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
Sleeper (1973) subtitle poster
Sleeper
1973 Movie
as Dr. Agon
Subtitles
In Cold Blood (1967) subtitle poster
In Cold Blood
1967 Movie
as Herbert Clutter
Subtitles
Bite the Bullet (1975) subtitle poster
Bite the Bullet
1975 Movie
as Gebhardt
Subtitles
Lucky Lady (1975) subtitle poster
Lucky Lady
1975 Movie
as Rass Huggins
Subtitles
The Big Story (1949) subtitle poster
The Big Story
1949 TV
Subtitles
The Missouri Breaks (1976) subtitle poster
The Missouri Breaks
1976 Movie
as David Braxton
Subtitles
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975) subtitle poster
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
1975 TV
as Jailer Sutton
Subtitles
The Reivers (1969) subtitle poster
The Reivers
1969 Movie
as Van Tosch
Subtitles
Showdown (1973) subtitle poster
Showdown
1973 Movie
as F.J. Wilson
Subtitles
Hitched (1973) subtitle poster
Hitched
1973 Movie
as Pete Hunter
Subtitles
Madigan (1968) subtitle poster
Madigan
1968 Movie
as Dunne (uncredited)
Subtitles
Monte Walsh (1970) subtitle poster
Monte Walsh
1970 Movie
as Fightin' Joe Hooker
Subtitles
The Food of the Gods (1976) subtitle poster
The Food of the Gods
1976 Movie
as Mr. Skinner
Subtitles
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan (1975) subtitle poster
Attack on Terror: The FBI vs. the Ku Klux Klan
1975 Movie
as Jailer Sutton
Subtitles
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins (1975) subtitle poster
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
1975 Movie
as John Beechwood
Subtitles
The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972) subtitle poster
The Culpepper Cattle Co.
1972 Movie
as Thorton Pierce
Subtitles
Runaway! (1973) subtitle poster
Runaway!
1973 Movie
as Conductor
Subtitles
Walk Like a Man (1987) subtitle poster
Walk Like a Man
1987 Movie
as H.P. Truman
Subtitles
Freedom Road (1979) subtitle poster
Freedom Road
1979 Movie
as President Ulysses S. Grant
Subtitles
R.P.M. (1970) subtitle poster
R.P.M.
1970 Movie
as Rev. Blauvelt
Subtitles
The Legend of the Golden Gun (1979) subtitle poster
The Legend of the Golden Gun
1979 Movie
as Jake Powell
Subtitles
The Return of the Incredible Hulk (1977) subtitle poster
The Return of the Incredible Hulk
1977 Movie
as Michael
Subtitles
Dempsey (1983) subtitle poster
Dempsey
1983 Movie
as Hyrum Dempsey
Subtitles
Halls of Anger (1970) subtitle poster
Halls of Anger
1970 Movie
as Boyd Wilkerson
Subtitles
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