William Windom (1923-2012) - American Actor Primarily Known for Television, Secondarily for Films

[DonRocks]

William Windom (1923-2012)

Dec 22, 1961: William Windom as Major in "Five Chraracters in Search of an Exit" on "The Twilight Zone" -

Feb 21, 1963: Windom as Dr. Wallman in "Miniature" (with a young Robert Duvall) on "The Twilight Zone" - 

Oct 20, 1967: Windom as Commodore Matt Decker in "The Doomsday Machine" on "Star Trek" - 

Feb 30, 1972: Windom as Professor Putman in "Little Girl Lost" on "Night Gallery" - 

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Now I'm going to focus on one thing which nobody has ever written about - it occurred in 1971.

Jan 20, 1971: Windom starred as Randy Lane in the acclaimed episode, "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar," on "Night Gallery."

Mar 30, 1971: William also guest starred as Eddie Frazier in "Success Story" on "All in the Family." 

So, what's the link, other than William Windom?

The song, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow."

In both of these episodes, the song plays a major, pathetic role, i.e., Pathos with a capital "P." 

Is this coincidence? I don't think so.

It also just so happens that these are two of the greatest episodes in their respective series. Especially, on "All in the Family," it could easily bring a tear to your eye; on "Night Gallery,"  it's the only episode that was ever nominated for a Primetime Emmy award.

"All in the Family" was the superior of the two series, so even though Windom plays a smaller part, it resonates like the chimes of Big Ben (you can watch a fair-to-poor-quality version for free on Dailymotion, but I can't recommend it).

In my mind, these two episodes will forever link William Windom through this one song.

[MC Horoscope]

He was the prosecutor in "To Kill a Mockingbird". An unenviable position!