# William Conrad

> American actor and director (1920-1994)

**Wikidata**: [Q505831](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q505831)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Conrad)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-conrad

## Summary

William Conrad (born John William Cann Jr.) was an American actor, director, and producer whose career spanned radio, film, and television from 1945 to 1992. A versatile performer and filmmaker, he was active across nearly every entertainment medium of his era—serving as a voice actor, film and television actor, film and television director, and producer. He served in World War II and went on to become one of the most prolific figures in American broadcasting and screen entertainment.

## Biography

- **Born:** September 27, 1920
- **Died:** February 11, 1994
- **Birth Name:** John William Cann Jr. (also known as John William Cane Jr.)
- **Nationality:** United States
- **Education:** Attended institution referenced as Q5419471
- **Known for:** Acting, directing, and producing across film, television, and radio
- **Field(s):** Entertainment — film, television, voice acting, radio, producing
- **Active Years:** 1945–1992
- **Military Service:** World War II
- **Children:** 1

## Contributions

William Conrad's professional contributions spanned multiple roles and media over a nearly five-decade career:

- **Voice Acting:** Provided voice-over work for characters in films, animation, and other media, contributing to the growth and legitimacy of voice acting as a distinct performance discipline.
- **Television Directing:** Directed television programs, exercising creative and editorial control over televised productions during a formative era of the medium.
- **Film Directing:** Controlled the artistic and dramatic aspects of film productions, contributing to the cinematic landscape as a director.
- **Film and Television Acting:** Appeared in both film and television productions as a performing actor, building a screen presence recognized across both mediums.
- **Film Producing:** Supervised the making of films, overseeing production from conception through completion.
- **Television Producing:** Worked within video production for television, managing the creation of TV content.
- **Producing (General):** Occupied a broad media and entertainment production role across multiple formats.

## FAQs

**What was William Conrad's real name?**
William Conrad was born John William Cann Jr., and was also known by the alias John William Cane Jr.

**When did William Conrad live and work?**
He was born on September 27, 1920, and died on February 11, 1994. His active professional career ran from approximately 1945 to 1992.

**What roles did William Conrad hold in the entertainment industry?**
He worked as a film actor, television actor, voice actor, film director, television director, film producer, and television producer—covering virtually every major creative role in screen and broadcast media.

**Did William Conrad serve in the military?**
Yes, he is associated with World War II as a conflict in which he participated.

**How is William Conrad identified in major databases?**
He appears under numerous catalog and database identifiers, including IMDb (nm0002016), Library of Congress (n82090867), MusicBrainz (9c9c6759-c1b7-4e78-9d71-890965702ad7), and Freebase (/m/02w872), among dozens of others spanning library, entertainment, academic, and genealogical systems.

## Why They Matter

William Conrad mattered as a quintessential multi-hyphenate in American entertainment during the 20th century. His career bridged the golden age of radio, the rise of television, and the成熟 era of Hollywood film—making him a rare figure who contributed to all three dominant entertainment mediums of his time. As both a performer and a decision-maker behind the camera, he influenced how stories were told on screen and over the airwaves. His work as a voice actor helped define the craft during a period when voice-over performance was gaining artistic recognition. His directing and producing roles gave him influence over the final creative product in both film and television. Without figures like Conrad, who moved fluidly between media and roles, the cross-pollination of techniques and standards across the entertainment industry would have developed more slowly.

## Notable For

- **Career spanning 47 years:** Active from 1945 to 1992, covering the most transformative decades in American entertainment
- **Nine distinct professional occupations:** Held roles as actor, film actor, television actor, voice actor, film director, television director, film producer, television producer, and producer
- **World War II service:** Military participation in the 1939–1945 global conflict
- **Extensive catalog presence:** Listed in at least 50 distinct database and authority control systems, reflecting broad cultural and institutional recognition
- **IMDb profile (nm0002016):** A permanent record in the world's largest film database
- **Library of Congress authority record (n82090867):** Recognition by the United States' foremost library institution
- **MusicBrainz entry:** Acknowledgment in a major music and audio database, reflecting voice and radio work
- **Find a Grave memorial (#4517):** A documented and memorialized resting place
- **Available photographic records:** At least two confirmed photographic images (1952 and 1972) archived in public media collections

## Body

### Early Life and Background

William Conrad was born John William Cann Jr. on September 27, 1920, in the United States. He also used the name John William Cane Jr. as an alias. He was educated at an institution referenced in records as Q5419471. His early life preceded a period of global upheaval that would directly involve him.

### Military Service

Conrad served during World War II (1939–1945), the global conflict that involved most of the world's nations. His service is recorded as a direct biographical association with the conflict, identified in records as Q362. This experience preceded and likely influenced his entry into the entertainment profession immediately after the war.

### Career Beginnings (1945 and After)

William Conrad's professional entertainment career began in 1945, coinciding with the end of World War II and the dawn of a boom period in American media. Over the following decades, he would establish himself across nearly every major entertainment format of the era.

### Acting Career

Conrad worked as an actor across multiple platforms:

- **Film Actor:** He appeared in films, contributing performances to cinematic productions as a screen actor.
- **Television Actor:** He performed on television during its formative and expansion years, appearing in televised dramatic and comic productions.
- **Voice Actor:** He provided voice-overs for characters in films, animation, and other media, working in a specialized discipline that bridged radio-era performance with modern multimedia entertainment.
- **General Actor:** Beyond specific mediums, he was recognized broadly as a person who acts in dramatic or comic productions across film, television, theatre, and radio.

### Directing Career

Conrad's work behind the camera was equally substantial:

- **Film Director:** He controlled the artistic and dramatic aspects of film productions, taking on the creative leadership role that shapes a film's vision and execution.
- **Television Director:** He directed television programs, guiding the visual and narrative elements of TV content during a period of rapid growth in the medium.

### Producing Career

Conrad also held producing responsibilities:

- **Film Producer:** He supervised the making of films, overseeing the production process from planning through completion.
- **Television Producer:** He worked within video production specifically for television, managing the creation and delivery of TV content.
- **Producer (General):** He occupied a broad media and entertainment production role, indicating involvement in the business and organizational aspects of content creation.

### Career Timeline and End

William Conrad's career is documented as spanning from 1945 to approximately 1992, representing nearly half a century of continuous professional activity. He died on February 11, 1994, at the age of 73.

### Personal Life

Records indicate that William Conrad had one child (P1971: 1.0). His genealogical profile is tracked in FamilySearch under the identifier Cann-219, linking him to the Cann family lineage.

### Documentation and Legacy

William Conrad's life and career are extensively documented across a wide array of cataloging, bibliographic, and entertainment databases. His presence in over 50 distinct identifier systems—including academic authority files, entertainment industry databases, genealogical platforms, and cultural heritage systems—reflects the breadth of his impact and recognition. Notable documentation sources include:

- **Wikidata** with 30 sitelinks connecting to Wikipedia and related projects across multiple languages
- **IMDb** (nm0002016) for filmography
- **Library of Congress** (n82090867) for bibliographic authority
- **MusicBrainz** (9c9c6759-c1b7-4e78-9d71-890965702ad7) for audio and music-related credits
- **Find a Grave** (memorial #4517) for burial and memorial records
- **SNAC** (684/000042558) for archival context
- **AllMovie** (p85717) for film reference
- **Rotten Tomatoes** (aliases, people/william-conrad) for film review aggregation
- **BBC Things** for linked data recognition
- Multiple national library catalogs including the German National Library (1015634249), the Bibliothèque nationale de France (10347260m), and the National Library of Spain (XX1545867)
- **Freebase** (/m/02w872) and **Google Knowledge Graph** entries

### Photographic Record

Two confirmed photographic images of William Conrad are archived: one from 1952 (William Conrad 1952.JPG) and one from 1972 (William Conrad Cannon 1972.JPG), providing visual documentation of his appearance at two distinct points in his career.

## References

1. Integrated Authority File
2. datos.bne.es
3. [Source](https://www.acmi.net.au/creators/31462)
4. International Standard Name Identifier
5. MusicBrainz
6. SNAC
7. Find a Grave
8. Discogs
9. filmportal.de
10. BnF authorities
11. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
12. Virtual International Authority File
13. Cinemathèque québécoise Linked Open Data
14. The Movie Database