Adam Williams (born Adam William Berg; November 26, 1922 – December 4, 2006) was an American film and television actor.

Life and career

Williams was born Adam William Berg in

Wall Lake, Iowa Wall Lake is a city in Sac County, Iowa, United States. The population was 755 at the time of the 2020 census. History Wall Lake was platted in 1877. The city took its name from nearby Wall Lake. Geography According to the United States Censu ...

, and likely raised in New York. A veteran "bad guy" actor of 1950s film and TV, he began his career after distinguished World War II military service as a United States Navy pilot, for which he received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

. Berg was commended for his valor while operating a

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

off the '' USS Wasp'' in June 1944, in which he attacked a Japanese fleet oiler in the East Philippine Sea, and ditched upon his return without suffering casualties to his crew. An accomplished pilot, Williams also served the general aviation community as a fixed wing Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) for the FAA. In 1952, Williams played the lead, as a Los Angeles woman killer, in the film '' Without Warning!'' In 1953, he was cast as Larry, a car bomber, in '' The Big Heat''. He had a leading role in the 1958 science fiction movie '' The Space Children''. Other notable film roles include the psychiatrist in '' Fear Strikes Out'' (1957) and Valerian in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's ''

North by Northwest ''North by Northwest'' is a 1959 American spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. The original screenplay written by Ernest Lehman was intended to be the basis for ...

'' (1959). During the 1950s and 1960s, he appeared on dozens of television series, including the syndicated ''

The Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode run ...

'', set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield, and ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Ri ...

'' in the episode "The Reasonable Man". He portrayed private detective and murderer Jason Beckmeyer in the 1957 '' Perry Mason'' episode "The Case of the Runaway Corpse." In 1961, he was cast as Jim Gates in the episode "Frontier Week" on Joanne Dru's sitcom '' Guestward, Ho!'', set on a

dude ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agrotourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...

in New Mexico. In 1960, he appeared in the iconic ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' season 1 episode " The Hitch-Hiker", starring

Inger Stevens Inger Stevens (born Ingrid Stensland; October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970) was a Swedish-born American film, stage, and Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe–winning television actress. Early life Inger Stevens was born in Stockholm, Swede ...

. He also appeared in the ''Twilight Zone'' episode "

A Most Unusual Camera "A Most Unusual Camera" is episode 46 of the American television anthology series ''The Twilight Zone'', and was the tenth episode of the second season. It originally aired on December 16, 1960 on CBS, and was an episode written by the show's c ...

". Between 1959 and 1967 he appeared in six episodes of ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'' and in four episodes of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', and in 1961 as Adam in "A Rope for Charlie Munday", in the ABC adventure series '' The Islanders''. He was cast as Burley Keller in the 1961 episode "The Persecuted" of the ABC/

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

western series '' Lawman''. He guest-starred in an episode of the 1961 NBC series ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...

'', based on family conflicts stemming from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and in an episode of the 1961 series ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and cowritten by John Huston and starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest role ...

''. One of his later roles was in the 1976 television movie '' Helter Skelter''.

Death

On December 4, 2006, Williams died in Los Angeles of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

at the age of 84. He was cremated.

Selected filmography

*''

Queen for a Day ''Queen for a Day'' is an American radio and television game show that helped to usher in American listeners' and viewers' fascination with big-prize giveaway shows. ''Queen for a Day'' originated on the Mutual Radio Network on April 30, 1945, ...

'' (1951) - Chuck, High Diver segment *''

Flying Leathernecks ''Flying Leathernecks'' is a 1951 American Technicolor action war film directed by Nicholas Ray, produced by Edmund Grainger (who had produced ''Sands of Iwo Jima''), and starring John Wayne and Robert Ryan. The movie details the exploits an ...

'' (1951) - Lieutenant Bert Malotke *'' Without Warning!'' (1952) - Carl Martin *''

Vice Squad Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Bond) was a founding member of the b ...

'' (1953) - Marty Kusalich *'' The Big Heat'' (1953) - Larry Gordon *'' Dragonfly Squadron'' (1954) - Captain Wyler *'' The Yellow Tomahawk'' (1954) - Corporal Maddock *'' Crashout'' (1955) - Fred Summerfield *'' The Sea Chase'' (1955) - Kruger, Wireless Operator (uncredited) *'' The Proud and Profane'' (1956) - Eustace Press *'' The Rack'' (1956) - Sergeant Otto Pahnke *'' Fear Strikes Out'' (1957) - Dr. Brown *'' The Garment Jungle'' (1957) - Ox *''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'' (1957) - Bob Randell *'' The Lonely Man'' (1957) - Lon *''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (1958) (Season 3 Episode 32: "Listen, Listen...!") - Police Lieutenant King *'' Darby's Rangers'' (1958) - Heavy Hall *'' The Space Children'' (1958) - Dave Brewster *'' The Badlanders'' (1958) - Leslie *''

'' (1959) - Valerian *''

'' (1960) S1E16, "The Hitchhiker" - sailor on leave *''

'' (1960) S2E10: "A Most Unusual Camera" - Woodward (for unknown reasons, this episode did not air until season 2) *'' Thriller'' (1961) (Season 1 episode "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper") - Hymie *'' The Last Sunset'' (1961) - Calverton *''

'' (1962) (Season 7 Episode 30: "What Frightened You, Fred?") - Dr. Cullen *'' Convicts 4'' (1962) - Guard #1 *''

'' (1963) (S5 E24 "Old Man Running") - Mal Sherman *'' Gunfight at Comanche Creek'' (1963) - Jed Hayden *'' The New Interns'' (1964) - Wolanski *'' The Glory Guys'' (1965) - Private Lucas Crain *''

The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit ''The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Norman Tokar, with a screenplay by Louis Pelletier, and starring Dean Jones, Diane Baker, Ellen Janov, Kurt Russell, Lurene Tuttle and Fred Clark in his final f ...

'' (1968) - Sergeant Roberts *'' Helter Skelter'' (1976) - Terrence Milik

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Adam 1922 births 2006 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) Male actors from Iowa Male actors from New York (state) Deaths from lymphoma in California Western (genre) television actors United States Navy pilots of World War II

Life and career

Death

Selected filmography

Further reading

References

External links