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
Lord Denethor (voice)
The Return of the King
Morano
Sorry, Wrong Number
(in "The Killers") (archive footage)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Louie Castro
Cry Danger
Det. Sgt. Turk
The Racket
Lt. Edgar Gonsales
Tension
Goodwin
Cry of the Hunted
Jim Bathgate
-30-
Ollie
One Way Street
Chuckles
Dial 1119
Max
The Killers
Tallman
Johnny Concho
Commissioner
The Naked Jungle
Major Nicolet
The Sword of Monte Cristo
Eric Berg
5 Against the House
Sheriff Egan
Four Faces West
Quinn
Body and Soul
The Mikado
The Mikado
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
Arch of Triumph
Frank Sistina
Any Number Can Play
Lt. Jacobi
East Side, West Side
Jack Starkey
Moonshine County Express
Narrator (voice)
The Force of Evil
Sheriff Chris Hamish
The Ride Back
Col. Keefer
Keefer
Mike Morrel
The Milkman
Dr. Whelan
Night Cries
Frank Cannon
The Return of Frank Cannon
Mr. Mahoney
Killing Cars
Lachmed
The Desert Song
Chief Vincent Kovac
The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill
Narrator (voice)
The City
self
Hamburgers
Narrator (voice)
Catastrophe
William Battles
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
Frank Cannon
Cannon
Mizette
Lone Star
Dr. R. Adams Cowley
Shock-Trauma
Narrator - Opening Credits (voice) (uncredited)
Chisum
Kasar
The Conqueror
Sgt. Dominic
In Like Flynn
Blitz
Mental Patient (uncredited)
Brainstorm
Farnsworth
To the Victor
Opening Narrator / Draconian officer (uncredited) (voice)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Zero Hour!
Narrator
Eggs Benedict
First Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Pillow to Post
Narrator (voice)
The Making of Star Wars
Ring Announcer (voice)
Side Show
Narrator (voice)
Hudson Hawk
Narrator
Chamber of Horrors
Bart Harris
The Brotherhood of the Bell
Self (voice) (uncredited)
The Box
Jim Dunn
Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo
Guillaume Erard, a Prosecutor
Joan of Arc
Keegan
O'Hara, United States Treasury: Operation Cobra
Thaddeus Smith
Turnover Smith
Narrator
The Naked Sea
Narrator (uncredited)
Battle of the Bulge
TV Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Countdown
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Macahans
Narrator (voice)
The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One
Fat Man in Hall of Mirrors (uncredited)
Two on a Guillotine
Narrator
Design for Disaster
Self (archive footage)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
Narrator (voice)
Battle of the Bulge
Narrator (voice)
Voices
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
69
Gender
Male
Birthday
1920-09-27
Place of Birth
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Also Known As
John William Cann Jr.