An amateur inventor, William held the patent for the first lawn vacuum,
a device which became commonplace with landscapers decades after his
death.
With The Case of the Howling Dog (1934), he became the first actor ever to play the hallowed film and television criminal attorney Perry Mason.
Served in the US Army in France during WW I.
His wife died several months after he did.
Founding member in 1933 and original treasurer of the Screen Actors Guild.
Superb, unequaled villain from pre-Code pictures who lusted after every
young lady (among them the impossibly young and beautiful Maureen O'Sullivan and
Loretta Young, among others) he came across. Memorable as the stuffy, wealthy
lawyer who, against his better judgment, falls for Joan Blondell in
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933).
A popular leading man in B movies of the early sound era, William was best known for having played both criminal lawyer Perry Mason and amateur sleuth The Lone Wolf in a series of "second feature" programmers of the 1930s.
Alumnus of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1915.
Starred as investigator John Francis O'Connell on the syndicated radio
program "Strange Wills" (1946).