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

• 1981Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood — Cowboy Bob
• 240-Robert
• B. J. and the Bear
• 1978A Fire in the Sky — Dale Turner
• 197669 Minutes
• 1976The Flight of the Grey Wolf — The Sheriff
• 1975The Giant Spider Invasion — Dutch
• 1974125 Rooms of Comfort
• Police Woman
• Emergency! — Pete
• The Rookies
• The Streets of San Francisco
• Primus
• 1971Scandalous John — Sheriff Hart
• 1970Rio Lobo — Blackthorne Sheriff Pat Cronin
• Adam-12 — William Taylor, Fred Wheeler
• 1968Buckskin — Frank Cody
• 1967Eight on the Lam — Cop at Roadblock (uncredited)
• Ironside — Lt. Dacker
• Batman — Multimillionaire
• 1965A Letter to Nancy — George Reed
• 1965Spaceflight IC-1 — Capt. Mead Ralston
• The F.B.I. — David Warren, Crawford
• 1965The Hallelujah Trail — Lt. Brady (uncredited), Stunts
• The Wild Wild West
• 1965Tickle Me — Deputy Sturdivant
• Daniel Boone — Caleb Trevor
• 1964Law of the Lawless — Silas Miller
• 1962Stampede at Bitter Creek — Paul Forbes
• The Investigators
• 1961The Sergeant Was a Lady — Col. House
• Assignment: Underwater — Bill Greer
• 1960Hell to Eternity — Leonard
• 1960Oklahoma Territory — Temple Houston
• 1960The Alamo — Stunts
• 1959A Dog's Best Friend — Wesley 'Wes' Thurman
• 1959Alaska Passage — Al Graham
• Laramie
• Men Into Space
• Rawhide — Tom Bickle
• 1959The Scarface Mob — Martin Flaherty
• 77 Sunset Strip — Henry Cook
• 1958Legion of the Doomed
• 1958Space Master X-7 — John Hand
• Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse — Martin Flaherty
• Yancy Derringer — Duke Winslow
• Date with the Angels
• M Squad — Jerry Langdon
• 1957Pawnee — Matt Delaney
• Perry Mason — Mike Preston, Floyd Grant, Charles Shaw, Burt Payne
• 1957Slim Carter — Frank Hanneman
• 1957The Halliday Brand — Clay Halliday
• 1957The Storm Rider — Sheriff Colton
• 1956The Broken Star — Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
• 1956The Wild Dakotas — Jim Henry
• 1955Apache Ambush — James Kingston
• Gunsmoke — Red
• 1955Hell's Horizon — Paul Jenkins
• The Millionaire — Donald Abbott, Clint Halloran
• 1955Wiretapper — James Arthur Vaus, Jr.
• Lassie — Jed Bingham
• 1954Racing Blood — Tex
• 1954The Outlaw's Daughter — Jess Raidley aka Big Red
• General Electric Theater — Stewart Davidson
• Music at the Meadowbrook
• 1953Torpedo Alley — Tom Graham
• 1952Rose of Cimarron — George Newcomb
• 1952Son of Paleface — Kirk
• 1952The Pace That Thrills — Richard L. 'Dusty' Weston
• 1951Blue Blood — Bill Manning
• Dragnet
• 1951Havana Rose — Tex Thompson
• Schlitz Playhouse of Stars — Ed Sawyer
• The Adventures of Kit Carson
• 1951The Great Missouri Raid — Jim Younger
• 1951The Last Outpost — Sgt. Tucker
• 1950Blue Grass of Kentucky — Lin McIvor
• 1950California Passage — Bob Martin
• 1950Operation Haylift — Bill Masters
• 1950Rookie Fireman — Joe Blake
• 1950The Cariboo Trail — Mike Evans
• 1949A Dangerous Profession — Claude Brackett
• 1949A Woman's Secret — Lee Crenshaw
• Adventures In Jazz
• 1949Fighting Man of the Plains — Marshall Johnny Tancred
• 1949The Clay Pigeon — Jim Fletcher
• 1949The Stratton Story — Eddie Dibson
• 1947A Likely Story — Bill
• 1946Deadline at Dawn — Alex Winkler
• 1946Till the End of Time — Perry Kincheloe
• 1945Back to Bataan — (uncredited)
• 1945Johnny Angel — Big Sailor (uncredited)
• 1945Sing Your Way Home — Officer (uncredited)
• 1945The Body Snatcher — Survis - Medical Student (uncredited)
• 1945Those Endearing Young Charms — Jerry
• 1945West of the Pecos — Tex Evans
• 1944Murder in the Blue Room — Larry (as Bill MacWilliams)
• 1944Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo — Bud Felton
• 1933King Kong — Theatre Usher (uncredited)

Appearances as themselves (1)

• 1979When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion — Self