John McLiam photo

John McLiam

Acting
1918-01-24
Alberta, Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John McLiam (born John Williams; January 24, 1918 – April 16, 1994) was a Canadian actor noted for his skill at different accents. His film appearances include My Fair Lady (1964), In Cold Blood (1967), John Frankenheimer's movie of The Iceman Cometh (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976), and First Blood (1982). He was a guest star in numerous television series and wrote a Broadway play, The Sin of Pat Muldoon.

Early life

He attended St. Mary's College of California (Moraga, California). During World War II he served in the United States Navy as an intelligence officer, having received a Bronze Star. After the war he worked briefly as a journalist for the San Francisco Examiner.

He took McLiam, the Gaelic form of his real surname Williams, as a stage name.

Acting career

His acting career began in Maxwell Anderson's Winterset in San Francisco in 1946. After a few roles in plays in California he moved to New York. His first Broadway role was as a guard in Maxwell Anderson's Barefoot in Athens in 1951. His other stage roles include Shaw's Saint Joan, and Tiger at the Gates, Christopher Fry's version of a Jean Giraudoux play, which ran 1959–60 on Broadway. He appeared in the original Broadway cast of One More River (1960).

He moved to California in 1960 to work in film and television. His film roles included a cockney ne'er-do-well in My Fair Lady (1964), Boss Kean in Cool Hand Luke (1967), In Cold Blood (1967) as murder victim Herbert Clutter, John acted as the pilot/flight instructor for Aunt Bee in Season 8 of The Andy Griffith Show, "Aunt Bee's Big Moment" Halls of Anger (1970), Woody Allen's Sleeper (1973), rancher David Braxton in The Missouri Breaks (1976), and Orval in First Blood (1982). He played Jimmy Tomorrow in John Frankenheimer's American Film Theater movie of The Iceman Cometh (1973), alongside Fredric March, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Jeff Bridges.

Personal life

McLiam and his wife Roberta had a daughter, Claire. He died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California in 1994 from melanoma and Parkinson's disease. McLiam was interred at the Santa Barbara Cemetery at Santa Barbara, California. CLR
Known For 116 titles
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) subtitle poster
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987 TV
as Fento
Subtitles
Murder, She Wrote (1984) subtitle poster
Murder, She Wrote
1984 TV
as Harry Stevens
Subtitles
Dallas (1978) subtitle poster
Dallas
1978 TV
as Wally Kessel
Subtitles
Perry Mason (1957) subtitle poster
Perry Mason
1957 TV
as Councilman William Daniels
Subtitles
The A-Team (1983) subtitle poster
The A-Team
1983 TV
as George Nemchek
Subtitles
Bonanza (1959) subtitle poster
Bonanza
1959 TV
as Harry Carlis
Subtitles
M*A*S*H (1972) subtitle poster
M*A*S*H
1972 TV
as Col. Woody Cooke
Subtitles
Mannix (1967) subtitle poster
Mannix
1967 TV
as Harry Forrest
Subtitles
Mannix (1967) subtitle poster
Mannix
1967 TV
as Frank Blaney
Subtitles
Mannix (1967) subtitle poster
Mannix
1967 TV
as Tim Fogarty
Subtitles
Falcon Crest (1981) subtitle poster
Falcon Crest
1981 TV
as Carl Beck
Subtitles
Falcon Crest (1981) subtitle poster
Falcon Crest
1981 TV
as Commissioner Harold Witken
Subtitles
The Fugitive (1963) subtitle poster
The Fugitive
1963 TV
as Sheriff Grover
Subtitles
The Fugitive (1963) subtitle poster
The Fugitive
1963 TV
as Deputy Kelton
Subtitles
The Fugitive (1963) subtitle poster
The Fugitive
1963 TV
as Jeff
Subtitles
Ironside (1967) subtitle poster
Ironside
1967 TV
as Father Holt
Subtitles
Ironside (1967) subtitle poster
Ironside
1967 TV
as Trash
Subtitles
The Andy Griffith Show (1960) subtitle poster
The Andy Griffith Show
1960 TV
as Mr. MacDonald
Subtitles
Magnum, P.I. (1980) subtitle poster
Magnum, P.I.
1980 TV
as Johnnie Wells
Subtitles
Mission: Impossible (1966) subtitle poster
Mission: Impossible
1966 TV
as Dr. Wilson Cardel
Subtitles
Mission: Impossible (1966) subtitle poster
Mission: Impossible
1966 TV
as Anton Usakos
Subtitles
The Virginian (1962) subtitle poster
The Virginian
1962 TV
as Carl O'Neill
Subtitles
The Virginian (1962) subtitle poster
The Virginian
1962 TV
as Eb Smalley
Subtitles
The Virginian (1962) subtitle poster
The Virginian
1962 TV
as Parker
Subtitles
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