Biography
William Windom (1923–2012) was an American character actor of stage, film and television. Born in Manhattan, New York City, he served as a paratrooper in the US Army during the Second World War and trained in drama at the Biarritz American University in France before continuing his studies at Fordham University.
He appeared on Broadway and in numerous television anthology series from the late 1940s. Windom is known for film roles including Mr Gilmer in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The President in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), Mr Bryant in Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) and Mr Hatfield in Uncle Buck (1989). On television he played Commodore Matt Decker in the Star Trek episode "The Doomsday Machine" (1967) and Dr Seth Hazlitt in more than fifty episodes of Murder, She Wrote (1985–1996). He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as John Monroe in My World and Welcome to It (1969–1970).
