Robert Conrad portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep.
46 Facts About Robert Conrad
2.
Robert Conrad hosted a weekly two-hour national radio show on CRN Digital Talk Radio beginning in 2008.
3.
Robert Conrad became the first publicity director of Mercury Records, where she was known as Jackie Smith.
4.
Robert Conrad married twice, including once to Chicago radio personality Eddie Hubbard in 1948.
5.
Robert Conrad attended Chicago schools including South Shore High School, Hyde Park High School, the YMCA Central School, and New Trier High School.
6.
Robert Conrad dropped out of school at age 15 to work full-time, including loading trucks for Consolidated Freightways and Eastern Freightways, and driving a milk truck for Chicago's Bowman Dairy.
7.
One of his first paying roles was a week-long job posing outside a Chicago theater where the film Giant was screened; Robert Conrad bore a resemblance to the film's lead, actor James Dean, so his mother used her entertainment industry contacts to help him get the part intended as a publicity stunt to boost attendance at the theater.
8.
In 1957, Robert Conrad met actor Nick Adams while visiting James Dean's gravesite in Fairmount, Indiana.
9.
Robert Conrad had a small role in the film Thundering Jets, in 1958.
10.
Robert Conrad was signed to an acting contract by Warner Bros.
11.
Robert Conrad sang, and released several recordings with Warner Bros.
12.
Robert Conrad was featured in other shows, either for Warner or Ziv Television, including Highway Patrol, Lawman, Colt.
13.
Robert Conrad was introduced on Strip, then spun off into a series that ran from 1959 to 1963, both in the US and overseas.
14.
In Mexico, Robert Conrad signed a recording contract with the Orfeon label.
15.
Robert Conrad released two albums with a few singles sung in Spanish.
16.
In 1965, Robert Conrad began his starring role as government agent James West on the weekly series The Wild Wild West, which aired on CBS until its cancellation in 1969.
17.
Robert Conrad did most of his own stunts and fight scenes during the series, and while filming the season four episode "The Night of the Fugitives", he was injured and rushed to the hospital after he dove from the top of a saloon staircase, lost his grip on a chandelier, fell 12 feet, and landed on his head.
18.
Robert Conrad went to Mexico in 1967 to appear in Ven a cantar conmigo, a musical.
19.
Robert Conrad formed his own company, Robert Conrad Productions, and under its auspices he wrote, starred in, and directed the Western film The Bandits.
20.
Robert Conrad was in such made-for-television movies as Weekend of Terror and Five Desperate Women.
21.
Robert Conrad tried another TV series as American spy Jake Webster in Assignment Vienna, which lasted only eight episodes.
22.
Robert Conrad was a murderous fitness franchise promoter in a fourth season episode of Columbo.
23.
Robert Conrad starred in the feature films Murph the Surf and Sudden Death.
24.
Robert Conrad found ratings success again from 1976 to 1978 as legendary tough-guy World War II fighter ace Pappy Boyington in Baa Baa Black Sheep, retitled for its second season and in later syndication as Black Sheep Squadron.
25.
Robert Conrad followed it with a lead part in the television miniseries Centennial.
26.
In 1978, Robert Conrad starred in the short-lived TV series The Duke as Duke Ramsey, a boxer turned private eye.
27.
Robert Conrad was identified in the late 1970s with his television commercials for Eveready batteries, particularly his placing of the battery on his shoulder and prompting the viewer to challenge its long-lasting power: "Come on, I dare ya".
28.
Robert Conrad made the occasional feature such as The Lady in Red for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, where he played John Dillinger from a script by John Sayles.
29.
Robert Conrad later played a modern-day variation of James West in the short-lived series A Man Called Sloane in 1979.
30.
Robert Conrad spent most of the 1980s starring in television movies.
31.
Robert Conrad played a paraplegic coach in Coach of the Year, and the title role in Will: G Gordon Liddy.
32.
Robert Conrad played the lead role of US Marine Colonel Joseph Knox.
33.
Robert Conrad played a Police Chief in the theatrically released comedy film Moving Violations, and in the following TV movies; The Fifth Missile, Assassin and Charley Hannah's War.
34.
Robert Conrad appeared in the music video for Richard Marx's "Hazard", which was a No 1 hit in 13 countries including the United States.
35.
Robert Conrad had a supporting role in Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
36.
In 2006, Robert Conrad recorded audio introductions for every episode of the first season of The Wild Wild West for its North American DVD release on June 6.
37.
Robert Conrad was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame for his work on The Wild Wild West series.
38.
Robert Conrad appeared in the documentary film Pappy Boyington Field where he recounted his personal insights about the legendary Marine Corps aviator he portrayed in the television series.
39.
Robert Conrad was 43 when he emceed the Miss National Teenager Pageant, which she won.
40.
Robert Conrad was joined on some television shows by his sons, Shane and Christian, and his daughter, Nancy.
41.
In 1984, Robert Conrad was awarded a star on the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall, California.
42.
Robert Conrad was involved with a volunteer organization in Bear Valley, California, known as Bear Valley Search and Rescue, which later formed the basis for High Mountain Rangers.
43.
On March 31,2003, while on Highway 4 in California's Sierra Nevada foothills near his Alpine County home, Robert Conrad drove his Jaguar over the center median and slammed head-on into a Subaru driven by 26-year-old Kevin Burnett.
44.
Robert Conrad was sentenced to six months of house confinement, alcohol counseling, and five years' probation.
45.
Robert Conrad suffered severe nerve injuries from the crash, leaving his right side partially paralyzed.
46.
Robert Conrad died of heart failure in Malibu, California, on February 8,2020, at age 84.