That's a photo of my friend Tom Williams…and if you didn't know him, it's your loss. If you did, I don't have to tell you he was a funny, friendly gent that you, like me, were always glad to be around. He died Friday at the age of 89.
Tom was an actor for many years, even appearing in a Broadway play or two. His career started on local television in Chicago where he often worked with — and became a lifelong friend of — Bill Daily. Tom eventually made it to Hollywood where he did bit parts on programs like F Troop and The Cara Williams Show. In 1965, an invite to a party at the home of Bobby Troup and Julie London led to him becoming close pals with them and also with Julie's ex-husband, Jack Webb.
In '66, Webb made a two-hour TV movie as the pilot for a revival of his Dragnet series. It sold the series to NBC but the TV movie didn't air until '69. Tom was cast as Harry Morgan's nephew and while playing the part, he became fascinated with the way Webb ran his set and his overall operation. All the questions he put to Webb led to a job as Webb's assistant and that led to other behind-the-scenes jobs. Eventually, he became the showrunner and producer of Webb's series, Adam 12.
When Webb ran out of programs to hire him on, Tom returned to acting and was on shows like Too Close for Comfort and The Jeffersons. More and more though, he was hired for voiceover work. He had a nice repertoire of voices including the ability to cry like a baby or imitate a wide menagerie of animals. He did the sounds of the dog in this commercial…
Those of you who listen to or watch my pal Stu Shostak's online program Stu's Show know Tom as a frequent guest there. I owe Stu thanks for introducing me to Tom and also for supplying some biographical info on him for this piece. Tom was just a delightful conversationalist and he had the best drinking-with-Jack-Webb stories of anyone in show business. I liked him an awful lot and I'm going to miss having him around. In fact, I already do.