Obituaries

[Eric the Green]

(02-09-2020, 10:42 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series The Wild Wild West, playing the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West. He portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron). In addition to acting, he was a singer, and recorded several pop/rock songs in the late 1950s and early 1960s as Bob Conrad. He hosted a weekly two-hour national radio show (The PM Show with Robert Conrad) on CRN Digital Talk Radio beginning in 2008.

Hawaiian Eye

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Robert Conrad with co-star [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Stevens]Connie Stevens on Hawaiian Eye, 1961

Warner Brothers had a big success with its detective show 77 Sunset Strip and then made Hawaiian Eye, a follow-up series. Conrad starred as detective Tom Lopaka. He was introduced on Strip, then spun off into his own series that ran from 1959 to 1963, both in the U.S. and overseas. During the series' run, Conrad appeared on an episode of the Warner Brothers series The Gallant Men. When Hawaiian Eye was over, Conrad starred in Palm Springs Weekend (1963), Warners' attempt to repeat the success of Where the Boys Are (1960) with its young contract players.[14]



In Mexico, Conrad signed a recording contract with the Orfeon label, where he released two albums, with a few singles sung in Spanish. In 1964, he guest-starred on an episode of Temple Houston and then performed in the comedic film La Nueva Cenicienta (also known as Cabriola). The next year, he was in the episode "Four into Zero" of Kraft Suspense Theatre and played Pretty Boy Floyd in Young Dillinger alongside his old friend Nick Adams.[18]

The Wild Wild West



In 1965, Conrad began his starring role as government agent James West on the popular weekly series The Wild Wild West, which aired on CBS until its cancellation in 1969. He made $5,000 a week.[19] He did most of his own stunts and fight scenes during the series, and while filming the season four episode "The Night of the Fugitives," he was injured and rushed to the hospital after he dived from the top of a saloon staircase, lost his grip on a chandelier, fell 12 feet, and landed on his head.[20]



In addition to starring in The Wild Wild West, Conrad found time to work on other projects. He went to Mexico in 1967 to appear in Ven a cantar conmigo (Come, sing with me), a musical. He also formed his own company, Robert Conrad Productions, and under its auspices he wrote, starred in, and directed the 1967 Western film The Bandits.[21]



Paul Ryan and Jake Webster

Conrad appeared in episodes of Mannix and Mission: Impossible. In 1969, he signed a three-picture deal with Bob Hope's Doan Productions. The first two films were slated to be Keene then No Beer in Heaven but only the first movie was ever produced.[22]



In 1969, he debuted as prosecutor Paul Ryan in the TV movie D.A.: Murder One (1969). He reprised the movie in D.A.: Conspiracy to Kill (1971) and the short-lived 1971 series The D.A..[23] He was also in such made-for-television movies as Weekend of Terror (1970) and Five Desperate Women (1971).[14] He tried another TV series as American spy Jake Webster in Assignment Vienna (1972), which only lasted eight episodes.[24] He was a murderous fitness franchise promoter in an episode of Columbo ("An Exercise in Fatality").[25] Conrad starred in the feature films Murph the Surf (1975) and Sudden Death (1977). He reprised his role as Paul Ryan in the TV movie Confessions of the D.A. Man.[14]



Baa Baa Black Sheep

Conrad found ratings success again from 1976 to 1978 as legendary tough-guy World War II fighter ace Pappy Boyington in Baa Baa Black Sheep, retitled for its second season and in later syndication as Black Sheep Squadron. He directed three episodes.[26][27]



The show's success led Conrad to win a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Actor and a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.[28] He followed it with a lead part in the television miniseries Centennial (1978).[29]



The Duke and A Man Called Sloane



In 1978, Conrad starred in the short-lived TV series The Duke as Duke Ramsey, a boxer turned private eye. Conrad directed some episodes. In the late 1970s, he served as the captain of the NBC team for six editions of Battle of the Network Stars. Around this time reprised the role of West in a pair of made-for-TV films which reunited him with his West co-star, Ross Martin, The Wild Wild West Revisited (1979) and More Wild Wild West (1980).[20]

Conrad was identified in the late 1970s with his television commercials for Eveready batteries, particularly his placing of the battery on his shoulder and prompting the viewer to challenge its long-lasting power: "Come on, I dare ya".[30] The commercial was parodied frequently on American television comedies such as Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show and The Carol Burnett Show.[citation needed]



Conrad made the occasional feature such as The Lady in Red (1979) for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, where he played John Dillinger from a script by John Sayles. Conrad later played a modern-day variation of James West in the short-lived series A Man Called Sloane in 1979.[31] Conrad directed some episodes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conrad

No obvious relationship to actor Peter Falk. 

Conrad played the murderer Milo Janus with Peter Falk on Columbo in 1974. Janus was a physical fitness advocate, and Conrad showed off his skills during the program. I guess they didn't help him too much to avoid a drunk driving accident in which he killed a man and paralyzed his right side in 2003 that ended his TV and movie career.