William Conrad
| William Conrad | |
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Conrad in 1952, when he created the role of Matt Dillon on the radio version of Gunsmoke
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| Born |
John William Cann Jr. September 27, 1920 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | February 11, 1994 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, director, producer, voice actor |
| Years active | 1945–1993 |
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William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television.
A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after his World War II service and played a series of character roles in films beginning with the quintessential film noir The Killers (1946). He created the role of Marshal Matt Dillon for the popular radio series Gunsmoke (1952–1961) and narrated the television adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1964) and The Fugitive (1963–1967).
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).
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, and Conrad grew up watching movies. The family moved to Southern California when Conrad was in high school. He majored in drama and literature at Fullerton College, in Orange County, California, and began his career as an announcer, writer, and director for Los Angeles radio station KMPC.
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 Corps with the rank of captain and as a producer-director of the Armed Forces Radio Service.
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