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William Elliott (actor, born 1934)

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William Elliott
Born
William David Elliott

(1934-06-04)June 4, 1934
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedSeptember 30, 1983(1983-09-30) (aged 49)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesBill Elliott
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active1968–1980
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1967)​
​
​
(m. 1967; div. 1975)​
Children2, including Damon Elliott

William David Elliott (June 4, 1934 – September 30, 1983) was an American actor and jazz musician. He had a recurring role in Bridget Loves Bernie as Otis Foster and a recurring role as Officer Gus Grant in Adam-12. He also appeared in Elvis Presley's 1969 film Change of Habit.

Background

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Elliott was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He spent four years in the United States Navy as an electrician. He later worked for US Steel and left the job.[1] He also turned down an opportunity to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, instead preferring to pursue his ambition of being a drummer.[2] He eventually formed his own music group. He married the background vocalist for the group, Dionne Warwick, in 1966.[3] While at the home of Warwick's parents to ask permission to marry Dionne, Elliott was invited by her father to have a talk in the living room. Her father knew of Elliott's reputation as a ladies' man and, Warwick has stated, happened to be cleaning his gun then in preparation for a hunting trip.[4] Warwick and Elliott had two sons together, David and Damon.[5] The couple divorced in 1967 but soon remarried. They divorced for a second time in 1975.[6][7][8][9]

Television work

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An early appearance on television was in the series Dragnet. The episode Community Relations: DR-10 aired in 1968 and also featured Don Marshall, Rafer Johnson and O. J. Simpson in a minor role.[10] In the early 1970s, Elliott had a recurring role as Otis Foster in the Bernard Slade-created show Bridget Loves Bernie which starred David Birney and Meredith Baxter.[11][12] He also had a recurring role as Officer Gus Grant on the Adam-12 TV show.

Film work

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He had an early uncredited role as a revolutionary in the Jules Dassin-directed Uptight which was released in 1968.[13] He then played the part of Robbie in the Elvis Presley film Change of Habit which was released in 1969.[14] He subsequently appeared as Leon in The Old Man Who Cried Wolf which starred Edward G. Robinson. The film, released in 1970, also starred Percy Rodrigues and Martin Balsam. It was about an old man who witnessed a murder but nobody believed him.[15] The next film he appeared in was a made-for-television movie, They Call It Murder, which starred Jim Hutton, Robert J. Wilke and Ed Asner. Elliott played the part of Deputy Bob Terry.[16] He played the lead role in the Henry Hathaway film Hangup, released in 1974.[17] In that film he played an honest police officer who comes to grief as he is in love with a drug addict played by Marki Bey. Because Warner Bros. would not distribute the film, Elliott took charge of it and it was eventually distributed by a lesser-known distributor and pushed as a Blaxploitation film. It failed at the box office and attracted a fair amount of criticism.[18]

Music

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Elliott appears on the Together Again! album by Willis Jackson with organist Jack McDuff. His drumming can be heard on four tracks that were recorded in August 1960; three appeared on the "Cookin' Sherry" album in 1961 ("Mellow Blues", "Cookin' Sherry" and "Contrasts"), while the fourth, "Tu'gether", was not released until the "Together Again!" album in 1964.[19][20] By 1961 he was backing organist DeeDee Ford along with saxophonist / flautist Joe Thomas.[21] By 1962 Rhoda Scott had taken over for DeeDee Ford, and as the Rhoda Scott Trio the group released two albums – "Hey! Hey! Hey! in 1962 and "Live! at the Key Club" in 1963.[22] In 1964 Elliott and Thomas released their Speak Your Piece album.[23] In 1974, it was announced in the August 3 issue of Billboard that Elliott was opening a studio at the location of the old Brooks Randall Motor Club site at Bronson Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. The studio, which featured recording facilities, a sound stage, rehearsal and dressing rooms, was to cater to the motion picture and recording industry.[24]

Filmography (selected)

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Film list
Title Year Role Notes
Uptight 1968 Revolutionary Uncredited
Change of Habit 1969 Robbie
Where Does It Hurt? 1972 Oscar the Orderly
Night of the Lepus 1972 Dr. Leopold
Coffy 1973 Carter
Hangup 1974 Ken Ramsey
Television list
Title Episode # Role Director Year Notes #
Dragnet 1967 Community Relations: DR-10 Alec Harper Jack Webb 1968 Season 3, episode 3
Love, American Style Love and the Only Child, Love and the Wig Driver #2 Terry Becker, Bruce Bilson 1971 Only in Love and the Wig segment
Night Gallery Death in the Family, The Merciful, Class of '99, Witches' Feast 3rd Trooper 1971 Only in Death in the Family segment
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury Operation: Hijack Les Williams Sam Freedle 1971
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Moment of Crisis Admissions clerk Michael Caffey 1972
The Rookies Concrete Valley, Neon Sky Truck Michael Caffey 1972
Bridget Loves Bernie Bridget Loves Bernie Otis Foster Richard Kinon 1972 Season 1, episode 1
Bridget Loves Bernie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Vatican Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 2
Bridget Loves Bernie Wake Up We're Getting Married Today Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 3
Bridget Loves Bernie The Last of the Red Hot Playwrights Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 4
Bridget Loves Bernie Who's Watching the Store? Otis Foster Le Philips 1972 Season 1, episode 5
Bridget Loves Bernie The Newlybeds Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 6
Bridget Loves Bernie Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Moe Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 7
Bridget Loves Bernie Bernie's Last Stand Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 8
Bridget Loves Bernie How to Be a Jewish Mother Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 9
Bridget Loves Bernie The Little White Lie That Grew and Grew Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 10
Bridget Loves Bernie The In-Laws Who Came to Dinner Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 11
Bridget Loves Bernie The Homecoming Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 12
Bridget Loves Bernie You Are Cordially Not Invited Otis Foster 1972 Season 1, episode 13

[25]

References

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  1. ^ The Afro-American October 14, 1972 Page 11 – What's Happening by Ida Peters
  2. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (January 6, 1972). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 59. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ The Afro-American October 14, 1972 Page 11 – What's Happening by Ida Peters
  4. ^ Warwick, Dionne; Wooley, David Freeman (November 22, 2011). My Life, as I See It: An Autobiography. Simon and Schuster. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4391-7135-6.
  5. ^ Jet Dec 18, 1975 Page 56 – Warwick Divorce OK'd; May Have To Pay alimony
  6. ^ Sarasota Journal Monday, April 9, 1973 6-B – William Elliott Gets Big Chance By Dick Kleiner
  7. ^ Otfinoski, Steven (2010). African Americans in the Performing Arts. Infobase Publishing. p. 214. ISBN 978-1-4381-2855-9.
  8. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (December 18, 1975). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 56. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ Warwick, Dionne; Wooley, David Freeman (November 22, 2011). My Life, as I See It: An Autobiography. Simon and Schuster. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4391-7135-6.
  10. ^ Community Relations: DR-10 (in Czech). Retrieved May 28, 2025 – via www.sms.cz.
  11. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (October 6, 2015). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948-1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland. p. 215. ISBN 978-1-4766-0515-9.
  12. ^ "Bridget Loves Bernie". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  13. ^ Celebritywc.com Uptaight
  14. ^ Silva, George Batista Da (March 13, 2008). Elvis De A A Z (in Brazilian Portuguese). pp. 20–21.
  15. ^ Beck, Robert (September 16, 2015). The Edward G. Robinson Encyclopedia. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0666-8.
  16. ^ Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 281–2513. ISBN 978-0-7864-8641-0.
  17. ^ The Daily Item Tuesday, April 3, 1973 Page 4B – William Elliott Out To Prove Himself By Dick Kleiner
  18. ^ Pomainville, Harold N. (June 10, 2016). Henry Hathaway: The Lives of a Hollywood Director. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-4422-6978-1.
  19. ^ Willis Jackson With Jack McDuff - Together Again!, 1965, retrieved May 28, 2025
  20. ^ The Afro-American October 14, 1972 Page 11 – What's Happening by Ida Peters
  21. ^ Rhoda Scott, email to Bill Munson, February 16, 2021.
  22. ^ "The Rhoda Scott Trio". Discogs. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  23. ^ Joe Thomas And Bill Elliott - Speak Your Piece, 1964, retrieved May 28, 2025
  24. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 3, 1974. p. 18.
  25. ^ Imdb William Elliott (II), Filmography
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