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).
Acting (67 movies)
The Return of the King
1980
Sorry, Wrong Number
1948
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
Cry Danger
1951
The Racket
1951
Tension
1949
Cry of the Hunted
1953
-30-
1959
One Way Street
1950
Dial 1119
1950
The Killers
1946
Johnny Concho
1956
The Naked Jungle
1954
The Sword of Monte Cristo
1951
5 Against the House
1955
Four Faces West
1948
Body and Soul
1947
The Mikado
1983
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
1975
Arch of Triumph
1948
Any Number Can Play
1949
East Side, West Side
1949
Moonshine County Express
1977
The Force of Evil
1977
The Ride Back
1957
Keefer
1978
The Milkman
1950
Night Cries
1978
The Return of Frank Cannon
1980
Killing Cars
1986
The Desert Song
1953
The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill
1971
The City
1977
Hamburgers
1974
Catastrophe
1977
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
1980
Cannon
1971
Lone Star
1952
Shock-Trauma
1982
Chisum
1970
The Conqueror
1956
In Like Flynn
1985
Brainstorm
1965
To the Victor
1948
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
Zero Hour!
1957
Eggs Benedict
1965
Pillow to Post
1945
The Making of Star Wars
1977
Side Show
1981
Hudson Hawk
1991
Chamber of Horrors
1966
The Brotherhood of the Bell
1970
The Box
2009
Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo
1986
Joan of Arc
1948
O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
1971
Turnover Smith
1980
The Naked Sea
1955
Battle of the Bulge
1965
Countdown
1967
The Macahans
1976
The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One
1974
Two on a Guillotine
1965
Design for Disaster
1962
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
Battle of the Bulge
1965
Directing (5 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Ride Back | 1957 | Producer |
| Two on a Guillotine | 1965 | Producer |
| My Blood Runs Cold | 1965 | Producer |
| Brainstorm | 1965 | Producer |
| An American Dream | 1966 | Producer |
| First to Fight | 1967 | Executive Producer |
| The Cool Ones | 1967 | Executive Producer |
| Countdown | 1967 | Executive Producer |
| Chubasco | 1968 | Producer |
| Assignment to Kill | 1968 | Executive Producer |
| The Learning Tree | 1969 | Executive Producer |
| Turnover Smith | 1980 | Executive Producer |