William Lundigan was an American film actor. His films include Dodge City

Dodge City (1939 film)

Dodge City is a 1939 American Western film starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Bruce Cabot. Directed by Hungarian-turned-Hollywood filmmaker Michael Curtiz and based on a story by Robert Buckner, it was filmed in early Technicolor...

(1939), The Fighting 69th (1940), The Sea Hawk

The Sea Hawk (1940 film)

The Sea Hawk is a 1940 American Warner Bros. feature film starring Errol Flynn as an English privateer who defends his nation's interests on the eve of the Spanish Armada. The film was the tenth collaboration between Flynn and director Michael Curtiz. The film's screenplay by Howard Koch and Seton I...

(1940), Santa Fe Trail

Santa Fe Trail (film)

Santa Fe Trail is a 1940 western film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film was one of the top-grossing films of the year, being the seventh Flynn-de Havilland collaboration. The film also has nothing to do with its namesake, the famed Santa Fe Trail...

(1940), Dishonored Lady

Dishonored Lady

Dishonored Lady is a film starring Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder, William Lundigan, and Natalie Schafer, directed by Robert Stevenson, and released by United Artists...

(1947), Pinky (1949), Love Nest

Love Nest

Love Nest is a 1951 comedy-drama film, directed by Joseph Newman, and starring June Haver, William Lundigan, Frank Fay, Marilyn Monroe, and Jack Paar.The post-World War II comedy features an early supporting role for Monroe...

(1951) with Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

, The House on Telegraph Hill

The House on Telegraph Hill

The House on Telegraph Hill is a film noir starring Richard Basehart, Valentina Cortese, and William Lundigan, directed by Robert Wise, and released by Twentieth Century Fox. Parts of the film were filmed on location in the Telegraph Hill area of San Francisco...

(1951), I'd Climb the Highest Mountain

I'd Climb the Highest Mountain

I'd Climb the Highest Mountain is a 1951 religious drama film made by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by Henry King and produced by Lamar Trotti from a screenplay by Henry King and Lamar Trotti based on the novel by Corra Harris...

(1951) and Inferno

Inferno (1953 film)

Inferno is a 1953 American film noir drama/thriller directed by Roy Ward Baker, shot in Technicolor and shown in 3-D Dimension and stereophonic sound on prints for the few theaters equipped for that sound system in 1953.-Plot:...

(1953).

Biography

The oldest of four sons, Lundigan's father owned a shoe store in the same building as a local radio station. Fascinated by radio, he was playing child roles on radio and producing radio plays at sixteen.

He studied law at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...

, earning money as a radio announcer. A Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...

 production chief heard Lundigan's voice, met him, arranged a screen test

Screen test

A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...

 and signed him to a motion picture contract in 1937.

Moving over to MGM, Lundigan's last film before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps was Salute to the Marines

Salute to the Marines

Salute to the Marines is a 1943 World War II war film starring Wallace Beery. The movie, set in the Philippines and shot in Technicolor , was directed by S...

. He served as a combat cameraman in the Battle of Peleliu

Battle of Peleliu

The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S...

 and the Battle of Okinawa

Battle of Okinawa

The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...

 returning at war's end as a Corporal.

Television

From September 30, 1959, to September 7, 1960, Lundigan portrayed Col. Edward McCauley in the CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 television series, Men Into Space

Men Into Space

Men Into Space is an American sci-fi television series broadcast from September 30, 1959 to September 7, 1960 by CBS which depicted future efforts by the United States Air Force to explore and develop outer space. The black-and-white filmed show starred William Lundigan as Col...

.

Politics

In 1963 and 1964, Lundigan joined fellow actors Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan

Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...

, Chill Wills

Chill Wills

Chill Theodore Wills was an American film actor, and a singer in the Avalon Boys Quartet.-Biography:Wills was born in Seagoville, Texas in 1902. He was a performer from early childhood, forming and leading the Avalon Boys singing group in the 1930s...

, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. is an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series 77 Sunset Strip and The F.B.I. He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the series Maverick and as the voice behind the character Alfred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series...

, in making appearances on behalf of U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater, the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 nominee in the campaign against U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

.

External links