Biography
William Traylor was an American actor who appeared in film, stage and television. Born William Hurley Traylor Jr. on 8 October 1930 in Kirksville, Missouri, he died on 23 September 1989 in Los Angeles, California.
He trained at the Actors Studio and began his career on Broadway in the 1950s, with later roles including Steve Baker in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of Show Boat. In Los Angeles he worked extensively in television series such as Kung Fu and Bracken's World, and in films including The Boston Strangler (1968), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) and Fletch (1985), in which he played Ted Underhill.
With his wife, the actress and teacher Peggy Feury, he co-founded The Loft Studio, an acting school whose students included Sean Penn, Anjelica Huston and Nicolas Cage. He was the father of actresses Susan Traylor and Stephanie Feury.
