Bill Williams Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Bill Williams
Acting
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.
Filmography Movies
Acting
69 Minutes
A wild, zany spoof of American TV, complete with "on-the-spot" exposes, "remote" broadcasts, sensational interviews and a wide variety of commercial take-offs. Some of the topics covered in the film include "Miracle Stoves," "The Microwave De-Generation," "Death-Breath,", "Saturday Night Specials," "The Mexican Vegetable Genocide," "Sheep Tips," "Love Doll Dating Services," "Cruising for Jailbait," "Underwater Real Estate" and others. The format of the movie closely resembles that of current popular "magazine" TV shows, featuring anchorpersons in studio settings and investigative reporters "in the field."
Son of Paleface
Peter Potter Jr. returns to claim his father's gold, which is nowhere to be found.
Space Master X-7
A fungus dubbed "Blood Rust" from outer space threatens to destroy the Earth.
Rio Lobo
After the Civil War, a former Union colonel searches for the two traitors whose perfidy led to the loss of a close friend.
The Halliday Brand
Sheriff Halliday doesn't approve of his children dating or marrying half-breeds and his blind hate threatens to alienate his whole family.
Deadline at Dawn
A young Navy sailor has one night to find out why a woman was killed and he ended up with a bag of money after a drinking blackout.
The Clay Pigeon
Jim Fletcher, waking up from a coma, finds he is to be given a court martial for treason and charged with informing on fellow inmates in a Japanese prison camp during WWII. Escaping from the hospital he tries to clear himself by enlisting the aid of Martha Gregory, widow of a service buddy he was accused of informing on. Helped also by Ted Niles, a surviving fellow prisoner, he gets closer to finding the answers he needs, and becomes ensnared in a grandiose scheme involving his Japanese ex-prison guard, $10,000,000 of US currency forged by the Japanese and a burgeoning crime network poised to wreak havoc throughout southern California.
The Stratton Story
Star major league pitcher Monty Stratton loses a leg in a hunting accident, but becomes determined to leave the game on his own terms.
The Giant Spider Invasion
A black hole hits North Wisconsin and opens a door to other dimensions. Giant 15 meter spiders emerge from it, who have an appetite for human flesh! Two NASA scientists try to save the world.
Tickle Me
A singing rodeo rider hires on at an expensive all-women dude ranch and beauty spa. He falls for a pretty fitness trainer who is constantly threatened by a gang who wants her late grandfather's cache of gold hidden in a ghost town.
Production
The Hallelujah Trail
A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance League, the US cavalry, the miners and the local Indians all try to take control of the valuable cargo.
The Alamo
The legendary true story of a small band of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
Gallery
