Robert Conrad | |
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Conrad in 1972
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Born |
Conrad Robert Falk March 1, 1935 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1957–2002 |
Spouse(s) | Joan Kenlay (February 23, 1952–1977; divorced); 5 children LaVelda Ione Fann (March 28, 1983–2010; divorced); 3 children |
Robert Conrad Falk (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935) is an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He may be best known for his role in the 1965–69 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). He was a recording artist of pop/rock songs in the early 1960s as Bob Conrad before he began his acting career. He has hosted a weekly two-hour national radio show (The PM Show with Robert Conrad) on CRN Digital Talk Radio since 2008.
Conrad was signed to Warner Bros. as an actor. He later released several recordings with Warner Bros on a variety of LPs, EPs, and SPs 33-1/3 and 45 rpm records during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He had a minor Billboard hit song in "Bye Bye Baby" which reached #113. In 1959, he played Billy the Kid in the episode "Amnesty" of Colt .45.
In 1958, he appeared in the second season of the James Garner series Maverick (episode: "Yellow River"). Before The Wild Wild West, Conrad played Tom Lopaka on Hawaiian Eye. The show was a hit from 1959-63, both in the U.S. and overseas. In Mexico, he signed a recording contract with the Orfeon label, where he released two albums, with a few singles sung in Spanish. He played "Eric Dean" in Palm Springs Weekend (1963). In 1964, he went to Spain and filmed La Nueva Cenicienta.
In 1965, he garnered fame with his starring role in The Wild Wild West (airing on CBS for four seasons until its cancellation in 1969). He later starred in such roles as prosecuting attorney Paul Ryan in the short-lived 1971 NBC series, The D.A., and as American spy Jake Webster in Assignment Vienna. He starred in a third-season episode of Mannix, called "The Playground"; and as a murderous fitness franchise promoter in an episode of Columbo ("An Exercise in Fatality"). He guest-starred as a killer for hire on an episode of Mission: Impossible.