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
Gunsmoke (1955) subtitle poster
Gunsmoke
1955 TV
as Dougherty
Subtitles
Gunsmoke (1955) subtitle poster
Gunsmoke
1955 TV
as O'Quillian
Subtitles
Harry O (1974) subtitle poster
Harry O
1974 TV
as The Old Salt
Subtitles
First Blood (1982) subtitle poster
First Blood
1982 Movie
as Orval the Dog Man
Subtitles
12 O'Clock High (1964) subtitle poster
12 O'Clock High
1964 TV
as Fisherman
Subtitles
12 O'Clock High (1964) subtitle poster
12 O'Clock High
1964 TV
as Doker Drew
Subtitles
The Mod Squad (1968) subtitle poster
The Mod Squad
1968 TV
as Sam
Subtitles
Archie Bunker's Place (1979) subtitle poster
Archie Bunker's Place
1979 TV
as Vinnie Mulvaney
Subtitles
Honey West (1965) subtitle poster
Honey West
1965 TV
as Gordon
Subtitles
Ghost Story (1972) subtitle poster
Ghost Story
1972 TV
as Titus Paul
Subtitles
87th Precinct (1961) subtitle poster
87th Precinct
1961 TV
as Menlo
Subtitles
87th Precinct (1961) subtitle poster
87th Precinct
1961 TV
as Charles Reynolds
Subtitles
Decoy (1957) subtitle poster
Decoy
1957 TV
as Mike Foley
Subtitles
Daktari (1966) subtitle poster
Daktari
1966 TV
as Sean Murphy
Subtitles
Cool Hand Luke (1967) subtitle poster
Cool Hand Luke
1967 Movie
as Boss Keen
Subtitles
Matt Helm (1975) subtitle poster
Matt Helm
1975 TV
as Charlie Wendell
Subtitles
Bret Maverick (1981) subtitle poster
Bret Maverick
1981 TV
as Doc Holliday
Subtitles
The Invisible Man (1975) subtitle poster
The Invisible Man
1975 TV
as Blind Man
Subtitles
Hell Town (1985) subtitle poster
Hell Town
1985 TV
as Fast Louie
Subtitles
My Fair Lady (1964) subtitle poster
My Fair Lady
1964 Movie
as Harry (uncredited)
Subtitles
Three for the Road (1975) subtitle poster
Three for the Road
1975 TV
as Thurman Parsons
Subtitles
The Wonderful World of Disney (1954) subtitle poster
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954 TV
as Ephrem Killigrew
Subtitles
Gavilan (1982) subtitle poster
Gavilan
1982 TV
as Streblov
Subtitles
Big Jake (1971) subtitle poster
Big Jake
1971 Movie
as Army Officer (uncredited)
Subtitles
← Prev 12345 Next →

Page 3 of 5 · 116 total credits