Bill Williams
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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
Credits
King Kong (1933)
as Theatre Usher (uncredited)
Rio Lobo (1970)
as Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
as Bud Felton
The Body Snatcher (1945)
as Survis - Medical Student (uncredited)
The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)
as Dutch
West of the Pecos (1945)
as Tex Evans
A Woman's Secret (1949)
as Lee Crenshaw
The Hallelujah Trail (1965)
as Lt. Brady (uncredited)
Law of the Lawless (1964)
as Silas Miller
Tickle Me (1965)
as Deputy Sturdivant
Back to Bataan (1945)
as (uncredited)
Eight on the Lam (1967)
as Cop at Roadblock (uncredited)
Till the End of Time (1946)
as Perry Kincheloe
Sing Your Way Home (1945)
as Officer (uncredited)
A Fire in the Sky (1978)
as Dale Turner
Those Endearing Young Charms (1945)
as Jerry
Fighting Man of the Plains (1949)
as Marshall Johnny Tancred
A Dog's Best Friend (1959)
as Wesley 'Wes' Thurman
Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood (1981)
as Cowboy Bob
The Last Outpost (1951)
as Sgt. Tucker
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (1979)
as Self
The Great Missouri Raid (1951)
as Jim Younger
Son of Paleface (1952)
as Kirk
A Dangerous Profession (1949)
as Claude Brackett
Wiretapper (1955)
as James Arthur Vaus, Jr.
Scandalous John (1971)
as Sheriff Hart
The Clay Pigeon (1949)
as Jim Fletcher
The Broken Star (1956)
as Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
Hell to Eternity (1960)
as Leonard
The Pace That Thrills (1952)
as Richard L. 'Dusty' Weston
California Passage (1950)
as Bob Martin
Johnny Angel (1945)
as Big Sailor (uncredited)
Blue Grass of Kentucky (1950)
as Lin McIvor
Stampede at Bitter Creek (1962)
as Paul Forbes
Buckskin (1968)
as Frank Cody
Space Master X-7 (1958)
as John Hand
The Outlaw's Daughter (1954)
as Jess Raidley aka Big Red
The Flight of the Grey Wolf (1976)
as The Sheriff
Murder in the Blue Room (1944)
as Larry (as Bill MacWilliams)
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
as Alex Winkler
The Scarface Mob (1959)
as Martin Flaherty
Torpedo Alley (1953)
as Tom Graham
125 Rooms of Comfort (1974)
Actor
The Cariboo Trail (1950)
as Mike Evans
Pawnee (1957)
as Matt Delaney
The Halliday Brand (1957)
as Clay Halliday
Apache Ambush (1955)
as James Kingston
Racing Blood (1954)
as Tex
Havana Rose (1951)
as Tex Thompson
A Letter to Nancy (1965)
as George Reed
Spaceflight IC-1 (1965)
as Capt. Mead Ralston
The Storm Rider (1957)
as Sheriff Colton
Legion of the Doomed (1958)
Actor
Rose of Cimarron (1952)
as George Newcomb
A Likely Story (1947)
as Bill
Hell's Horizon (1955)
as Paul Jenkins
The Stratton Story (1949)
as Eddie Dibson
69 Minutes (1976)
Actor
The Sergeant Was a Lady (1961)
as Col. House
Slim Carter (1957)
as Frank Hanneman
The Wild Dakotas (1956)
as Jim Henry
Operation Haylift (1950)
as Bill Masters
Rookie Fireman (1950)
as Joe Blake
Oklahoma Territory (1960)
as Temple Houston
Blue Blood (1951)
as Bill Manning
Alaska Passage (1959)
as Al Graham