Grant Williams
Publicity photo of Grant Williams
Born
John Joseph Williams

(1931-08-18)August 18, 1931
New York City, U.S.
DiedJuly 25, 1985(1985-07-25) (aged 53)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1953–1976
Military career
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1948–1952
RankStaff sergeant
Battles/warsKorean War

Grant Williams, born John Joseph Williams[1] (August 18, 1931 – July 28, 1985) was an American film, theater, and television actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of Scott Carey in the science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), and for his starring role as Greg MacKenzie on Hawaiian Eye from 1960 through 1963.

Early life

Williams told United Press correspondent Ron Burton: "I've actually been a professional actor since the age of 12".[2]

After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving from September 1948 to September 1952, before and during the Korean War.[3] He was discharged as an Air Force staff sergeant[3] He went on to obtain a degree in journalism, from New York University according to a Dallas Morning News profile in March 1957.[4] He earned the degree from a correspondence school according to a 1959 article.[5]

Career

Stage

After his Air Force service, he studied under Lee Strasberg.[6]

During auditions held at the Town Hall Club in New York City in May 1953, Williams was selected for a summer scholarship at the Barter Theatre by Rosalind Russell.[7] The "Barter Colony" at Abingdon, Virginia, is a unique training ground for actors, providing instruction in all forms of stagecraft. It was a popular choice for many recently discharged veterans, such as John Vivyan and Ernest Borgnine, who found the communal lifestyle a comfortable buffer before rejoining the civilian world. Williams spent the entire summer of 1953 there, performing in plays (see Stage performances) that on occasion starred an established professional. According to contemporaneous Barter publicity, he had at least five previous stage credits in Golden Boy, Angel Street, The Heiress, All My Sons, and The Glass Menagerie, but for which the roles and venues are not known.[8]

Following his summer at Barter, Williams next performed in the Off-Broadway[fn 1] Blackfriars Guild Theatre. Late Arrival was staged in October 1953, wherein Williams played a suitor to the young female lead. Though he had used "Grant Williams" all throughout his Barter tenure, he was now billed as "John J. Williams".[9] He returned to using "Grant Williams" as the lead for a summer stock production of Rope during July 1954.[10]

Screen

Following small roles on television, Williams was spotted by a talent scout on Kraft Television Theater in 1954. He signed with Universal Pictures (U-I) in March 1955.[11] They assigned him to Away All Boats during May 1955.[12] Pleased with his work on that picture, U-I gave him a role as a "heavy" in Decision at Durango, later renamed to Red Sundown, during July 1955.[13] U-I then gave Williams a new contract in August,[14] and by September 1955 he was working on Gun Shy, later released as Showdown at Abilene.[15]

“Grant Williams was one of the best actors around. I first used him in Red Sundown (1956) in which he played a different kind of villain, effete and clean cut. He was brilliant. I used him again as the psychotic killer in Outside the Law (1956). I was so impressed with him that when it came to casting The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) I asked for him…” —Filmmaker Jack Arnold.[16]

His next film was the noir thriller Outside the Law (1956), followed by some small uncredited roles, and by the CinemaScope romantic comedy Four Girls in Town (1957).[17]

Williams starred as Scott Carey in his seventh film, the Hugo Award-winning science fiction film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), with Randy Stuart playing his wife, Louise. Despite good reviews and the success of the film, his career continued with only lackluster roles. Universal Pictures dropped his contract in 1959,[18] and he signed in 1960 with Warner Brothers, where he had a continuing role as the private detective Greg McKenzie on Hawaiian Eye, co-starring Robert Conrad, Anthony Eisley, and Connie Stevens.

Several film and television roles followed. In 1959 Williams played Col. Geo. Custer on the show Yancy Derringer, later that year he played a killer cowboy named "Joe Plummer" on the TV Western Gunsmoke, and the role of the psychopathic killer in Robert Bloch's The Couch (1962), but fame still eluded him. He made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, in 1964 as columnist and murderer Quincy Davis in "The Case of the Ruinous Road,"[19] and as defendant Dr. Todd Meade in the 1965 episode "The Case of the Baffling Bug."[20]

He starred as troubled military psychologist Major Douglas McKinnon in The Outer Limits episode "The Brain of Colonel Barham" along with former Hawaiian Eye co-star Anthony Eisley. Also in 1965, Williams played the title character (Albert "Patch" Saunders) in the Bonanza episode "Patchwork Man," as well as the 1960 episode "Escape to Ponderosa."

Williams attempted a comedic role on the radio airwaves in the anthology program Family Theater (September 11, 1957, the show's last episode), and there was some light-heartedness to his delightful role as Mike Carter in the half-hour episode "Millionaire Gilbert Burton" (April 29, 1959) of the series The Millionaire. As his acting career declined, he opened a drama school in West Hollywood.[21] Williams continued to act occasionally in both movies and television, but without much conviction and in inferior products. His last released film appearance was in Doomsday Machine (1972); however, as it was actually shot in 1967, Brain of Blood (1972) was his last acting work for the screen. His last TV appearance was in 1983 on the game show Family Feud along with other former cast members from Hawaiian Eye, who played against, and lost to the former cast members from the television series Lost In Space.[22]

Filmmaker Jack Arnold, who directed Willams in three pictures, remarked on the trajectory of the actors’ career:

The studios didn’t give him the right parts and his career never quite took off. Hollywood wanted a Robert Taylor or a Rock Hudson, not a blond guy with blue eyes. And he was a bit too pretty for character roles. Universal should have moved him up to “A” pictures, but they kept him in the “B” pictures. The same thing happened when he went to Warner Bros.. He got typed—it’s happened to all of us in this business at one time or another.”[23]

At the time of his death in 1985 he was operating an acting school in Los Angeles.[6]

Death

Williams died on July 28, 1985, aged 53, at the Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for blood poisoning. [24] He was interred in Los Angeles National Cemetery.[3] He was survived by his brother, Robert.[6]

Stage performances

Listed by year of first performance

Year Play Role Venue Notes
1953 A Streetcar Named Desire A Young Collector Barter Theatre Williams' debut at the Barter, in a minor role that emphasised his youthful appearance, didn't even draw a mention from the reviewer[25]
Ten Little Indians Anthony Marston Barter Theatre The reviewer noticed Williams this time, wishing he hadn't to disappear so quickly.[26]
Street Scene Daniel Buchanen Barter Theatre Williams shared a group "very honorable mention" [27]
Born Yesterday Paul Verrall Barter Theatre A critic said Williams' first leading role at Barter was "effective" but lacked "vocal warmth" for romance.[28]
Family Portrait Joseph Barter Theatre Judith Anderson reprised her Broadway role as Mary[29]
The 13 Clocks Tosspot Barter Theatre Eric Blore as the Tale-Teller was the big draw; the first Williams' interpretation of an inebriate.[30]
The Two Gentlemen of Verona Proteus Barter Theatre Williams' final Barter appearance was the first US production of this play since 1899.[31]
Late Arrival Jimmy Blackfriars Theatre Williams was credited as one of the "more effective" performers[32]
1954 Rope Wyndham Brandon Hampton Theatre[fn 2] Williams starred in this thriller[10]

Selected filmography

Notes

  1. ↑ The term refers to the seating capacity of the theatre, not its location.
  2. ↑ This was a summer stock venue in Westhampton Beach, New York


References

  1. ↑ "Grave Marker C-218 83, Grant Williams, Los Angeles National Cemetery". Grave Locator – U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  2. ↑ Burton, Ron (November 3, 1955). "Film Shop". Sand Mountain Reporter. Albertville, Alabama. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 John Joseph Williams in the U.S. Veterans' Gravesites, ca. 1775–2019, Los Angeles National Cemetery, Section C-218, Site 83, retrieved from Ancestry.com
  4. ↑ Rual Askew (R.A.), "Top Star Contender Ready for Whatever is Demanded," Dallas Morning News, March 5, 1957.
  5. ↑ "TV Star Rises from Stinker To Thinker Actor," Provo (UT) Daily Herald, February 2, 1959 (probably United Press International).
  6. 1 2 3 "Grant Williams, Star of '57 'Shrinking Man' Film". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Ros Russell Wins Barter's 'Ham And One Acre of Land'". Bristol Virginia-Tennessean. Bristol, Tennessee. May 27, 1953. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Barter Theatre Opens 1953 Season At Abingdon Tomorrow". Bristol Herald Courier. Bristol, Virginia. June 14, 1953. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "First Nights". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. October 18, 1953. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 Ferber, Joan (July 26, 1954). "'My 3 Angels' Arrives, Walter Abel in Top Role". Newsday (Nassau Edition). New York, New York. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "In the News". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. March 30, 1955. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Production Schedule". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. May 21, 1955. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Katzman Seeking Deal With Arnold". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. July 15, 1955. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Actor Grant Williams Gets New Contract". Valley Times. North Hollywood, California. August 13, 1955. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Production Schedule". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. Hollywood, California. September 17, 1955. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Reemes, 1988 p. 85: Williams was on contract with Universal-International, and Arnold was restricted to casting contract players.
  17. ↑ "'Four Girls in Town'". The New York Times. New York, New York. January 17, 1957. p. 32 – via NYTimes.com.
  18. ↑ Williams' contract actually expired sometime in 1957, for in 1959 he was making two films for Associated Producers Incorporated/20th Century Fox: Lone Texan (1959) and 13 Fighting Men (1960).
  19. ↑ Kelleher, Brian; Merrill, Diana (October 16, 2006). "December 31, 1964 [225] "The Case of the Ruinous Road"". The Perry Mason TV Show Book. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  20. ↑ Kelleher, Brian; Merrill, Diana (October 16, 2006). "December 12, 1965 [254] "The Case of the Baffling Bug"". The Perry Mason TV Show Book. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Grant Williams (1931–1985)". Brian's Drive-In Theater. January 25, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Reruns Come To Life On 'Family Feud'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. April 18, 1983. pp. 69, 75 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Reemes, 1988 p. 85
  24. ↑ "The Montreal Gazette". news.google.com.
  25. ↑ Miller, Malcolm (June 17, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ King, Albert B. (July 1, 1953). ""Ten Little Indians" Wins Approval of First Nighter". Bristol Herald Courier. Bristol, Virginia. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "'Street Scene' Page In Lives Cross Section Of Humanity". Bristol Herald Courier. Bristol, Virginia. July 8, 1953. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ Miller, Malcolm (July 17, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ Miller, Malcolm (August 14, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Miller, Malcolm (August 23, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ Miller, Malcolm (September 4, 1953). "Music and Drama". The Knoxville Journal. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ Sheaffer, Louis (October 20, 1953). "'Late Arrival' Opens New Season At the Blackfriars". Brooklyn, New York. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.

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