Adam Williams
Born
November 26, 1922
Died
December 4, 2006 (84 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Wall Lake, Iowa, USA
Adam Williams (born Adam William Berg, November 26, 1922 – December 4, 2006) was an American film and television actor. 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. In 1952, Williams played the lead, 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 North by Northwest (1959).
During the 1950s and 1960s, he appeared on dozens of television series, including the syndicated Sheriff of Cochise, set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield, and Have Gun – Will Travel 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 in New Mexico. In 1960, he played the role of a sailor hitching a ride in The Twilight Zone season 1 episode "The Hitch-Hiker", where he is picked up by a terrified driver played by Inger Stevens, who is compelled to pick him up so that he may offer protection and safety to her from a mysterious hitchhiker who shows up at various times and places along the road while she travels across country. Many reviewers have cited this episode as one of The Twilight Zone's "10 Greatest" of the series. He had also appeared in the Twilight Zone episode "A Most Unusual Camera". Between 1959 and 1967 he appeared in six episodes of The Rifleman and in four episodes of Bonanza, 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 western series Lawman. He guest-starred in an episode of the 1961 NBC series The Americans, based on family conflicts stemming from the American Civil War, and in an episode of the 1961 series The Asphalt Jungle. One of his later roles was in the 1976 television movie Helter Skelter.
Ladies Knight
Doofus (voice)
2012
Helter Skelter
Terrence Milik
1976
Switch
Henry Corwin · (1 episode)
1975
Cannon
(1 episode)
1971
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Dr. Schmidt · (1 episode)
1969
Mannix
Prosecutor · (1 episode)
1967
Mannix
George Henderson · (1 episode)
1967
The High Chaparral
Burton · (1 episode)
1967
Follow Me, Boys!
Sergeant (uncredited)
1966
Felony Squad
(1 episode)
1966
The F.B.I.
David Brice · (1 episode)
1965
Honey West
Gordon Forbes · (1 episode)
1965
The Glory Guys
Pvt. Lucas Crain
1965
Daniel Boone
Mose · (1 episode)
1964
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Chief · (1 episode)
1964
The New Interns
Wolanski
1964
Gunfight at Comanche Creek
Jed Hayden
1963
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Ben Jorgenson · (1 episode)
1963
Temple Houston
Harmony Brown · (1 episode)
1963
The Fugitive
Truck Driver · (1 episode)
1963
Arrest and Trial
C.H. Littler · (1 episode)
1963
The Gallant Men
(1 episode)
1962
Combat!
Lt. Col. Nash · (1 episode)
1962
The Virginian
Roper · (1 episode)
1962
Convicts 4
Guard
1962
Sam Benedict
Burton Harper · (1 episode)
1962
Dr. Kildare
Ralph Walker · (1 episode)
1961
The Last Sunset
Calverton
1961
The Asphalt Jungle
(1 episode)
1961
The Americans
(1 episode)
1961
The Roaring 20's
(1 episode)
1960
Surfside 6
Willie Cleveland · (1 episode)
1960
Surfside 6
Henry Gifford · (1 episode)
1960
Surfside 6
Mel Walters · (1 episode)
1960
Stagecoach West
Arnie Ames · (1 episode)
1960
The Westerner
Pauk · (1 episode)
1960
Guestward, Ho!
(1 episode)
1960
Outlaws
(2 episodes)
1960
Thriller
Hymie Kralik · (1 episode)
1960
Mission of Danger
1960
The Detectives
Eddie Furman · (1 episode)
1959
The Detectives
Soley · (1 episode)
1959
The Detectives
Felix · (1 episode)
1959
The Untouchables
Lloyd Barker · (1 episode)
1959
The Untouchables
Paul Meadows · (1 episode)
1959
Hawaiian Eye
Harry Gulliver · (1 episode)
1959
The Twilight Zone
Woodward · (1 episode)
1959
The Twilight Zone
Sailor · (1 episode)
1959
Bonanza
Muller · (1 episode)
1959
Bonanza
Blackie Marx · (1 episode)
1959
Bonanza
Hardesty · (1 episode)
1959
Bonanza
Red Twilight · (1 episode)
1959
North by Northwest
Valerian
1959
Black Saddle
Brad Pickard · (1 episode)
1959
Black Saddle
Clint Frome · (1 episode)
1959
Rawhide
Kellino · (1 episode)
1959
Rawhide
Jeb · (1 episode)
1959
Rawhide
Hank Kale · (1 episode)
1959
77 Sunset Strip
Willie Lee Hanks · (1 episode)
1958
77 Sunset Strip
Chuck Lynch · (1 episode)
1958
77 Sunset Strip
Axel Derwent · (1 episode)
1958
77 Sunset Strip
Spud Morrison · (1 episode)
1958
Lawman
Burley Keller · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Jake Pardee · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Jax · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Cory Platt · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Russell Ganaway · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Corporal Troc · (1 episode)
1958
The Rifleman
Mal Sherman · (1 episode)
1958
The Texan
Jebb Kilmer · (1 episode)
1958
The Badlanders
Deputy Leslie
1958
The Space Children
Dave Brewster
1958
Darby's Rangers
Heavy Hall
1958
Trackdown
Cowboy · (1 episode)
1957
Alcoa Theatre
Wohlman · (1 episode)
1957
Maverick
Sam Elkins · (1 episode)
1957
Perry Mason
Jason Beckmeyer · (1 episode)
1957
M Squad
Denny Sutton · (1 episode)
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
Simon Quill · (1 episode)
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
Beckett · (1 episode)
1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
Frank Gault · (1 episode)
1957
The Lonely Man
Lon
1957
The Oklahoman
Bob Randell
1957
The Garment Jungle
Ox
1957
Fear Strikes Out
Doctor Brown
1957
The Rack
Sgt. Otto Pahnke
1956
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Harlan Breckenridge · (1 episode)
1956
Wire Service
Wells · (1 episode)
1956
The Proud and Profane
Eustace Press
1956
Telephone Time
(1 episode)
1956
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Police Lt. King · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Doctor · (1 episode)
1955
Cheyenne
Jeb Quinn · (1 episode)
1955
Gunsmoke
Slim Trent · (1 episode)
1955
Crashout
Fred Summerfield
1955
The Millionaire
Todd Burke · (1 episode)
1955
The Millionaire
Jackson Greene · (1 episode)
1955
The Yellow Tomahawk
Cpl. Maddock
1954
Dragonfly Squadron
Capt. Wyler
1954
The Big Heat
Larry Gordon
1953
Vice Squad
Marty Kusalich
1953
General Electric Theater
Glen · (1 episode)
1953
The Ford Television Theatre
(1 episode)
1952
The Ford Television Theatre
Private Littauer · (1 episode)
1952
Four Star Playhouse
George · (1 episode)
1952
Without Warning!
Carl Martin
1952
Chevron Theatre
(2 episodes)
1952
Flying Leathernecks
Lt. Bert Malotke
1951
Queen for a Day
Chuck
1951
Benjy
Mr. Miller
1951