Bill Williams

Birthday: 1915-05-21
Deathday: 1992-09-21
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

William Herman Katt (born Herman August Wilhelm Katt; May 15, 1915 – September 21, 1992), known as Bill Williams, was an American television and film actor. He is best known for his starring role in the early television series The Adventures of Kit Carson, which aired in syndication from 1951 to 1955. Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York to German immigrant parents. He attended the Pratt Institute, and became a professional swimmer, performing in underwater shows. He landed a walk-on role as a theater usher in King Kong (1933). He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II, but was discharged before the end and became an actor. His credited debut was in The Blue Room in 1944, using the professional name Bill Williams. His first starring role was opposite Susan Hayward in Deadline at Dawn (1946).

Williams appeared in ten films before he landed the lead role in television's The Adventures of Kit Carson, which ran for 105 episodes. When the series ended, Williams' star power faded. It was revived in 1957 when he co-starred with Betty White on television in Date with the Angels. Williams portrayed Federal agent Martin Flaherty in The Scarface Mob (1959), the pilot for ABC's The Untouchables. However, when the series was accepted, the role went to Jerry Paris. Williams turned down the lead in Sea Hunt in 1958, believing that an underwater show would not work on television. Lloyd Bridges accepted the part and turned it into a hit. Williams did star as a former Navy frogman in Assignment: Underwater, which ran for just one season. He played a variety of roles on Perry Mason, in which his wife Barbara Hale co-starred as Raymond Burr's secretary Della Street. In a 1962 episode, "The Case of the Crippled Cougar," he played defendant Mike Preston. In 1963, he was murder victim Floyd Grant in "The Case of the Bluffing Blast." In 1965 Williams played murderer Charles Shaw in "The Case of the Murderous Mermaid," and was murderer Burt Payne in "The Case of the 12th Wildcat". Williams appeared with his son in a final season episode of Ironside, bringing him together again with Raymond Burr. He also made numerous guest appearances on television and worked in low-budget science fiction films until his retirement.

Credits

Year Title Character
1981-02-19 Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood Cowboy Bob
1978-11-26 A Fire in the Sky Dale Turner
1976-10-06 69 Minutes
1976-03-14 The Flight of the Grey Wolf The Sheriff
1975-10-01 The Giant Spider Invasion Dutch
1974-11-07 125 Rooms of Comfort
1971-06-22 Scandalous John Sheriff Hart
1970-04-01 Rio Lobo Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
1968-05-01 Buckskin Frank Cody
1965-08-01 Spaceflight IC-1 Capt. Mead Ralston
1965-06-30 Tickle Me Deputy Sturdivant
1965-06-23 The Hallelujah Trail Lt. Brady (uncredited)
1965-01-14 A Letter to Nancy George Reed
1964-05-13 Law of the Lawless Silas Miller
1961-10-04 The Sergeant Was a Lady Col. House
1960-08-01 Hell to Eternity Leonard
1960-03-01 Oklahoma Territory Temple Houston
1959-12-20 A Dog's Best Friend Wesley 'Wes' Thurman
1959-04-19 The Scarface Mob Martin Flaherty
1959-02-11 Alaska Passage Al Graham
1958-09-21 Legion of the Doomed
1958-06-01 Space Master X-7 John Hand
1957-11-01 Slim Carter Frank Hanneman
1957-09-07 Pawnee Matt Delaney
1957-03-01 The Storm Rider Sheriff Colton
1957-01-01 The Halliday Brand Clay Halliday
1956-04-01 The Broken Star Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
1956-02-28 The Wild Dakotas Jim Henry
1955-12-31 Hell's Horizon Paul Jenkins
1955-08-24 Apache Ambush James Kingston
1955-08-10 Wiretapper James Arthur Vaus, Jr.
1954-11-01 The Outlaw's Daughter Jess Raidley aka Big Red
1953-12-25 Torpedo Alley Tom Graham
1952-07-14 Son of Paleface Kirk
1952-03-01 The Pace That Thrills Richard L. 'Dusty' Weston
1952-01-28 Rose of Cimarron George Newcomb
1951-09-15 Havana Rose Tex Thompson
1951-04-04 The Last Outpost Sgt. Tucker
1951-02-01 The Great Missouri Raid Jim Younger
1951-01-28 Blue Blood Bill Manning
1950-12-15 California Passage Bob Martin
1950-08-01 The Cariboo Trail Mike Evans
1950-07-07 The Flame and the Arrow Outlaw (uncredited)
1950-05-05 Operation Haylift Bill Masters
1950-01-22 Blue Grass of Kentucky Lin McIvor
1949-12-10 A Dangerous Profession Claude Brackett
1949-11-16 Fighting Man of the Plains Marshall Johnny Tancred
1949-05-12 The Stratton Story Eddie Dibson
1949-03-03 The Clay Pigeon Jim Fletcher
1949-01-13 A Woman's Secret Lee Crenshaw
1947-04-18 A Likely Story Bill
1946-07-23 Till the End of Time Perry Kincheloe
1946-03-18 Deadline at Dawn Alex Winkler
1945-08-10 West of the Pecos Tex Evans
1945-06-19 Those Endearing Young Charms Jerry
1945-05-30 Back to Bataan (uncredited)
1945-05-25 The Body Snatcher Survis, Medical Student
1944-11-15 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo Bud Felton
1944-10-27 Murder in the Blue Room Larry (as Bill MacWilliams)
1933-03-15 King Kong Theatre Usher (uncredited)