American actor and stuntman
Bill Coontz
Born (1917-08-28 ) August 28, 1917Died April 7, 1978(1978-04-07) (aged 60) Occupation(s) Actor, stuntman Years active 1949–1978
Willard B. Koontz (August 28, 1917 – April 7, 1978),[ 2] also known as Bill Foster ,[ 1] was an American actor and stuntman .[ 1] [ 3]
Coontz was born in Iowa .[ 1] His film career started in 1949, when he worked as a stuntman on the film Apache Chief , and he spent almost a quarter of a century working as a stunt double in films and television.[ 1] Coontz played numerous roles in numerous television programs including Gunsmoke , Bonanza , Daniel Boone , The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp , The Fugitive , Wagon Train , The Wild Wild West , The Big Valley , Johnny Ringo , The Californians , Tales of Wells Fargo , Mission: Impossible , Bat Masterson and Rawhide .[ 1] [ 4]
Coontz appeared in numerous films such as Outlaw Gold (1950), starring Johnny Mack Brown ; Gold Raiders (1951), starring George O'Brien and The Three Stooges ; Night Stage to Galveston (1952), starring Gene Autry ; The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954), starring Scott Brady and Betta St. John ; Hidden Guns (1956), starring Bruce Bennett , Richard Arlen and John Carradine ; The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957), starring Jim Davis ; Gunsmoke in Tucson (1958), starring Mark Stevens , Forrest Tucker and Gale Robbins ; Lone Texan (1959), starring Willard Parker ; Gunfight at Comanche Creek (1963), starring Audie Murphy and Heaven with a Gun (1969), starring Glenn Ford . His final credit was from the 1978 film Convoy , where he had played as the Old Iguana.[ 1]
Coontz starred in the 1973 film Guns of a Stranger ,[ 5] where he played as Ace Gorenum. He was credited as William Foster .[ 6] Coontz died in April 1978 of cancer , at the age of 60.[ 1]
References
^ a b c d e f g h Scott Freese, Gene (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed . McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 9780786476435 – via Google Books .
^ Lentz, Harris (1996). Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903-1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers . McFarland. p. 184. ISBN 9780786402175 – via Google Books .
^ Freese, Gene (October 5, 2017). Classic Movie Fight Scenes: 75 Years of Bare Knuckle Brawls, 1914-1989 . McFarland. p. 164. ISBN 9781476669434 – via Google Books .
^ Hinkle, Robert (March 25, 2015). Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood . University of Oklahoma Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780806151960 – via Google Books .
^ "Guns of a Stranger (1973)" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Wayback Machine .
^ "Guns of a Stranger (1973)" . Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved August 19, 2022 .
External links