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