William Kerry Halligan (March 29, 1883 – January 28, 1957) was an American stage and film actor, and writer. Halligan was born on March 29, 1883, in Chicago, Illinois. He was active on the stage from 1904 to 1919. That year he made his film debut in '' The Wonder Man''. He appeared as a

supporting actor A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and above that of a bit part. In recognition of important nature of this work, the theater and film industries give separate awards to the ...

in numerous films; his last appearance was in '' If I'm Lucky'' in 1946. He also worked as a writer and "gagman" (joke writer) from 1928 to 1943. He died at the Motion Picture County House in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

on January 28, 1957.

Filmography

Partial list of films featuring William Halligan: * '' The Wonder Man'' (1920) - Bubbles * ''Waltzing Around'' (short) (1929) * ''Somewhere in Jersey'' (

Vitaphone Varieties Vitaphone Varieties is a series title (represented by a pennant logo on screen) used for all of Warner Bros.', earliest short film "talkies" of the 1920s, initially made using the Vitaphone sound on disc process before a switch to the sound-on-fil ...

) (1929) * '' Follow the Leader'' (1930) - Bob Sterling * ''At Your Service'' (

) (1930) * ''The Darling Brute'' (

) (1930) * ''Accidents will Happen'' (short) (1930) * ''

Lady and Gent ''Lady and Gent'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Stephen Roberts for Paramount, featuring a young Charles ("Durango Kid") Starrett, Syd ("Three Mesquiteers") Saylor and an early supporting role by John Wayne. Plot A young b ...

'' (1932) - Doc Hayes * ''Story Conference'' (

Broadway Brevities Broadway Brevities are two-reel (17–21 minutes long) musical and dramatic film shorts produced by Warner Bros. between 1931 and 1943. The series continued as Warner Specials in later years. Overview Other titles used for these black and white ...

) (1934) * ''

Earl of Puddlestone ''Earl of Puddlestone'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Gus Meins and written by Ewart Adamson and Val Burton. The film stars James Gleason, Lucile Gleason, Russell Gleason, Harry Davenport (actor), Harry Davenport, Lois Ranson and Tomm ...

'' (1940) - Henry Potter-Potter * ''

You Can't Fool Your Wife ''You Can't Fool Your Wife'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Ray McCarey and written by Jerome Cady. The film stars Lucille Ball, James Ellison, Robert Coote, Virginia Vale, Emma Dunn and Elaine Shepard. The film was released on May 2 ...

'' (1940) - J.R. Gillespie, Sr. * ''

Emergency Landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

'' (1941) - George B. Lambert * '' Murder Among Friends'' (1941) - James Gerald * '' Double Cross'' (1941) - Mayor * ''

Paper Bullets ''Paper Bullets'' is a 1941 American film directed by Phil Rosen and starring Joan Woodbury. It was the first film produced by the King Brothers, launching their career. The film was re-released by Eagle Lion as ''Gangs, Inc.'' giving top bill ...

'' (1941) - Police Chief Flynn * '' Blonde Comet'' (1941) - Cannonball Blake * ''

Foreign Agent A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign country while located in another host country, generally outside the protections offered to those working in their official capacity for a diplomatic missio ...

'' (1942) - Bob Davis * ''

Broadway Big Shot ''Broadway Big Shot'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by William Beaudine. Synopsis A reporter (Ralph Byrd) confesses to a crime in order to get into prison for an interview. Then he can't get out. Cast * Ralph Byrd as Jimmy O'Brien * V ...

'' (1942) - Warden Collins * ''

A Gentleman at Heart A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'' (1942) - Higgins * ''

Henry Aldrich, Editor ''Henry Aldrich, Editor'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Hugh Bennett and written by Muriel Roy Bolton and Val Burton. The film stars Jimmy Lydon, Charles Smith, John Litel, Olive Blakeney, Rita Quigley and Vaughan Glaser. The film ...

'' (1942) - Norman Kenly * ''

Riders of the Deadline ''Riders of the Deadline'' is a 1943 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Bennett Cohen. The film stars William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jimmy Rogers, Frances Woodward, Robert Mitchum, Richard Crane, Anthony Warde and ...

'' (1943) - banker Simon Crandall * ''

Jive Junction ''Jive Junction'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and written by Irving Wallace, Walter Doniger and Malvin Wald Malvin Daniel Wald (August 8, 1917 – March 6, 2008) was an American screenwriter most famous for writin ...

'' (1943) - Mr. Maglodian * ''

He's My Guy "He's My Guy" is the twenty-third single by Dutch girl group Luv', released in 1991 by RCA Records/ BMG. It appears on their 1991 album ''Sincerely Yours''. Song history Luv' experienced difficult career moves in the early 1990s. Its line-up had ...

'' (1943) - Elwood * '' The Black Hills Express'' (1943) - Marshal Harvey Dorman * ''

The Seventh Victim ''The Seventh Victim'' is a 1943 American horror film noir directed by Mark Robson and starring Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, Kim Hunter, and Hugh Beaumont. Written by DeWitt Bodeen and Charles O'Neal, and produced by Val Lewton f ...

'' (1943) - Paul Radeaux (uncredited) * ''

The Great Mike ''The Great Mike'' is a 1944 American film directed by Wallace Fox. The film is also known as ''Great Mike Wins'' (American TV title). Plot summary Young Jimmy Dolan, who sounds like he's about to burst into tears any minute throughout the film ...

'' (1944) - Doc Scott * ''

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''Detroit Mirror'', and it ...

'' (1945) - Mayor * ''

Within These Walls ''Within These Walls'' is a British television drama programme made by London Weekend Television for ITV and shown between 1974 and 1978. It portrayed life in HMP Stone Park, a fictional women's prison. Unlike later women-in-prison TV series, ...

'' (1945) - Collins * ''

Till the Clouds Roll By ''Till The Clouds Roll By'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker, Kern was originally involved with the production, but died before ...

'' (1946) - Cap'n Andy

Anecdotes

Halligan enjoyed gambling, but unfortunately was noted for his inability to pick horses. One day at Santa Anita his friend, Nick the Greek, challenged him: "Bill, you're such a bad

handicapper Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which th ...

I'll bet you 100 to 1 that you can't pick a horse that will finish last." Halligan took the bet at $1000 to $10, and picked ''Paper Boy'', an extreme longshot. ''Paper Boy'' won, and paid $64. On another occasion Nick told Halligan: "In gambling with a Southerner, never be afraid fhe pulls a pistol on you. It's when he pulls his fountain pen that you'd better duck."

References

External links

William Halligan at IMDb
1883 births 1957 deaths Male actors from Chicago American male stage actors American male film actors {{US-film-actor-stub