Famous Louisvillians: William Conrad (#3)

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Argh! Brine lines!!! The dirty S word!!! Temperatures in the 20s for a low!! It’s (gasp) WINTER! Okay, so living in Louisville isn’t all peaches and cream. But at least we’ve had quite a few famous people born here. And here’s another one! #3: William Conrad It’s a generational thing. People who grew up in the late 80s know William Conrad as the star of Jake and the Fatman. People my age, though, can’t think of Conrad without hearing that voice introducing him on Cannon.... “A Quinn Martin production.” Then there’s my parents’ era. To them, William Conrad was Marshal Dillon! That’s right, before Jame Arness rode onto our TV screens, Gunsmoke was a radio program, and Conrad was Dillon! And in between, my brother grew up with William Conrad as the voice of the narrator on Rocky and Bullwinkle. Although they didn’t know his name, the entire country knew him as something else: HERO. Conrad was a fighter pilot in World War II, serving in the 460th Bombardment Group in the European theater. That rich and full life started here in Louisville. William Conrad Born John William Cann, Jr. September 27, 1920 Died February 11, 1994 (heart attack) Radio Hall of Fame actor who transitioned to TV, best-known for Cannon Conrad doing the narration on Rocky and Bullwinkle: