Bill Williams (actor)
Herman August Wilhelm Katt, known professionally as Bill Williams, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the titular character in the western series The Adventures of Kit Carson, which aired in syndication from 1951 to 1955.
Life and career
Herman August Wilhelm Katt was born on May 15, 1915 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. 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 Murder in the Blue Room in 1944, using the professional name Bill Williams. His first starring role was opposite Susan Hayward in Deadline at Dawn.
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, 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 the apparent victim/murderer Burt Payne in "The Case of the 12th Wildcat". Williams appeared with his son, William Katt, 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.
Williams married actress Barbara Hale on June 22, 1946. They met during the filming of West of the Pecos and had two daughters, Jodi and Juanita, and a son, actor William Katt.
Bill Williams died of a brain tumor at age 77 in 1992 and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills).
For his contributions to television, Bill Williams has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is at 6145 Hollywood Boulevard.
Acting roles
The Adventures of Kit Carson TV series as Kit Carson, 105 episodesDate with the Angels as Gus Angel, 33 episodesAssignment: Underwater as Bill Greer, 39 episodes
Multiple appearances on a television series
Schlitz Playhouse of StarsScience Fiction TheatreWalt Disney's Wonderful World of ColorThe MillionaireWestinghouse Desilu PlayhousePerry MasonBatmanLassieThe F.B.I.IronsideAdam-12The Rookies
Miscellaneous television appearances
Adventures in Jazz as HostThe Bigelow Theatre, Make Your Bed Dragnet, The Big Pug The Red Skelton Show, Deadeye vs. The Lone Ranger as Kit CarsonStudio 57, Young Couples Only as Rick ThompsonDamon Runyon Theater, Miracle Jones as Andy GubbinsM Squad, Girl Lost as Jerry LangdonYancy Derringer, Ticket to Natchez as Duke WinslowGeneral Electric Theater, The Flying Wife as Stewart DavidsonBachelor Father, East Meets West as Rock RandallMen into Space, Asteroid as Dr. Stacy CroydonLaramie, Man of God as Charlie RootThe Investigators, New Sound For the Blues Hawaiian Eye, Location Shooting as Norman AyresLawman, Get Out of Town Target: The Corruptors!, Goodbye Children as Walter Parker77 Sunset Strip, The Snow Job Caper as Steve MoranLaw of the Lawless as Silas MillerRawhide, The Lost Herd The Wild Wild West, Night of the Casual Killer as Marshal KirbyDragnet 1967, The Big Frustration as Sgt. Bill RiddleDaniel Boone, The Spanish Horse Insight, A Thousand Red Flowers as PopMarcus Welby, M.D., To Carry the Sun in a Golden Cup as LynchO'Hara, U.S. Treasury, Operation Smokescreen as WilloughbyEmergency!, Body Language as PeteDusty's Trail, Then There Were Seven as The SheriffGunsmoke, Talbott as RedThe Streets of San Francisco, The Unicorn as Burt LoganThe Quest, Seminole Negro Indian Scouts B. J. and the Bear, Odyssey of the Shady Truth as Seth240-Robert, Stuntman as Harry Phillips
Theatrical films
King Kong as Theatre Usher Murder in the Blue Room as Larry Dearden.He Forgot to Remember to Forget as Mac, the Policeman Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo as Bud FeltonZombies on Broadway as Sailor / Smuggler Those Enduring Young Charms as JerryThe Body Snatcher as Survis, medical student Back to Bataan West of the Pecos as Tex Evans, stage guard Johnny Angel as Big Sailor Sing Your Way Home as Officer Deadline at Dawn as Alex WinkleyTill the End of Time as Perry KincheloeA Likely Story as Bill BakerA Woman's Secret as Lee CrenshawThe Stratton Story as Eddie DibsonThe Clay Pigeon as Jim FletcherFighting Man of the Plains as Marshal Johnny TancredA Dangerous Profession as Claude BrackettBlue Grass of Kentucky as Lin McIvorOperation Haylift as Bill MastersThe Cariboo Trail as Mike Evans, Redfern's PartnerRookie Fireman as Joe BlakeCalifornia Passage as Bob MartinBlue Blood as Bill ManningThe Great Missouri Raid as Jim YoungerThe Last Outpost as Sgt. TuckerHavana Rose as Tex ThompsonRose of Cimarron as George NewcombThe Pace That Thrills as Richard L. "Dusty" WestonSon of Paleface as KirkTorpedo Alley as Lt. Tom GrahamRacing Blood as TexThe Outlaw's Daughter as Jess Raidley, a.k.a. Big RedWiretapper as Jim Vaus, Jr.Apache Ambush as James KingstonHell's Horizon as Paul JenkinsThe Wild Dakotas as Jim HenryThe Broken Star as Deputy Marshal Bill GentryThe Halliday Brand as Clay HallidayThe Storm Rider as Sheriff Pete ColtonPawnee as Matt DelaneySlim Carter as Frank HannemanSpace Master X-7 as John HandLegion of the Doomed as Lt. SmithAlaska Passage as Al GrahamA Dog's Best Friend as Wesley "Wes" ThurmanOklahoma Territory as Temple HoustonHell to Eternity as LeonardThe Sergeant Was a Lady as Col. HouseLaw of the Lawless as Silas MillerA Letter to Nancy as George ReedTickle Me as Deputy SturdivantSpaceflight IC-1 as Capt. Mead RalstonBuckskin as Frank CodyLady Godiva Rides Rio Lobo as Blackthorne Sheriff Pat CroninScandalous John as Sheriff HartThe Phantom of Hollywood as FogelThe Giant Spider Invasion as DutchMoon Over the Alley as Sherry69 Minutes A Fire in the Sky as Dale TurnerNight of the Zombies Goldie and the Boxer Go To Hollywood as Cowboy Bob