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1-12 of 12
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
William Conrad became a television star relatively late in his career. In fact, the former Army Air Corps World War II fighter pilot began his screen career playing heavies. He was Max, one of The Killers (1946) hired to finish off Burt Lancaster in his dingy lodgings. He was the corrupt state inspector Turck working for the syndicate in The Racket (1951). He was a mobster in Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), the murderous gunslinger Tallman in Johnny Concho (1956) and sleazy nightclub owner Louie Castro who claimed to be 60% legitimate in Cry Danger (1951).
When not essaying outright villainy, Bill played characters like the tough fight promoter Quinn in Body and Soul (1947) or the doom-laden province commissioner in The Naked Jungle (1954). The portly, balding, crumple-faced, self-confessed gourmand had an ever-present weight problem (at one time 260 lbs.) which proved to be a natural obstacle to progressing to more substantial leading film roles. That, however, didn't hinder a very successful career in radio. In fact, Bill himself estimated that he had played in excess of 7,000 radio parts. Even if that was an exaggeration, his gravelly, resonant voice was certainly heard on countless broadcasts from "Buck Rogers" to "The Bullwinkle Show," from portraying Marshall Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke" on the radio (before James Arness got the part on screen) to narrating the adventures of Richard Kimball in the television program The Fugitive (1963). In "The Wax Works," an episode of the anthology series Suspense (1949) in 1956, he voiced each and every part.
Since his corpulence effectively precluded playing strapping characters like Matt Dillon, Bill began to concentrate on directing and producing by the early 1960's. This, ironically, included episodes of Gunsmoke (1955). In 1963, he contributed to saving 77 Sunset Strip (1958) for yet another season. Later in the decade, he produced and directed several films for Warner Brothers, including the thriller Brainstorm (1965) with Jeffrey Hunter and Anne Francis. He returned to acting in 1971 to become the unlikely star of the Quinn Martin production Cannon (1971), for which he is chiefly remembered. Bill imbued the tough-talking, no-nonsense character of Frank Cannon with enough humanity and wit to make the series compelling but, despite the show's popularity, he made his views clear in a 1976 Times interview that he found himself poorly served by the scripts he had been given. A planned sequel, The Return of Frank Cannon (1980) failed to get beyond the movie-length pilot, but the actor's popularity resulted in another starring role in Jake and the Fatman (1987) as District Attorney McCabe, co-starring with Joe Penny) and a brief run as eccentric detective Nero Wolfe (1981). A self-effacing man with a good sense of humor and never afraid to speak his mind, Bill Conrad died of heart failure in February 1994. He was elected to the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and (posthumously) to the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Sorrell Booke was born in Buffalo, New York in 1930, the son of a local physician. He found his calling early in life, like most actors, when his family encouraged him to entertain relatives by doing impressions and telling jokes. He went on to study at Yale and Columbia University, and mastered five languages. During the Korean War, Booke worked in counter-intelligence where his lingual talents served him well. His intelligence and subtlety are often overlooked when considering his signature role as Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg during his run on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). He died of cancer in 1994 just after his 64th birthday.- Art Ellison was born in 1899 in Potsdam, New York, and moved in 1914 with his family to Kansas City, Missouri. At the age of 18, he went to work at the Kansas City Power and Light Company (KCP&L) where he was employed in the credit department until he retired in 1966. Ellison got his first acting role in 1924, in a musical comedy held as a benefit for the Kansas City Women's Athletic Club building fund. After this experience on stage he joined the Chanticleer Players, an amateur group in Kansas City offering one act plays. He worked backstage and appeared in the farce pantomimes and tableaux between the acts. In 1930, Ellison joined the amateur Black-Friars, where he played a few leads, some character parts, and handled many other important duties behind the scenes. Much of Ellison's stage career was spent with the local productions of the University of Kansas City Playhouse (which later became the University of Missouri-Kansas City Theater), the Resident Theater, the Missouri Repertory Theater, and the Johnson County, Kansas Playhouse. He also played with the Provincials, the Jewish Community Theater, and Starlight Theater. During World War II, Ellison made USO appearances and recruiting records for the armed forces. He played several roles on "The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen," a 1940s radio series produced in Kansas City and syndicated nationally, and he had a part in WDAF-TV's first program, as well as other television and radio shows, particularly for Kansas City Power and Light. He also frequently acted in industrial films made by the Calvin Company of Kansas City, as well as in a few made by Centron Corporation of Lawrence, Kansas. He had a role in Centron director Herk Harvey's 1962 feature film "Carnival of Souls," made in Lawrence, and upon his retirement from KCP&L in the mid-1960s, Ellison joined the Actors Equity Association and devoted all his time to acting. Between Kansas City theater performances and industrial films, he gained roles in the Hollywood films "Paper Moon" and "Shoot it Black--Shoot it Blue," and the network TV movies "Friendly Persuasion" and "Mary White," all of which were shot on location in the Kansas/Missouri area and recruited local acting talent. In 1979 Ellison suffered a stroke that prevented him from pursuing any further acting roles for ten years. He passed away in 1994, aged 94. Ellison was respected for his accuracy in mastering dialects and for his make-up ability, received several theater awards, and was well-known in the acting community of Kansas City. His twelve scrapbooks of materials devoted to theater and acting-related activities in Kansas City, dating from 1924 to 1992, are currently archived in the Western Historical Manuscript Collection of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
- Actress
Virginia McFadden was born on 4 March 1910 in Shelley, Idaho, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Frank Albertson. She died on 11 February 1994 in Tustin, California, USA.- A popular NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and TV commentator/host, Neil Bonnett was one of NASCAR racing's famed "Alabama Gang." During his career, he logged 18 Winston Cup wins for car owners Jim Stacy, Junior Johnson, Bob Rahilly & Butch Mock, and the famed Wood Brothers (for whom he scored half of his wins). His last two wins came back-to-back in 1988 (for RahMoc Racing) at Richmond Fairgrounds and the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham.
Bonnett was sidelined during his second stint with the Wood Brothers in 1990 after a crash at Darlington, SC in the spring of that year left him with cracked ribs, a broken sternum, and amnesia. During a three-year recovery, he became a racing color analyst for CBS and TBS sports, and hosted the TNN show "Winners" which profiled various racing celebrities.
He was also asked by longtime friend Dale Earnhardt to help him test some of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets. During this time, Neal helped his son, David launch his own racing career. It was his friendship with Earnhardt and Childress that led to his racing comeback. After being cleared to race by NASCAR, Childress gave Bonnett a ride for the 1993 DieHard 500 at Talladega. Bonnett ran well in the race until a spectacular crash sidelined him for the afternoon. He raced once more in 1993 at the season ender in Atlanta, and went into the off-season prepared to run a limited 1994 schedule with car owner James Finch. But on February 11, 1994, during the opening practice for the Daytona 500, Bonnett's car blew a tire and crashed in turn four of the Daytona International Speedway, ending the life and career of one of NASCAR's most popular drivers. - Nicole Germain was born on 29 November 1917. She was an actress, known for A Man and His Sin (1949), Séraphin (1950) and The Fortress (1947). She died on 11 February 1994.
- Sune Mangs was born on 31 December 1932 in Kaskinen, Finland. He was an actor, known for Fanny and Alexander (1982), The Adventures of Picasso (1978) and Blockerat spår (1955). He died on 11 February 1994 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.
- Paul Feyerabend was born on 13 January 1924 in Vienna, Austria. He was an actor, known for S'Waisechind vo Engelberg (1956). He died on 11 February 1994 in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Elin Markman was born on 3 May 1901. She was an actress, known for Chanson triste (1917). She died on 11 February 1994.
- Halina Szram-Kijowska was born on 29 April 1938 in Wilno, Wilenskie, Poland [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. She was an actress, known for Through and Through (1973) and Skrzydla (1973). She died on 11 February 1994 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.
- Art Director
- Set Decorator
José Duarte de Aguiar was an art director and set decorator, known for Forever (1991) and Me (1987). José Duarte died on 11 February 1994 in São Paulo, SP, Brazil.- Jacques Serizier was born on 18 May 1936 in Saigon, Vietnam, French Indochina [now Hô Chi Minh-Ville]. He was an actor, known for Madame Bovary (1974), La gueule du loup (1981) and Paulette, la pauvre petite milliardaire (1986). He died on 11 February 1994 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France.