William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television. A radio writer and actor, he moved to Hollywood after his World War II service and played a series of character roles in films beginning with the quintessential film noir, The Killers . He created the role of Marshall Matt Dillon for the popular radio series, Gunsmoke , and narrated the television adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Fugitive . Finding fewer on-screen roles in the 1950s, he transitioned from actor to producer-director with television work and a... series of Warner Bros. films in the 1960s. Conrad found stardom as a detective in the TV series Cannon and Nero Wolfe , and in the crime drama Jake and the Fatman . Conrad was the son of a theatre owner who moved his family to California when William was a boy. Excelling at drama and literature at school, he began his career as an announcer, writer, and director for Los Angeles radio station KMPC in the late 1930s.
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| Birthdate: | September 27, 1920 |
| Birthplace: | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Date of death: | February 11, 1994 |
| Height: | 5' 8" |
| Also known as: | William Cann, John William Cann, Jr., Bill |