Robert Conrad is a known American singer and an actor who got popular for his role in the American series “Wild Wild West” from the late 70s. He is currently retired.
Early life:
Conrad was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 1, 1935. His father Leonard Henry Falk was of German origin and only sixteen at the time, and his mother, who was called Alice Jacqueline Hartman was even younger: she was 15 years old when she became a mother. It was her decision to give her son a name after her father.
Afterwards, his mother married twice; once even to a very known radio star Eddie Hubbard, three years after the WWII ended.
They had a child together but they have split up in 1958. The things just weren’t working out for them.
Conrad was a pupil at Chicago’s elementary school but eventually became a student in Harvard School, South Shore School and many other highschools.
But he was never into school so he finally dropped out when he was 15 and moved to a place of his own. He financed himself by doing manual work for several truck companies, either in loading cargo or in truck driving.
Career development:
He worked for a few years and at the same time he studied theater arts. His mother also paid for his singing lessons. This has improved his talent and directed him onto the right path.
He finally decided it was time to focus on his own career.
In 1957 he was lucky to meet Nick Adams ( James Dean’s friend ) who convinced him to move to California. He even found him his first little role in a movie called Juvenile Jungle. Although it was a little role, it was his opportunity to enroll Screen Actors Guild and start working on TV.
Conrad signed a contract with Warner Bros. He was also a good singer so Warner Bros released a few of his recordings.
He had even one song “Bye Bye Baby” that reached Billboard’s Top 200.
In 1958 he appeared in a known series “Maverick”. He also starred in an ABC series called “Hawaiian Eye” which became a huge hit. He loved acting and thought that he could even become an actor and live off of it, but singing was his true love.
During filming an episode of “Night of the Fugitives,” he fell from the top of a staircase and landed on his head which caused some easier injuries.
After that he released two albums and in 1964 he had a role in “La Nueva Cenicienta”, a Spanish movie, since he already knew Spanish and had some singles in Spanish.
In 1965 he became noticed by the public for his role in “The Wild Wild West” and he played in the series until 1969 when the series ended. He was a popular character and the audience found him very loveable.
He starred in one episode of “Mannix” and in an episode of popular “Columbo”. He also acted as a contract killer in one episode of “Mission impossible”. These were all of his smaller gigs.
He found fame again at the end of the 70s in “Baa Baa Black Sheep” or “Black Sheep Squadron”. For the role in this series he won his first People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male Actor and got his first nomination for the known Golden Globe award.
He was included in six editions of “Battle of the Network Stars” where he was the captain for the NBC team.
He was a very known face in every household because of his cast in a TV commercial for “Eveready Batteries” with a catchy phrase: “Come on, I dare ya”.
In 1984 he got his star on the “Walk of Western Stars” in California.
He is the only actor from “The Wild Wild West” to be included in the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame.
He was involved in the production of “Pappy Boyington Field”, a documentary based on the life of the aviator for whose portrait in the series he became so famous.
In 1996 he played a role of Officer Hummel in a movie called “Jingle All The Way”.
Personal life:
Conrad was married to his first wife Joan over 20 years before they got divorced. They got married in 1952 and divorced in 1977. They have five children together. He doesn’t have much luck in love, as the media says.
His second wife was LaVelda Ione Fann, whom he married in 1983 and they got divorced in 2010. They had three kids together. This means that he has quite a lot of children alltogether from all of his marriages.
Some of his children got involved into TV and Film business through him. His daughter Joan became a producer and sons Christian and Shane became actors. He is very proud of them although he doesn’t spend much time with them.
He was a volunteer in “Bear Valley Search and Rescue”. He was a part of a team which comes to rescue people who got hurt or lost in the wilderness of San Bernardino Mountain. He says that this was a really shaking experience that he will never ever forget.
In 2003 he was charged with drunk driving which led to a car accident in which he was seriously hurt, the same as man in the car he drove into.
Conrad injured his nerves in the accident and his right side has a partial defect. This was a really devastating thing for him and he had to spend a lot of time dealing with it mentally.
He received 6 months of house arrest and 5 years of probation. He also had to go to counseling.
He also had to pay a settlemnt in a civil suit made by the man he hurt. The driver of the other car died two years after from ulcers and the family accused Conrad that the reasons for them came from the accident from which he never recovered.
Quick summary
Full name: Robert Conrad Falk
Date of birth: March 1, 1935
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Age: 82
Profession: retired actor
Height: NA
Weight: NA
Net Worth: $2 million
