William Conrad (September 27 1920-February 11 1994) was an American film and television director and an actor and narrator in radio, film, and television known for his baritone voice, as well as his sizable girth.
Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1997.
Buried at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in the Lincoln Terrace Plot # 4448. He is surrounded by his fellow TV detectives at this cemetery who are either in the same section or within very close proximity. They include Telly Savalas and George Savalas from "Kojak" (1973) and William Talman, Wesley Lau, and Ray Collins (I) of "Perry Mason" (1957) fame and "Dragnet" (1951)'s Jack Webb.
There were several 11-1/2" tall falcon props made for use in Maltese Falcon, The (1941). Some were cast of plastic resin, some of lead. Only two 45 lb. lead falcons and two 5 lb., 5.4 oz resin falcons are verified to be in existence today. One lead Falcon has been displayed for years at various venues. The second, which was marred at the end of the movie by Sydney Greenstreet, was a gift to William Conrad (I) by studio chief Jack L. Warner. It was auctioned in December 1994, nine months after Conrad's death for $398,500 to Ronald Winston of Harry Winston, Inc. At that time, it was the highest price paid for a movie prop ever sold for. It was used to model a 10 lb. gold replica displayed at the 69th Academy Awards. The replica has Burmese ruby eyes, interchangeable claws (one set of gold, one set of coral) and holds a platinum chain in its beak with a 42.98 flawless diamond at the end. It's valued at over $8 million. The lead and resin falcons are valued in excess of $2 million - coincidentally the value placed on the "real" Maltese Falcon by Kasper Gutman, Greenstreet's character in the 1941 classic movie.
He was the voice of the original "Matt Dillon' character, in the radio version of "Gunsmoke". When the program converted to television, the part was given to James Arness.
