Bill Coontz

Willard B. Koontz (August 28, 1917 – April 7, 1978),[2] also known as Bill Foster,[1] was an American actor and stuntman.[1][3]

Bill Coontz
Born
Willard B. Koontz[1]

(1917-08-28)August 28, 1917
Iowa, U.S.
DiedApril 7, 1978(1978-04-07) (aged 60)
Occupation(s)Actor, stuntman
Years active1949–1978

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
  1. Scott Freese, Gene (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 9780786476435 – via Google Books.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Hinkle, Robert (March 25, 2015). Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780806151960 – via Google Books.
  5. "Guns of a Stranger (1973)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
  6. "Guns of a Stranger (1973)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
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