Sunday, August 19, 2012

William Windom, 1923-2012

The death has been announced of actor William Windom. To be honest, Windom is probably better known for his roles on TV, which include a few starring roles and well over a hundred guest appearances. For those of us who watch the old movies instead, he might be remembered for playing the prosecuting attorney in To Kill a Mockingbird; at least, that's probably the best-known movie in which he appeared. I have to admit that I wouldn't have remembered it being Windom who played the prosecutor.

The role for which I think of Windom is the poor guy who committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the grandstand at Aqueduct in Frank Sinatra's The Detective. That's actually the first time we see Windom's character in the movie; we only learn about his past as Sinatra investigates it and as it's eventually told in a flashback sequence voiced over by Windom.

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