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