View source for William Talman (actor)

{{Short description|American actor (1915–1968)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = William Talman
| image              = William Talman in One Minute to Zero trailer.jpg
| image_size         =
| caption            = Talman in the [[trailer (promotion)|trailer]] for ''[[One Minute to Zero]]'' (1952)
| birth_name         = William Whitney Talman Jr.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1915|02|04|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|mf=y|1968|8|30|1915|2|4}}
| death_place        = [[Encino, California]], U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills]], Los Angeles, California - Plot: Court of Liberty, Lot 833.
| other_names        = Bill Talman
| occupation         = Actor
| years_active       = 1940–1967
| spouse             = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|Lynne Carter|1942|1952|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Barbara Read]]|1953|1959|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Margaret Flanagan<br>|1963}}
}}
}}

'''William Whitney Talman Jr.,''' (February 4, 1915{{snds}}August 30, 1968) was an American television and movie actor, best known for playing Los Angeles District Attorney [[Hamilton Burger]] in the television series ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''.

==Family and education==
William Talman was born in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], to Ada Barber and William Whitney Talman, a vice president of an electronics company. His maternal grandparents, Catherine Gandy and James Wells Barber, were immigrants from [[England]].<ref>[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/talman.htm Rootsweb Genealogy page on William Talman<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Talman founded the drama club at the [[Cranbrook Kingswood School]] in [[Bloomfield Hills, Michigan]]. He continued to act at [[Dartmouth College]] and the [[University of Michigan]]. After college, he worked in [[summer stock theatre|summer stock]] and at an [[iron foundry]], [[paper mill]]s, boat yards, and as an automobile salesman. Talman served for 30 months in the [[United States Army]] in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]] of [[World War II]], beginning his service as a private on February 4, 1942, at [[Camp Upton]] in [[Yaphank]], [[Long Island]], New York. He was ultimately commissioned a [[major (rank)|major]] during the war.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bak |first1=Richard |title=Profile: Detroit-born 'Perry Mason' Actor William Talman |url=https://www.hourdetroit.com/community/profile-detroit-born-perry-mason-actor-william-talman/ |website=Hour Detroit |publisher=Hour Detroit Magazine |date=2012-02-09 |access-date=2020-06-16}}</ref>

==Acting career==
[[File:Perry-Mason-Burr-Talman-1958-crop.jpg|right|thumb|260px|[[Raymond Burr]] and William Talman in ''Perry Mason'' (1958)]]
Talman began his acting career on the stage. He was the leading man in the summer stock company at [[Ivoryton, Connecticut]], where he met his first wife, and he played the male lead in ''[[Dear Ruth]]'' during part of the play's New York run. He appeared on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in ''Beverly Hills'', ''Spring Again'' and ''A Young Man's Fancy'', and toured with the road companies of ''Yokel Boy'' and ''Of Mice and Men''.<ref name="Playbill">{{cite web |url=http://www.playbill.com/production/a-young-mans-fancy-plymouth-theatre-vault-0000009640 |title=Who's Who in the Cast |website=A Young Man's Fancy |publisher=Playbill Vault |access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref>

In the 1952 film ''[[Beware, My Lovely]]'', in which [[Ida Lupino]] played a war widow terrorized by a madman in her home, a photograph of Talman was used for the picture of her late, heroic husband.

In 1953, Talman played a [[Sadistic personality disorder|sadistic]], [[psychopathy|psychopathic]] killer in a movie directed by Lupino, the [[film noir]] ''[[The Hitch-Hiker]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/AbbrView.aspx?s=&Movie=50872 |title=The Hitch-Hiker |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "William Talman, as the ruthless murderer, makes the most of one of the year's juiciest assignments."<ref>[http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A06EED71F3AE23BBC4850DFB2668388649EDE&ex=1332475200&en=709faf668585ee66&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink ''New York Times'' review of The Hitch-Hiker]</ref>

His performance was also noted by [[Gail Patrick|Gail Patrick Jackson]], executive producer of the CBS-TV series ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' (1957–66). Raymond Burr had initially auditioned for the role of Hamilton Burger, but Patrick encouraged him to lose 60 pounds and read for the lead role – which Burr successfully did. Patrick already had an actor in mind for the Los Angeles district attorney: "I'd seen a brilliant little movie, ''The Hitch-Hiker'', and had to have Bill Talman as Burger – and he never disappointed us," Patrick said.<ref name="Bawden">{{cite web |url=http://www.classicimages.com/films_of_the_golden_ages/article_39f84018-cfc0-11e3-b0b4-001a4bcf887a.html |title=Dream Factory Time: Gail Patrick |last=Bawden |first=James |date=April 29, 2014 |website=Classic Images |access-date=2015-04-07}}</ref>

In 1958, a journalist asked Talman how he felt about Burger losing to Mason week after week. Talman said, "Burger doesn't lose. How can a district attorney lose when he fails to convict an innocent person? Unlike a fist or gun fight, in court you can have a winner without having a loser. As a matter of fact, Burger in a good many instances has joined Mason in action against unethical attorneys, lying witnesses, or any one else obstructing justice. Like any real-life district attorney, justice is Burger's main interest."<ref name="Nogler">{{cite news |last=Nogler |first=Pat |date=July 20, 1958 |title=An Open Case: Snooping Behind Scenes Pays Off |newspaper=Pasadena Independent Star-News}}</ref>

Talman, as Burger, went on to lose all but three cases in the nine-year series, including a record two separate murder trials in the final episode. He called his record "the longest losing streak in history". Talman had the title role in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor" in which Burger disqualified himself from prosecuting a longtime personal friend, Jefferson Pike, who was accused of murder. At the end of the episode, after Pike was cleared by Mason, Burger said, "You know, I think I won this case."

Aside from his major supporting role in ''Perry Mason,'' Talman also guest-starred in various television series, including ''[[Wagon Train]],'' ''[[Have Gun-Will Travel]],'' ''[[Cimarron City (TV series)|Cimarron City]],'' and ''[[Gunsmoke]].'' After the 1966 cancellation of ''Perry Mason'', Talman appeared on ''[[The Wild Wild West|The Wild, Wild West]]'' and in a first-season episode of ''[[The Invaders]],'' "Quantity: Unknown”, which was his last on-screen acting role before his death.<ref>{{IMDb title|0611986|"The Invaders" Quantity: Unknown (1967)}}</ref>

== Arrest for narcotics and lewd vagrancy ==
Talman was fired from ''Perry Mason'' for a short period in 1960. Sheriff's deputies, suspicious of marijuana use, raided a party on March 13, 1960, in the West Hollywood apartment of Richard Reibold, an advertising agency executive.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XigjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5gQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4336,651477&dq=william+talman+arrested&hl=en District Attorney of TV Show is arrested on marijuana charge]</ref> The deputies reported finding Talman and seven other defendants variously naked and partly dressed. Among the guests was Mrs. Peggy Louise Flannigan, who would later become William Talman's next wife, after his divorce from Barbara Read.

All were arrested for possession of marijuana (the charge was later dropped) and [[lascivious behavior|lewd]] vagrancy. On June 17, municipal judge Adolph Alexander dismissed the charges of lewd vagrancy against Talman and the others for lack of proof. "I don't approve of their conduct," the judge ruled, "but it is not for you and me to approve but to enforce the statutes."<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2C4_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7FAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2225,3087005&dq=william+talman+adolph+alexander+i+don-t+approve+of+their+conduct&hl=en Finally! Victory for Berger]</ref> Despite this Talman was fired by CBS, which refused to give a reason.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YigjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5gQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5954,1315558&dq=william+talman+fired+perry+mason&hl=en Network fires District Attorney on Mason Show]</ref><ref group="note">Hal Ericson writes in the book ''Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948–2008'', "Though the charges were later dropped, CBS invoked the morals clause in Talman's contract, suspending him from ''Perry Mason'' on the grounds the viewers would reject the presence of a 'tainted' performer."</ref><ref name="etls">{{cite book|last1=Erickson|first1=Hal|title=Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948–2008|date=2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786454525|page=222|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RXQNIs12SzQC&dq=%22William+Talman%22+actor&pg=PA222|access-date=22 November 2017|language=en}}</ref> Talman was later rehired after the series's executive producer, Gail Patrick Jackson, staunchly supported by Talman's friend Raymond Burr, made a request to CBS after a massive campaign of letters from viewers.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k8VHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mf8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6367,4569818&dq=william+talman+returns+to+perry+mason&hl=en Back as DA on TV Show]</ref>

==Personal life==
Talman was married three times. His first marriage, to actress Lynne Carter, lasted from just before he left for active service in 1942 to September 1952 and produced one daughter, Lynda. His second wife was actress [[Barbara Read]]; she had two sons, Damon and Quentin, from her second marriage. Read and Talman were married in 1953 and had one daughter, Barbie, and one son, William Whitney Talman III. The couple divorced on August 23, 1960. Talman's third wife was Margaret Louise Larkin Flannigan, whom he married in 1963; she had a son, Steve, and daughter, Debbie, from a previous marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perrymasontvseries.com/justine/tvguide_article_4_27_63.htm
|title=He Never Comes in First |date=1963-04-27 |access-date=2016-07-14}}</ref> The couple had two children: a son, [[Tim Talman|Timothy]], and a daughter, Susan. Margaret Talman outlived William Talman by almost 34 years and died, of lung cancer related to smoking,<ref name="Lerner">{{cite web|url=http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/473
|title=Medical: Remembering the Man Who Always Lost to Perry Mason and then Died of Cancer |first=Barron H.|last=Lerner|date=July 8, 2002|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> in January 2002, at age 73.

==Antismoking advocacy and death==
Talman is also known for being the first actor in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] to film an antismoking [[public service announcement]] for the [[American Cancer Society]]. A lifelong heavy smoker, he was diagnosed with [[lung cancer]], and knew he was dying when he filmed the commercial.<ref name=Mukherjee>[[Siddhartha Mukherjee]], ''[[The Emperor of All Maladies|The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer]]'', Fourth Estate, 2011, page 266-267.</ref> The short film began with the words: "Before I die, I want to do what I can to leave a world free of cancer for my six children [...]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perrymasontvshowbook.com/pmb_c605.htm
|title=The Perry Mason TV Show Book |first1=Brian|last1=Kelleher|first2=Diana|last2=Merrill|date=1987 |access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> Talman requested that the commercial not be aired until after his death.

He had made another such public service announcement, which opened with his voice-over and a picture of his home, followed by filmed shots of his wife and kids, then a still of himself "with a friend of mine you might recognize," Raymond Burr, from the ''Perry Mason'' TV series. He then said, "You know, I didn't really mind losing those courtroom battles, but I'm in a battle now I don't want to lose at all. Because if I lose it, it means losing my wife and those kids you just met. I've got lung cancer... So take some advice about smoking and losing from someone who's been doing both for years... If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, quit!.... Don't be a loser."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCCYZF2_4jE
 |url-status=dead|title=William Talman Anti-smoking Ad |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=2016-03-19}}</ref>

Four weeks after filming the second public service announcement, Talman died of lung cancer (which had metastasized to his liver, bones and brain<ref name=Mukherjee/>) on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53, and was buried in the Court of Liberty, lot 833,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscemeteryproj.com/california/losangeles/flhollywood/flhollywood.htm
|title=United States Cemetery Project |first=Peggy|last=Smith|date=May 28, 2014|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]] in Los Angeles.

==Theatre credits==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| November 7–30, 1940
| ''Beverly Hills''
| Ted Farlow
| [[Helen Hayes Theatre|Fulton Theatre]], New York City<br>Directed by [[Otto Preminger]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/Production/View/1031 |title=Beverly Hills |publisher=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref>
|-
| November 10, 1941 – June 6, 1942
| ''Spring Again''
| Arnold Greaves
| [[Stephen Sondheim Theatre|Henry Miller's Theatre]] and [[Playhouse Theatre (New York City)|Playhouse Theatre]], New York City<br>Directed by [[Guthrie McClintic]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/Production/View/1129 |title=Spring Again |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref>
|-
| April 29, 1947 – February 14, 1948
| ''A Young Man's Fancy''
| Harold Greenley
| [[Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre|Plymouth Theatre]] and [[Cort Theatre]], New York City<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/Production/View/1548 |title=A Young Man's Fancy |publisher=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=2016-03-12}}</ref>
|}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Red, Hot and Blue (film)|Red, Hot and Blue]]''
| Bunny Harris
| <ref name="AFI">{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&retailCheck=&Type=PN&CatID=DATABIN_CAST&ID=156500&AN_ID=&searchedFor=William_Talman_ |title=William Talman |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1949
| ''{{sortname|The|Woman on Pier 13}}''
| Bailey
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''{{sortname|The|Kid from Texas|}}''
| Minniger
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Armored Car Robbery]]''
| Dave Purvis
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1951
| ''{{sortname|The|Racket|The Racket (1951 film)}}''
| Bob Johnson
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1952
| ''[[One Minute to Zero]]''
| Col. John Parker
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1953
| ''{{sortname|The|Hitch-Hiker}}''
| Emmett Myers
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1953
| ''[[City That Never Sleeps]]''
| Hayes Stewart
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]''
| Brad Ringer
| "Pick of the Litter"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/LuxVideoTheatre_04_%281953-54%29.htm |title=Lux Video Theatre  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Crashout]]''
| Luther "Swanee" Remsen
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Smoke Signal (film)|Smoke Signal]]''
| Captain Harper
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Four Star Playhouse]]''
| Eddie
| '"Eddie's Place"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/FourStarPlayhouse_03_%281954-55%29.htm |title=Four Star Playhouse  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Big House, U.S.A.]]''
| Machinegun Mason
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Cavalcade of America]]''
| Wes Hardin
| "The Texas Ranger"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/CavalcadeAmericaTheatre_04_%281955-56%29.htm |title=DuPont Cavalcade Theatre  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1955
| ''Two-Gun Lady''
| Marshal Dan Corbin
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[TV Reader's Digest]]''
|
| "Old Master Detective"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/TVReadersDigest_02_%281955-56%29.htm |title=TV Reader's Digest  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1955
| ''[[Science Fiction Theatre]]''
| Norman Conway
| "The Water Maker"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/SciFi/ScienceFictionTheatre_01_%281955-56%29.htm |title=Science Fiction Theatre  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1955
| ''{{sortname|The|Ford Television Theatre}}''
| Jack
| "South of Selangor"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/FordTheatre_07_%281955-56%29.htm |title=Ford Theatre  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Screen Directors Playhouse]]''
| Barney
| "Number Five Checked Out"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/ScreenDirectorsPlayhouse.htm |title=Screen Directors Playhouse  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Uranium Boom]]''
| Grady Mathews
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[The Man Is Armed]]''
| Hackett
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Telephone Time]]''
| Lew Reese
| "Scio, Ohio"<ref name="Telephone">{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/TelephoneTime_02_%281956-57%29.htm | title=Telephone Time |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1956
| ''Telephone Time''
|
| "The Sergeant Boyd Story"<ref name="Telephone"/>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[I've Lived Before]]''
|
| Writer<ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1956
| ''[[Climax!]]''
|
| "The [[Louella Parsons]] Story"<ref name="Climax">{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/Climax_02_%281955-56%29.htm | title=Climax |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1956
| ''Climax!''
| Joe MacKenzie
| "Sit Down with Death"<ref name="Climax"/>
|-
| 1956
| ''Climax!''
| Stan
| "Dark Wall"<ref name="Climax"/>
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Joe Dakota (1957 film)|Joe Dakota]]''
|
| Writer<ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1957
| ''[[The Persuader (film)|The Persuader]]''
| Mark Bonham / Matt Bonham
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Hell on Devil's Island]]''
| Bayard
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Trackdown (TV series)|Trackdown]]''
| Blaine Sand
| "Like Father"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Trackdown_RobertCulp_01_%281957-58%29.htm |title=Trackdown  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1957–<br />1966
| ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
| [[Hamilton Burger]]
| 212 episodes<ref>{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Jim |year=2014 |chapter=The First TV Series (1957–1966); Index of Perry Mason Actors |title=The Perry Mason Book: A Comprehensive Guide to America's Favorite Defender of Justice |type=[[e-book]] |asin=B00OOELV1K  }}</ref>{{Rp|49781}}
|-
| 1958
| ''Climax!''
| Detective
| "Scream in Silence"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/Climax_04_%281957-58%29.htm |title=Climax |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Tombstone Territory]]''
| Logan Beatty
| "The Return of the Outlaw"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/TombstoneTerritory_01_%281957-58%29.htm |title=Tombstone Territory  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Wagon Train]]''
| Walt Archer
| "The Sarah Drummond Story"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/WagonTrain_01_%281957-58%29.htm |title=Wagon Train |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Alcoa Theatre]]''
| Lt. Herman Brule
| "Disappearance"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Anthology/AlcoaGoodyearAwardTheatre_01_%281957-58%29.htm |title=Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Cimarron City (TV series)|Cimarron City]]''
| Mr. Conway
| "To Become a Man"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/CimarronCity.htm |title=Cimarron City  |publisher=Classic TV Archive | access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Have Gun&nbsp;– Will Travel]]''
| George Jondill
| "The Shooting of Jessie May"<ref name="HGWT">{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/HaveGunWillTravel_04_%281960-61%29.htm |title=Have Gun — Will Travel  |publisher=Classic TV Archive | access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1961
| ''Have Gun&nbsp;– Will Travel''
| Sheriff
| "Long Way Home"<ref name="HGWT"/>
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Stump the Stars]]''
| Himself
| July 8, 1963<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Perry-Mason-Best-Of-Release/7434 |title=Perry Mason - 50th Anniversary Edition |website=TV Shows on DVD |publisher=TV Guide Online |access-date=2016-03-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313061727/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/releases/Perry-Mason-Best-Of-Release/7434 |archive-date=2016-03-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Jim |year=2014 |chapter=The First TV Series (1957–1966); Season 6 |title=The Perry Mason Book: A Comprehensive Guide to America's Favorite Defender of Justice |type=[[e-book]] |asin=B00OOELV1K  }}</ref>{{Rp|22247}}
|-
| 1963
| ''[[Gunsmoke]]''
| Race Fallon
| "Legends Don't Sleep"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Gunsmoke_09_%281963-64%29.htm |title=Gunsmoke  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1966
| ''{{sortname|The|Wild Wild West}}''
| Sheriff
| "The Night of the Man-Eating House"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/WildWildWest_02_%281966-67%29.htm |title=The Wild Wild West  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1967
| ''{{sortname|The|Virginian|The Virginian (TV series)}}''
|
| Writer, "A Welcoming Town"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Virginian/V146.htm |title=The Virginian  |publisher=Classic TV Archive |access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1967
| ''{{sortname|The|Invaders}}''
| Colonel Frank Griffith
| "Quantity: Unknown"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctva.biz/US/SciFi/Invaders_01_%28Early1967%29.htm |title=The Invaders  |publisher=Classic TV Archive | access-date=2016-03-12 }}</ref>
|-
| 1967
| ''{{sortname|The|Ballad of Josie}}''
| District Attorney Charlie Lord
| (final film role)<ref name="AFI"/>
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0848251|William Talman}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{find a Grave|1892}}
*[https://www.invisiblethemepark.com/2021/07/william-talman-narcotics-bust/ When TV D.A. William Talman Got Busted For Narcotics and Lewd Vagrancy] at [https://www.invisiblethemepark.com Invisible Themepark]

{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Film|United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talman, William}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Cranbrook Educational Community alumni]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer]]
[[Category:Male actors from Detroit]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:Anti-smoking activists]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Michigan alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American health activists]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]