Bill Williams
Acting
Born: May 21, 1915 · Brooklyn, New York, USA
Died: September 21, 1992 (aged 77)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Photos (2)
Movies (65)
King Kong
Theatre Usher (uncredited)
Rio Lobo
Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
Back to Bataan
(uncredited)
The Hallelujah Trail
Lt. Brady (uncredited)
A Woman's Secret
Lee Crenshaw
Eight on the Lam
Cop at Roadblock (uncredited)
The Body Snatcher
Survis - Medical Student (uncredited)
The Giant Spider Invasion
Dutch
The Last Outpost
Sgt. Tucker
Deadline at Dawn
Alex Winkler
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
Bud Felton
California Passage
Bob Martin
Son of Paleface
Kirk
A Fire in the Sky
Dale Turner
West of the Pecos
Tex Evans
Fighting Man of the Plains
Marshall Johnny Tancred
Hell to Eternity
Leonard
Apache Ambush
James Kingston
Tickle Me
Deputy Sturdivant
Till the End of Time
Perry Kincheloe
Scandalous John
Sheriff Hart
Wiretapper
James Arthur Vaus, Jr.
Space Master X-7
John Hand
Those Endearing Young Charms
Jerry
The Pace That Thrills
Richard L. 'Dusty' Weston
Law of the Lawless
Silas Miller
Pawnee
Matt Delaney
The Clay Pigeon
Jim Fletcher
The Scarface Mob
Martin Flaherty
Torpedo Alley
Tom Graham
Rose of Cimarron
George Newcomb
A Dog's Best Friend
Wesley 'Wes' Thurman
The Cariboo Trail
Mike Evans
Buckskin
Frank Cody
Sing Your Way Home
Officer (uncredited)
The Flight of the Grey Wolf
The Sheriff
A Dangerous Profession
Claude Brackett
Stampede at Bitter Creek
Paul Forbes
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood
Cowboy Bob
Blue Grass of Kentucky
Lin McIvor
Oklahoma Territory
Temple Houston
The Outlaw's Daughter
Jess Raidley aka Big Red
The Broken Star
Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
Johnny Angel
Big Sailor (uncredited)
Murder in the Blue Room
Larry (as Bill MacWilliams)
The Great Missouri Raid
Jim Younger
Havana Rose
Tex Thompson
Blue Blood
Bill Manning
Rookie Fireman
Joe Blake
A Letter to Nancy
George Reed
Hell's Horizon
Paul Jenkins
Spaceflight IC-1
Capt. Mead Ralston
Legion of the Doomed
1958
A Likely Story
Bill
The Sergeant Was a Lady
Col. House
The Stratton Story
Eddie Dibson
The Halliday Brand
Clay Halliday
69 Minutes
1976
125 Rooms of Comfort
1974
Racing Blood
Tex
Slim Carter
Frank Hanneman
The Storm Rider
Sheriff Colton
Operation Haylift
Bill Masters
Alaska Passage
Al Graham
The Wild Dakotas
Jim Henry
TV Shows (40)
Perry Mason
Mike Preston · 1 eps
Perry Mason
Floyd Grant · 1 eps
Perry Mason
Charles Shaw · 1 eps
Perry Mason
Burt Payne · 1 eps
Ironside
Lt. Dacker · 1 eps
Adam-12
William Taylor · 1 eps
Adam-12
Fred Wheeler · 1 eps
Lassie
2 eps
Lassie
Jed Bingham · 1 eps
Batman
Multimillionaire · 2 eps
The F.B.I.
David Warren · 1 eps
The F.B.I.
Crawford · 1 eps
Emergency!
Pete · 1 eps
Dragnet
1 eps
The Wild Wild West
1 eps
Police Woman
2 eps
Rawhide
Tom Bickle · 1 eps
Daniel Boone
Caleb Trevor · 1 eps
The Rookies
3 eps
77 Sunset Strip
1 eps
77 Sunset Strip
Henry Cook · 1 eps
Gunsmoke
Red · 1 eps
The Streets of San Francisco
1 eps
Laramie
1 eps
M Squad
Jerry Langdon · 1 eps
The Millionaire
Donald Abbott · 1 eps
The Millionaire
Clint Halloran · 1 eps
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Martin Flaherty · 1 eps
The Adventures of Kit Carson
103 eps
B. J. and the Bear
1 eps
Yancy Derringer
Duke Winslow · 1 eps
Men Into Space
1 eps
Date with the Angels
60 eps
The Investigators
1 eps
240-Robert
1 eps
Primus
1 eps
General Electric Theater
Stewart Davidson · 1 eps
Assignment: Underwater
Bill Greer · 38 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Ed Sawyer · 1 eps
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1 eps
