William Windom

Template:Realworld

File:Matt decker.jpg

... as Commodore Matt Decker

William Windom (born 28 September 1923; age 100) is an actor from New York City who is well known for his portrayal of Commodore Matt Decker on the original Star Trek series episode "The Doomsday Machine". In 2004, he reprised the role of Commodore Matt Decker on the fan films Star Trek: New Voyages.

Windom won an Emmy Award in 1970 for his performance on the short-lived sitcom, My World and Welcome to It. However, he is probably best remembered for his recurring role as Dr. Seth Hazlett on the hit mystery series, Murder, She Wrote, co-starring Michael Horton.

Biography

Windom was named after his great-grandfather, who served as the US Secretary of Treasury in 1881 and again from 1889 until his death in 1891. Windom, the future actor, attended several colleges before enlisting in the US Army during World War II. He served from 1943 to 1946, primarily assigned to the European Theater of Operations as a paratrooper with Company B, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. His final rank was Technician Fifth Grade.

At the war's end, Windom had amassed an impressive record and was a qualified parachutist as well as having been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), Good Conduct Medal, and the foreign awards of the Order of Wilhelm and the Belgium Croix de Guerre. He was also awarded the campaign ribbons for the European and American Theaters, as well as receiving the Army Occupation Medal for post war service in Germany and the World War II Victory Medal. In the 1980s, Windom also qualified for the Bronze Star Medal, by virture of his having been awarded the CIB during World War II.

Following his service, he began studying acting, training at the American Repertory Theater. He soon moved on to Broadway, performing with the company in such plays as William Shakespeare's King Henry VIII and Alice in Wonderland. Subsequent Broadway productions include Mademoiselle Colombe (co-starring with Nehemiah Persoff) and The Grand Prize (with John Newland).

He began working in television in the 1950s and would become a familiar face in the medium. He would go on to make guest appearances on countless shows, including Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Mission: Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, Barney Miller and Dallas. He also guest starred in an episode of Fantasy Island, a series which starred Ricardo Montalban. Windom was also a regular on the family sitcom The Farmer's Daughter from 1963 through 1966. He also had a recurring role on the animated Sonic the Hedgehog series as the voice of Sir Charles 'Uncle Chuck' Hedgehog. This show also had a deadly device called the Doomsday Machine in the series finale, 'The Doomsday Project'.

Windom has worked with the two stars of the original Star Trek, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, on other projects: he co-starred with Shatner in a 1969 episode of CBS Playhouse called "Shadow Game", which also featured Jason Wingreen); and he worked with Nimoy, as well as Lloyd Haynes, Malachi Throne, and John Winston, in the 1971 TV movie Assault on the Wayne. In addition, both Windom and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Nana Visitor guest-starred together in a 1995 episode of Burke's Law entitled "Who Killed the Tennis Ace?", along with Mary Crosby and Michael Nouri.

Windom also has many feature film appearances to his credit. He made his feature film debut in the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird, which also featured fellow Star Trek actors Brock Peters, Frank Overton, and Paul Fix. In 1967, he played Texas Jack Vermillion in the 1967 film Hour of the Gun. This film also featured Steve Ihnat, William Schallert, Monte Markham, Robert Phillips and Dave Perna, with music by Jerry Goldsmith).

He also had a supporting role in the 1969 film The Gypsy Moths, a film directed by Robert Wise, who would go on to direct Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In 1970, Windom co-starred with Trek actors Rene Auberjonois, Sally Kellerman, and John Schuck in the 1970 fantasy film Brewster McCloud. In 1971, he had a supporting role in Escape from the Planet of the Apes, in which Ricardo Montalban and James B. Sikking also appeared. And in 1999, both he and Anthony Zerbe (Star Trek: Insurrection) had roles in Clint Eastwood's thriller True Crime.

Windom's other film credits include The Americanization of Emily in 1964, The Man in 1972 (with Barry Russo), and Sommersby in 1993.

Background

• When Windom compulsively played with the data cartridges in the episode, it was done as an homage to Humphrey Bogart's Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, who played with ball-bearings.

External links

• William Windom at Wikipedia
• Template:IMDb-link
• William Windom at the Internet Broadway Database
• William Windom at the Notable Names Database