William Conrad (1920-94), known for his his deep baritone voice and sizable girth, started working in radio in the late 1930s in California. This led to a number of noteworthy roles in radio drama, most prominently that of Marshal Matt Dillon on the radio series “Gunsmoke” (1952-1961). He was considered for the part when the series jumped to TV in 1955, but his increasing obesity led to the casting of James Arness. Conrad usually played threatening figures, among them, one of two gunmen hired to eliminate Burt Lancaster in THE KILLERS. Other noirs to his credit are BODY AND SOUL (1947), SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, THE NAKED JUNGLE and JOHNNY CONCHO. From the ‘60s on, he worked often on TV, both narrating and acting.
WILLIAM CONRAD
William Conrad (1920-94), known for his his deep baritone voice and sizable girth, started working in radio in the late 1930s in California. This led to a number of noteworthy roles in radio drama, most prominently that of Marshal Matt Dillon on the radio series “Gunsmoke” (1952-1961). He was considered for the part when the series jumped to TV in 1955, but his increasing obesity led to the casting of James Arness. Conrad usually played threatening figures, among them, one of two gunmen hired to eliminate Burt Lancaster in THE KILLERS. Other noirs to his credit are BODY AND SOUL (1947), SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, THE NAKED JUNGLE and JOHNNY CONCHO. From the ‘60s on, he worked often on TV, both narrating and acting.
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Conrad was the actor's actor. He was all over the radio in the 40' and 50's.
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