Monday, August 20, 2012

Tribute: William Windom (1923 - 2012)


The press is now reporting the death of Emmy-Award winning actor William Windom (1923 – 2012), an accomplished talent who delivered several great cult television performances during the span of his multi-decade career. 

Star Trek (1966 – 1969) fans will immediately remember Windom as the obsessed Commodore Matt Decker in the second season episode “The Doomsday Machine.”  But for my money, the greatest Windom TV series performance came in Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, in the episode called “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar.” 

I’ve always viewed this Night Gallery episode as a kind of unofficial companion piece to The Twilight Zone’s brilliant “Walking Distance” since it concerns a middle-aged man attempting to come to terms with his age, his life, regrets, and the passage of time.  Windom was stunningly good in “They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar,” and it remains a heart-wrenching episode of the horror anthology.

Mr. Windom also appeared on TV, and in the genre, for more than four decades, on such series as Lights Out (“The Heart of Jonathan O’Rourke,”) The Twilight Zone (“Five Characters in Search of an Exit,” “Miniature,”) The Invaders (“Summit Meeting,” “Doomsday Minus One,”) and Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (The Summer House).

The actor also guest-starred in several superhero-themed programs including The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk, The Greatest American Hero, and Automan.

Windom’s long-lived movie career included a role in the horror film The Mephisto Waltz (1971), and he had a strong supporting role as the President of the United States in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971). 

Today, we celebrate Mr. Windom’s life and his impressive career, as well as his many remarkable and memorable contributions to film and television.  He will be missed.

5 comments:

  1. Windom was always a steady, memorable character actor. He melted into any of his roles splendidly. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

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    Replies
    1. Amen, my friend. Amen.

      I loved him in Escape from the Planet of the Apes. He played a great character there, one who was pragmatic, cynical and yet, also, oddly moral. A very interesting supporting performance there, and it adds a lot to the film.

      Thank you for the comment, my friend.

      best,
      John

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  2. Hi John,

    William Windom was one of those "anchor actors". He did his job, showed what a working actor was made of... which meant excelling at one's craft while going from job to job.

    I agree with you that he was great in "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar".

    After hearing the news about his passing, I came across an article online which had an embedded video file of Windom as "Matt Decker"; specifically that three or four minute scene where Kirk and McCoy first meet the shattered captain of the U.S.S. Constellation. (I don't have Star Trek on DVD, so seeing this after so many years was enlightening, especially in context.) What struck me is how beautifully that moment worked -- in great part because of an actor who had to relate who his character was and what he had been through. The audience had never seen him before now. Not only does this scene remind me why this series is still the best of its kind, but demonstrates just how good of an actor William Windom was.

    I say: "Bravo!"

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  3. Anonymous10:59 AM

    John you truly summed up the impressive career of Wiliam Windom that has touched us all and will never be forgotten.

    SGB

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  4. In addition to his appearances on Murder, She Wrote, it should also be noted he had a hit TV series with The Farmer's Daughter (ABC, 1963-66). Considering it was last seen as reruns in the 1980s (on the cable network CBN), it's a show easy to overlook.

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