
Bill Williams
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1915-05-21
Day of Death
1992-09-21 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Bill Williams
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.
Known For
Acting
(1981)
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood
as Cowboy Bob
(1979)
(1978)
A Fire in the Sky
as Dale Turner
(1976)
The Flight of the Grey Wolf
as The Sheriff
(1976)
(1975)
The Giant Spider Invasion
as Dutch
(1974)
(1971)
Scandalous John
as Sheriff Hart
(1970)
Rio Lobo
as Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
(1968)
Buckskin
as Frank Cody
(1965)
The Hallelujah Trail
as Lt. Brady (uncredited)
(1965)
Tickle Me
as Deputy Sturdivant
(1965)
Spaceflight IC-1
as Capt. Mead Ralston
(1965)
A Letter to Nancy
as George Reed
(1964)
Law of the Lawless
as Silas Miller
(1961)
The Sergeant Was a Lady
as Col. House
(1960)
Oklahoma Territory
as Temple Houston
(1960)
Hell to Eternity
as Leonard
(1959)
The Scarface Mob
as Martin Flaherty
(1959)
A Dog's Best Friend
as Wesley 'Wes' Thurman
(1959)
Alaska Passage
as Al Graham
(1958)
Space Master X-7
as John Hand
(1958)
(1957)
Pawnee
as Matt Delaney
(1957)
The Halliday Brand
as Clay Halliday
(1957)
Slim Carter
as Frank Hanneman
(1957)
The Storm Rider
as Sheriff Colton
(1956)
The Wild Dakotas
as Jim Henry
(1956)
The Broken Star
as Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
(1955)
Apache Ambush
as James Kingston
(1955)
Wiretapper
as James Arthur Vaus, Jr.
(1955)
Hell's Horizon
as Paul Jenkins
(1954)
The Outlaw's Daughter
as Jess Raidley aka Big Red
(1953)
Torpedo Alley
as Tom Graham
(1952)
Son of Paleface
as Kirk
(1952)
Rose of Cimarron
as George Newcomb
(1952)
The Pace That Thrills
as Richard L. 'Dusty' Weston
(1951)
The Last Outpost
as Sgt. Tucker
(1951)
The Great Missouri Raid
as Jim Younger
(1951)
Havana Rose
as Tex Thompson
(1951)
Blue Blood
as Bill Manning
(1950)
The Flame and the Arrow
as Outlaw (uncredited)
(1950)
California Passage
as Bob Martin
(1950)
The Cariboo Trail
as Mike Evans
(1950)
Operation Haylift
as Bill Masters
(1950)
Blue Grass of Kentucky
as Lin McIvor
(1949)
The Stratton Story
as Eddie Dibson
(1949)
A Woman's Secret
as Lee Crenshaw
(1949)
A Dangerous Profession
as Claude Brackett
(1949)
Fighting Man of the Plains
as Marshall Johnny Tancred
(1949)
The Clay Pigeon
as Jim Fletcher
(1947)
A Likely Story
as Bill
(1946)
Deadline at Dawn
as Alex Winkler
(1946)
Till the End of Time
as Perry Kincheloe
(1945)
The Body Snatcher
as Survis, Medical Student
(1945)
Back to Bataan
as (uncredited)
(1945)
Johnny Angel
as Big Sailor (uncredited)
(1945)
West of the Pecos
as Tex Evans
(1945)
Those Endearing Young Charms
as Jerry
(1944)
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
as Bud Felton
(1944)
Murder in the Blue Room
as Larry (as Bill MacWilliams)
(1933)
King Kong
as Theatre Usher (uncredited)
Crew
(1965)
The Hallelujah Trail
Stunts