September 27, 1920 William Conrad was born

On this day in 1920, William Conrad was born.

September 16: Happy Birthday, Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall, today's birthday girl (1924) may be the only Hollywood figure to ever win the award for Prettiest Usher, a distinction Ms. Bacall garnered in 1942 while working on Broadway.  Incidentally, she made the acquaintance of ace thespian Gregory Peck while toiling in this capacity.

We may best know Bacall from her "bogey and fame", but she is now of course a legend in her own right, known not just for her elegance and beauty but for her considerable acting chops.

Her electrifying  voice played no small part in this, and it is what caused her to translate to radio so well.  Let's not forget that the dynamic duo of Bogey and Bacall also starred in a radio program called Bold Venture.  It was sort of about Bogart's characters' love for his small boat, but Bacall co-starred, and actors like William Conrad, David Rose, and Jester Hairston were also involved.

Ms. Bacall was also a gas on such radio programs as Command Performance and Let's Playwright.  In 1997, she gave an introduction to a broadcast fundraising event for Bill Clinton.  How's that for versatility?

Lauren Bacall passed away earlier this year (2014) at the age of 89.  Happy Birthday, Lauren Bacall!

September 27: Happy Birthday, William Conrad

September 27: Happy Birthday, William Conrad!

A great voice that during an era seemed to be everywhere on radio including the the role of Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, and appearances in Escape, Lux Radio Theater, Suspense, This is Your FBI, Nightbeat, and Suspense.

An amazing voice actor, his radio roles were most memorable when he toned his "deep, tough-guy voice down", and when he played an effeminate Emperor Nero in Crime Classics or a Chinese merchant in
Escape's Misfortune Isle.

Although he missed his shot to be Matt Dillon on TV, he brought us Cannon and Jake and the Fatman and his narration of The Fugitive with David Janssen and Rocky & Bullwinkle voice-over.   He was so much more than that fat detective, with a phone in his Mark IV, named 'Cannon' on TV. 

He was quite versatile. He was a heavy in the movie THE KILLERS and did the voice of the Steward of Gondor in the Rankin Bass animated RETURN OF THE KING.