Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series The Wild Wild West. He also portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. Conrad also sang, and released several recordings with Warner Bros. Records on a variety of LPs, EPs, and SPs 33-13 and 45 rpm records. Conrad hosted a weekly two-hour national radio show on CRN Digital Talk Radio beginning in 2008.

About Robert Conrad in brief

Summary Robert ConradRobert Conrad is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series The Wild Wild West. He also portrayed World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep. In addition to acting, he was a singer and recorded several poprock songs in the late 1950s and early 1960s as Bob Conrad. Conrad hosted a weekly two-hour national radio show on CRN Digital Talk Radio beginning in 2008. Conrad was born Conrad Robert Falk in Chicago. His father, Leonard Henry Falk, was 17 years old at the time of Conrad’s birth and was of German descent. His mother, Alice Jacqueline Hartman, was 15 years old when she gave birth, and named her son after her father. He dropped out of Northwestern University at age 15 to work full-time, including loading trucks for Consolidated Freightways and Eastern Freightway, and driving a milk truck for Chicago’s Bowman Dairy. Conrad met actor Nick Adams while visiting James Dean’s gravesite in Fairmount, Indiana. Adams suggested that Conrad move to California to pursue acting. Conrad also sang, and released several recordings with Warner Bros. Records on a variety of LPs, EPs, and SPs 33-13 and 45 rpm records during the mid- to late-’60s. He released two albums with a few singles sung in Spanish.

In 1964, he guest-starred on an episode of Temple Houston then performed in the film La Nueva Cenicienta. The next year, he portrayed Kraft in the comedic episode Suspended Suspension. In 1965, Conrad began starring as government agent James West on the weekly series Wild The Wild West, which aired on CBS until its cancellation in 1969. He made USD 5,000 a week. He did his own stunts during the series, and while filming the season four episode of The Fugitives, he fell 12 feet and landed on his head on a chandelier. He was injured and rushed to the hospital after he dove from the top of a saloon staircase, lost his grip on his sword, and landed in a pool of blood. Conrad died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. He had a son with his second wife, Jackie Smith, who was the first publicity director of Mercury Records, where she was known as Jackie Smith. She married twice, including once to Chicago radio personality Eddie Hubbard in 1948, and reportedly had a child together before splitting up in 1958. Conrad had a minor Billboard hit song in \”Bye Bye Baby\” which reached No. 113.