Another sad passing, largely overlooked in view of the recent spate of shock demises is the death of
actor, Conrad Phillips best known for his portrayal as William Tell in the
series of the same name.
This period action series, which was made between 1958 and 1959
made Conrad a household name. As the
name suggests he played the Swiss folk hero, William Tell in 39 episodes. Following
in the footsteps of the popular Robin Hood starring the late Richard Greene, this
type of period action drama was popular during the late fifties and early
sixties, prior to the spy craze which followed.
Shortly after William Tell finished filming, Conrad appeared
in an episode of the popular, Invisible Man TV series.
In the story, Shadow
Bomb, he played Captain Barry Finch who was involved in testing an experimental
explosive. Also appearing in the episode was the late actress, Jennifer Jayne,
who had previously played Tell’s wife, Hedda
in the William Tell series.
Conrad had a full and varied career following
William Tell, and did make appearances in
several of some of my favourite action/adventure shows of the sixties.
He makes an appearance in a second season Saint episode, ‘The
Miracle Tea Party’, and an episode of a Steed/Peel Avengers, ‘Silent Dust’.
Conrad plays a doctor in ‘The General’, an episode that’s
part of the perplexing sci-fi/spy series The Prisoner.
For fans of Gerry Anderson’s UFO, Conrad played the Skipper
of the doomed freighter Kingston, in
the episode Reflection’s in the Water.
Conrad continued to appear on television, right up to 1991, when he was seen in an episode of 'Never the Twain'.
Sadly, Conrad passed away on the 13th January 2016,
aged 90.
Our sincere sympathies to his family
Our sincere sympathies to his family
A sad passing as well Scoop like you say. I don't really remember William Tell but Conrad's face was a familiar feature of Seventies TV shows. I hope he had a grand life. He was lucky enough to have a long one.
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