mathias Story Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1955 5 Against the House Eric Berg 1956 The Conqueror Kasar 1956 Johnny Concho Tallman 1957 The Ride Back Sheriff Chris Hamish 1957 Zero Hour! Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1958 The Rough Riders Wade Hacker Episode: "The Governor" 1958–1961 Bat Masterson Clark Benson / Dick MacIntyre 2 episodes 1959 -30- Jim Bathgate 1959–1960 This Man Dawson Narrator 39 episodes 1959–1961 Rocky and His Friends Narrator TV series, Voice, Credited as Bill Conrad 1961 The Aquanauts Corey Episode: "Killers in Paradise" 1961 Dudley Do-Right Narrator Voice, 1 episode, Uncredited 1961–1964 The Bullwinkle Show Narrator TV series, Voice, Credited as Bill Conrad 1962 Gorath Narrator Uncredited 1962 Geronimo Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1962 Target: The Corruptors! Dan Episode: "Yankee Dollar" 1962 Have Gun – Will Travel Moses Kadish / Norge 2 episodes 1962 GE True Dr. James Fallon Episode: "Circle of Death" 1962 Design for Disaster Narrator Short film about the 1961 Los Angeles ' fires 1963 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Sergeant Cresse Season 1 Episode 15: "The Thirty-First of February" 1963–1964 77 Sunset Strip Clapper / Bystander / Maestrian Uncredited, 4 episodes 1963–1967 The Fugitive Narrator Voice, Uncredited, 120 episodes 1965 Two on a Guillotine The Fat Man in the Hall of Mirrors Uncredited 1965 My Blood Runs Cold Helicopter Pilot Voice, Uncredited 1965 Brainstorm Mental Patient Uncredited 1966 Hoppity Hooper Narrator Uncredited 1965 F Troop Narrator Voice, Uncredited, Episode: "Scourge of the West" 1965 Battle of the Bulge Narrator Uncredited 1966 Chamber of Horrors Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1967 First to Fight Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1967 Countdown TV Newscaster Voice, Uncredited 1969 The Name of the Game Arnold Wexler Episode: "The Power" 1970 It Takes a Thief Strategy Room Announcer Voice, Uncredited, Episode: "Situation Red" 1970 Chisum Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1970 The Brotherhood of the Bell Bart Harris TV movie 1970 The High Chaparral China Pierce Episode: "Spokes" 1970 Men at Law Kornedi Episode: "Survivors Will Be Prosecuted" 1970 The D. A.: Conspiracy to Kill Chief Vincent Kovac TV movie 1971 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Keegan TV movie 1971–1976 Cannon Frank Cannon 120 episodes 1973 Gunsmoke Narrator Episode: "Women for Sale" 1973, 76 The Carol Burnett Show Himself 2 episodes 1973–1975 Barnaby Jones Frank Cannon 2 episodes 1973–1976 Wild, Wild World of Animals Narrator TV series 1974 The FBI Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis,Public Enemy Number One Narrator TV movie, Voice, Uncredited 1975 Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan Narrator TV movie, Voice, Uncredited 1976 The Macahans Narrator TV movie 1977 The City Narrator TV movie, Voice 1977 The Force of Evil Narrator TV movie 1977 Moonshine County Express Jack Starkey 1977 The Making of Star Wars Narrator TV special 1977 Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected Host / Narrator Voice, Uncredited, 8 episodes 1977 Catastrophe Host / Narrator 1977–1978 How the West Was Won Narrator Voice, Uncredited, 7 episodes 1978 Night Cries Dr. Whelan TV movie 1978 Keefer Keefer TV movie 1979 The Rebels Narrator TV movie, Voice 1979–1981 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Narrator Voice, Uncredited 1980 Battles: The Murder That Wouldn't Die William Battles TV movie 1980 The Return of the King Lord Denethor TV movie, Voice 1980 Turnover Smith Thaddeus Smith TV movie 1980 The Return of Frank Cannon Frank Cannon TV movie 1980 Jockey Host (Himself) TV documentary movie, Directed by Martin Pitts Written by John Underwood 1980 The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour The Lone Ranger TV series, Voice, as J. Darnoc 1981 Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe 14 episodes 1981 Side Show Ring Announcer TV movie, Voice 1982 Police Squad! Stabbed Man Episode: "Testimony of Evil" 1982 Shocktrauma Dr. R Adams Cowley TV movie 1982 The Cremation of Sam McGee:A Poem by Robert W. Service Narrator Short, Voice 1983 The Mikado The Mikado TV movie 1983 Trauma Center Narrator Voice, Uncredited, 2 episodes 1983 Manimal Narrator Voice, Uncredited, 7 episodes 1984 Murder, She Wrote Major Anatole Karzof Episode: "Death Takes a Curtain Call" 1985 In Like Flynn Sergeant Dominic TV movie 1986 Hotel Art Patterson 2 episodes 1986 Mr. Mahoney 1986 Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo Jim Dunn TV movie 1986 Matlock D. A. James L. McShane Episodes: "The Don: Part 1" and "The Don: Part 2" 1987 The Highwayman Narrator Uncredited, Episode: "The Highwayman" 1987–1992 Jake and the Fatman Jason Lochinvar "Fatman" McCabe 103 episodes, (final appearance) 1991 Hudson Hawk Narrator Voice

Director Year Title Notes 1955 Highway Patrol (TV series) "The Trap" 1958 Target (TV series) "The Unknown" 1959 Mackenzie's Raiders (TV series) "The Pen and the Sword" 1959 Bold Venture (TV series) "Go Fight Sidney Hall""Dial M for Mother""Oh Kaplan, My Kaplan""The Last Hungry Man""One of Our Friedkins Is Missing … Fine""The Glittering Skull of Irving Tezcula" 1959 The Rifleman (TV series) "Three Legged Terror" 1959 The Rough Riders (TV series) "Deadfall" 1959–1960 This Man Dawson (TV series) 1959–1960 Tombstone Territory (TV series) "Marked for Murder""The Black Diamond" "Silver Killers" "Memory""The Governor" 1959–1961 Bat Masterson (TV series) "Wanted: Dead""The Reluctant Witness""The Good and the Bad""Ledger of Guilt" 1960 Lock-Up (TV series) "Poker Club""So Shall Ye Reap" 1960 Men into Space (TV series) "Mission to Mars""Mystery Satellite" 1960 Klondike (TV series) "Klondike Fever""Saints and Stickups" 1960–1961 The Case of the Dangerous Robin (TV series) "The Nightmare""The Caper""Java" 1961 The Aquanauts (TV series) "The Stakeout Adventure" 1961 Route 66 (TV series) "First Class Mouliak" 1961 Naked City (TV series) "A Kettle of Precious Fish""The Day the Island Almost Sank""Bridge Party" 1961–1962 Target: The Corruptors! (TV series) "Prison Empire""Play It Blue""Babes in Wall Street""My Native Land""A Man's Castle""Journey into Mourning""A Book of Faces""Yankee Dollar" 1962 Saints and Sinners (TV series) "A Night of Horns and Bells" 1962–1963 Have Gun – Will Travel (TV series) "One, Two, Three""Don't Shoot the Piano Player""Darwin's Man""Genesis""A Miracle for St. Francis""The Black Bull" 1962–1963 GE True (TV series) "Harris vs. Castro""The Handmade Private""The Last Day""Man with a Suitcase""Mile-Long Shot to Kill""The Wrong Nickel""The Amateurs""Open Season""Defendant Clarence Darrow""O.S.I.""Firebug""Escape""The Moonshiners""Security Risk""The Black-Robed Ghost""Ordeal""Pattern for Espionage""The Tenth Mona Lisa""Commando" 1963 77 Sunset Strip (TV series) six episodes 1963 The Man from Galveston 1963–1964 Temple Houston (TV series) "Billy Hart""Thy Name Is Woman""A Slight Case of Larceny""The Gun That Swept the West""The Town That Trespassed" 1963–1971 Gunsmoke (TV series) "Panacea Sykes""Captain Sligo" 1965 Two on a Guillotine 1965 My Blood Runs Cold 1965 Brainstorm 1981 Side Show (TV movie)

Producer Year Title Notes 1957 The Way Back 1959–1960 This Man Dawson (TV series) 1963 77 Sunset Strip (TV series) "88 Bars" 1965 Two on a Guillotine 1965 My Blood Runs Cold 1965 Brainstorm 1966 An American Dream 1967 First to Fight 1967 A Covenant with Death 1967 The Cool Ones executive producer 1968 Chubasco 1968 Countdown executive producer 1968 Assignment to Kill executive producer 1980 Turnover Smith (TV movie) executive producer