William Conrad’s deep baritone could make a threat credible and an explanation reassuring. We rate his firm, plain-spoken presence, with one reservation: in The Fugitive, he sometimes insists on what David Janssen has already shown us.
Fi1m perspective
David Janssen looks worn down in The Fugitive (1963); William Conrad sounds certain. As the narrator, Conrad keeps the changing stories clear while the fugitive Richard Kimble has little certainty about his own future. We found that firmness reassuring because Janssen’s tired hero has so little reassurance elsewhere. Yet the voice can also be too insistent, explaining strain that is already plain in the leading performance.
That ability to sound in charge was useful long before he became a television narrator. His early film work included playing one of the gunmen in The Killers (1946), while radio gave him Marshal Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke (1952–1961). Threat and authority both suited the deep baritone. His comic narration for Rocky and Bullwinkle is worth remembering, too, before assuming that he could only be stern.
The difficulty in The Fugitive is deciding how much of Conrad the programme needs. Janssen is already making Kimble’s position intelligible, so an emphatic explanation can interrupt our attention rather than help it. We occasionally wanted the narration to trust him more, but would not want to lose Conrad’s usefulness as a guide through the changing stories. A less naturalistic narrator can belong in this kind of crime melodrama, provided the programme leaves its actors enough space.
The later television leads let him carry that no-nonsense manner on screen. Producer Quinn Martin’s Cannon (1971–1976) gave him Frank Cannon, a detective role at the centre of the programme rather than a voice outside it. He went on to Nero Wolfe (1981) and the prosecutor J.L. McCabe in Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992). The attraction of the detective and prosecutor roles is clear: these are characters for whom sounding certain is part of the job.
We would begin with The Fugitive, while remembering that its narrator is only one part of why we recommend it. Give Janssen’s quieter acting as much attention as Conrad’s firm delivery; the programme benefits from both, even when they seem to be explaining the same thing. For Conrad in front of the camera, try Cannon next.
Biography
William Conrad, born John William Cann Jr., was an American actor, producer and director. He began his career in radio in the late 1930s and served as a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, reaching the rank of captain.
Conrad provided the narration for the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967). He appeared in films including The Killers (1946) and later starred in the series Cannon (1971–1976) and Jake and the Fatman (1987–1992). He died in Los Angeles in 1994.
