Acting
William Conrad
EN, DE cinema · 78 credits
Born
27 September 1920
Died
11 February 1994 (aged 73)
Birthplace
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Also known as John William Cann Jr.
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
Filmography
The Return of the King
The Return of the King
as Lord Denethor (voice)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
The Box
as Self (voice) (uncredited)
Hudson Hawk
as Narrator (voice)
Killing Cars
as Mr. Mahoney
In Like Flynn
as Sgt. Dominic
Blitz
1985
Blitz
as Mr. Mahoney
The Mikado
as The Mikado
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "The Killers") (archive footage)
Shock-Trauma
as Dr. R. Adams Cowley
Side Show
as Ring Announcer (voice), Director, Songs
The Return of the King
as Lord Denethor (voice)
The Return of Frank Cannon
as Frank Cannon
The Murder That Wouldn't Die
as William Battles
Turnover Smith
as Thaddeus Smith, Executive Producer
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
as Opening Narrator / Draconian officer (uncredited) (voice)
Keefer
as Col. Keefer
Night Cries
as Dr. Whelan
Moonshine County Express
as Jack Starkey
The Force of Evil
as Narrator (voice)
The City
as Narrator (voice)
Catastrophe
as Narrator (voice)
The Making of Star Wars
as Narrator (voice)
The Macahans
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Hamburgers
as Self
The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One
as Narrator (voice)
Voices
1974
Voices
as Narrator (voice)
The D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill
as Chief Vincent Kovac
Cannon
as Frank Cannon
Chisum
as Narrator - Opening Credits (voice) (uncredited)
The Brotherhood of the Bell
as Bart Harris
The Learning Tree
Executive Producer
Assignment to Kill
Executive Producer
Chubasco
Producer
Countdown
as TV Newscaster (voice) (uncredited), Executive Producer
First to Fight
Executive Producer
The Cool Ones
Executive Producer
Chamber of Horrors
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
An American Dream
Producer
Brainstorm
as Mental Patient (uncredited), Producer, Director
Eggs Benedict
as Narrator
Battle of the Bulge
as Narrator (uncredited), as Narrator (voice)
Two on a Guillotine
as Fat Man in Hall of Mirrors (uncredited), Director, Producer
My Blood Runs Cold
Director, Producer
Design for Disaster
as Narrator
-30-
as Jim Bathgate
The Ride Back
as Sheriff Chris Hamish, Producer
Zero Hour!
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Johnny Concho
as Tallman
The Conqueror
as Kasar
5 Against the House
as Eric Berg
The Naked Sea
as Narrator
The Naked Jungle
as Commissioner
Cry of the Hunted
as Goodwin
The Desert Song
as Lachmed
Lone Star
as Mizette
Cry Danger
as Louie Castro
The Racket
as Turk
The Sword of Monte Cristo
as Major Nicolet
One Way Street
as Ollie
Dial 1119
as Chuckles
The Milkman
as Mike Morrel
Tension
as Lt. Edgar Gonsales
Any Number Can Play
as Frank Sistina
East Side, West Side
as Lt. Jacobi
Sorry, Wrong Number
as Morano
Four Faces West
as Sheriff Egan
Arch of Triumph
as Policeman at Accident (uncredited)
To the Victor
as Farnsworth
Joan of Arc
as Guillaume Erard, a Prosecutor
Body and Soul
as Quinn
The Killers
as Max
Pillow to Post
as First Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)