William Windom was an American actor. He played a wide variety of roles in both film and television during a near 60-year career, but is perhaps best known for his role as cartoonist John Monroe in the short-lived comedy My World and Welcome to It winning him a Primetime Emmy Award, and his recurring role as Dr. Seth Hazlitt starring alongside Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote. Windom was also known for his prolific work in television appearing in such shows as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Columbo, Gunsmoke, , Magnum P.I., Newhart, and L.A. Law. Windom also appeared in feature films such as the Academy Award-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, The Detective, and Escape from the Planet of the Apes and in several John Hughes films, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, She's Having a Baby, and Uncle Buck, and Clint Eastwood's True Crime.
During his early screen career in the 1950s, Windom appeared in TV series including Omnibus and Robert Montgomery Presents, and continued his guest-starring roles in series during the 1960s such as The Twilight Zone, The Donna Reed Show, Gunsmoke and . His first leading role in television came in the sitcom The Farmer's Daughter - a series about a young Minnesota woman who becomes the housekeeper for a widowed congressman - which ran for three seasons. Windom's first role in film was alongside Gregory Peck in the Oscar-winning To Kill a Mockingbird as Horace Gilmer - the prosecutor of Tom Robinson - to Peck's defence lawyer Atticus Finch. In 1968, Windom starred alongside Peter Falk and Gene Barry in the TV movie Prescription: Murder, the pilot for the TV series Columbo. He would guest star in another edition of the series in 1972. Windom starred with Frank Sinatra in the film The Detective, playing a homophobic killer, a role that received great reviews from The New York Times. The following year, he had the lead role as cartoonist John Monroe in the sitcom My World and Welcome to It. Although the series only aired for one season, he won the 1970 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. After the cancellation of the series, Windom toured the country for a time in a one-man Thurber show. After the run was completed, he filmed the pilot for a new series Is There a Doctor in the House? with Rosemary Forsyth. The pilot was written with both actors in mind for the two starring roles, and while it was well received by the critics and in viewership ratings in both its first run and a re-run in the summer of 1971, it was not picked up for a series. After a host of roles in film, TV movies and guest appearances in TV series during the 1970s and 1980s, Windom joined the series Murder, She Wrote in 1985 as Dr. Seth Hazlitt. His initial appearance was in October 1985. The producers enjoyed his work, and consequently invited him to return at the beginning of the second season to take on the role permanently. Windom briefly left the show in 1990 to work on the first television version of Parenthood, playing the role of patriarch Frank Buckman. The show was ultimately canceled after 12 episodes and Windom returned to Murder, She Wrote as a semi-regular for the remainder of the run of that series. In all, Windom appeared in 53 episodes of Murder, She Wrote, second only to the show's main star, Angela Lansbury. Windom continued to appear in film and TV guest roles during the 1990s and 2000s, with appearances in the films Sommersby, Miracle on 34th Street, and Clint Eastwood's True Crime, and episodes of series including Ally McBeal and The District, before making his final acting appearance in the 2005 drama Yesterday's Dreams.
Personal life
William Windom claimed to have been "married more than once", because he thought admitting he was married 5 times made him sound fickle. He actually became an actor to meet girls and one friend said he "went through women like Kleenex". Bill married his first wife, Carol Keyser, in New York in August 1947. They worked together, and he also worked for her father selling insurance for 3 years. They divorced in December 1955. He didn't walk down the aisle again until 1958 with actress Barbara Joyce. They married in Edgartown, MA. She was a few years older than Bill. However, he soon moved to California and remained there for work. Bill said the marriage lasted just 3 years but the divorce was not finalized until 1963. A few weeks later, he married his third wife Barbara Clare. She was the granddaughter of MGM founder Louis B. Mayer and 11 years Bill's junior. Bill became stepfather to Barbara's two daughters from a previous marriage. His first child, Rachel, was born in 1964. Bill and Barbara agreed to divorce in 1968. In August 1969 he married his fourth wife Jacqulyn D. Hopkins, 19 years his junior. They had two daughters, Heather Juliet in 1970 and Hope Teresa in 1973. In 1974, Bill met Patricia Tunder while shooting a TV movie; she was working for the production company. Almost a year later, he filed for divorce from Jacqulyn in July of 1975. Bill and Patricia, 12 years his junior, married the end of 1975 on New Year's Eve. In 1978 Bill welcomed his final child, a son named Rebel Russell. Windom was a tournament chess player and a life member of the USCF.
Death
Windom died on August 16, 2012, at the age of 88 at his home in Woodacre, California from congestive heart failure. He was survived by his wife, Patricia Tunder Windom, four of his children – Rachel, Heather Juliet, Hope Teresa and Rebel Russell – two stepdaughters, Maggie and Debora, three granddaughters and one grandson.
