Daniels, William (b. 1927), character actor. The loud, strident supporting player was born in Brooklyn, educated at Northwestern, and trained with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio before making his New York debut in 1943 as one of the sons in Life with Father. Daniels was involved with important productions in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as a replacement for the bitter Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger (1958) and originating the role of Peter in the first American production of The Zoo Story (1960). He also shone as the narrow‐minded social worker Albert in A Thousand Clowns (1962), the over‐practical fiancé Warren in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965), and most memorably as the quarrelsome delegate John Adams in 1776 (1969).
Harve Presnell,
David Ford,
John Cullum,
Michael Lewis,
Hamilton Camp
Performed Songs By:
Sherman Edwards & Donald Meyer
Genre: Soundtrack
Instrument: Vocals, Performer
Biography
On recordings, the American actor William Daniels can be heard on original soundtracks such as the historical 1776 and the visionary On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. He has little chance of being confused with singer Billy Daniels, he of "That Old Black Magic," but the two Daniels come from similar dens of courage in terms of hardworking show business traditions. William Daniels has been performing since the age of six, when he would join his sister for a song-and-dance act. There was also the Daniels Family, comprising an additional sibling. Billy Daniels claimed to have sang for 12 sponsors a day, 365 days a year, but the Daniels Family were hardly slouches either during a period when the group took on three radio shows each week.
In 1945 William Daniels was noticed in the play Life With Father, but quite a few years followed until he scored an attention-getting role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. In 1960 Daniels won several awards for his part in the Edward Albee play The Zoo Story. On screen, Daniels might be best remembered for the 1967 turn as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate. He played John Adams in both the 1969 Broadway musical 1776 and the 1972 film version. In the '80s he appeared in the television soap opera St. Elsewhere while simultaneously providing the voice of an automobile on the fantasy series Knight Rider. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide
Born: Mar 31, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Occupation: Actor
Active: '60s-'90s
Major Genres: Drama, Comedy
Career Highlights: The Graduate, A Thousand Clowns, Two for the Road
First Major Screen Credit: Family Honeymoon (1948)
Biography
American actor William Daniels was teamed at age 6 with his sister Jackie in a song-and-dance act that would become "The Daniels Family" when his other sister Carol joined. At the height of their activity, the Daniels were performing in as many as three radio shows per week, a welcome break from the harshness of their Brooklyn neighborhood. Acting in the long-running Broadway play Life with Father in 1945, Daniels was advised by the play's star and co-author Howard Lindsey to attend college just in case the acting business fell apart; after Army service and graduation from Northwestern University, Daniels found that, for him, the business had fallen apart. His confidence eroded by several years of relative inactivity, Daniels nearly turned down an opportunity to play Brick in a road company production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but the play's author Tennessee Williams insisted upon casting Daniels. In 1960, the actor was cast with George Maharis in the Edward Albee play The Zoo Story, which won him the Obie and Clarence Derwent Awards and led to such choice Broadway assignments as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and A Thousand Clowns. Much to his own amazement, Daniels found himself cast in a superhero-spoof sitcom, Captain Nice, in 1967, which fortunately wasn't on long enough to typecast him. The actor achieved recognition of a more positive nature for his role as Dustin Hoffman's obtuse father in The Graduate (1967) (he was all of ten years older than Hoffman). Daniels' role as John Adams in the 1969 Broadway musical 1776 resulted in another strong film showing when the play was transferred to celluloid in 1972. Reportedly as reserved and taciturn as his screen characters in real life, Daniels was perhaps ideally cast as the abrasive Dr. Mark Craig on the long-running (1982-88) TV drama St. Elsewhere; appearing as Mrs. Craig was Bonnie Bartlett, to whom Daniels had been married since college. Despite his high visibility in both films and television, William Daniels is probably best known internationally for a continuing TV role in which he was never seen--the ever-correct computerized voice of K.I.T.T., the superpowered automobile on the action series Knight Rider (1982-86). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
William Daniels (born March 29, 1927) is an
Emmy Award-winning Americanactor whose distinctive, nasal voice and penchant for portraying critical yet competent characters has landed him
a number of roles over the years. In effect, he has made a career out of playing characters who somehow remain sympathetic
despite being "obnoxious and disliked" (as his character John Adams was repeatedly described
in 1776) from the other characters' point of view.
In 1969, Daniels starred as John Adams in the musical 1776, as well as
appearing in the movie version in 1972. Two years later, he co-starred with Larry Hagman,
Linda Blair and a pre-Star WarsMark Hamill in Richard Donner's telefilm Sarah T...Portrait Of a Teenage Alcoholic. In 1976, Daniels portrayed eldest son John Quincy Adams in the
acclaimed PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles (George Grizzard played John Adams). He
provided the voice of KITT in Knight Rider from
1982–1986, and again in 1991 (He requested not to be credited for that work). He appeared as acid-tongued (but well-meaning) Dr.
Mark Craig in St. Elsewhere from 1982–1988 (for which he won an Emmy twice).
Daniels then received notice from a younger audience by portraying the teacher George
Feeny in Boy Meets World from 1993–2000.
An officious social worker who tries to strip the protagonist of the custody of his nephew in A Thousand Clowns (1965).
A physician named John Bonifant in Death In the Family, the second made-for-TV movie of the 1970s Incredible Hulk TV series.
Several episodes of the 1977 show, Soap, as a German Private Investigator.
An episode of The Rockford Files as high-handed District Attorney Gary Bevins,
who conducts a grand-jury hearing at which Jim Rockford is subpoenaed to testify.
Norman, a radio executive attending a Halloween party with coworkers; he appears dressed as a clown for the party, and
unwittingly picks up Cylon hitchhikers in the Galactica 1980, episode
"The Night the Cylons Landed".
The father of Richard Lestrange in The Blue Lagoon (1980 film)
Trivia
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Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
In the series Boy Meets World, Daniels' character Mr. Feeny works at John Adams High School. Daniels played
John Adams in 1776. Both shows are set in
Philadelphia.
In the series Boy Meets World, Daniels' character Mr. Feeny is originally from Boston - the location of the hospital
where his character Dr. Craig works in St. Elsewhere, and where John Adams, whom he portrayed in 1776, practiced
law.
Daniels was at the center of a famed dispute over the nomination process for the Tony
Awards. In 1969, when Daniels was starring in 1776, only actors billed above the
title could be nominated in the lead actor categories. 1776 was an ensemble production, however, with no star billing;
Daniels therefore found himself nominated as a featured actor, along with co-star Ron
Holgate. Daniels was onstage for all but approximately twenty minutes, whereas Holgate had one song, few spoken lines, and
no stage time after about the first hour. Daniels refused the nomination, and Holgate won.
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