Bill Edwards (actor)

Bill Edwards (September 14, 1918 – December 21, 1999) was an American film/television actor, championship rodeo rider, a (Smithsonian exhibited) multi talented artist and noted SCUBA diver.

Born in New Jersey, Edwards began drawing horses as a child and continued drawing as he grew up on a Wyoming ranch. From this lifestyle Bill was to become a championship rodeo rider. Broken bones brought his riding career to a halt, and the 6-foot-5 Bill Edwards became a model in New York City. An agent brought him to Hollywood in the early 1940s. He was under contract to Paramount Pictures for nearly a decade, then he turned to art.

In addition to Western films, the blonde, blue-eyed Edwards had featured roles in "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay" and "Hail the Conquering Hero" - both released in 1944. From 1957 till 1987, while following his various artistic endeavors, he occasionally did small parts in film and television. Bill had a significant role as General Short's (Jason Robards) intelligence officier in the 20th Fox WWII classic "Tora! Tora! Tora!" that was released in 1970. However, Edwards is probably best known for his recurring role throughout the 1970s as “Jonathan Kaye" - Steve McGarrett's State Department contact in the long-running TV series Hawaii Five-O.

In the 1950s he became a painter and commercial actor as well as the voice for many companies. Some of his oil and acrylic paintings of Old West scenes were commissioned by the United States Air Force Art Program and have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution, the Pentagon and a traveling Air Force exhibit.

Edwards became a certified SCUBA diver and then a diving instructor. In the 1960s, he owned a dive shop (name?) that was located in Reseda, CA. Bill was instrumental in launching the International Diving Society (IDS) - an off-shoot of the dive shop. IDS was a diving club that was headquartered in the San Fernando Valley and, later, with chapters in West Los Angeles and Honolulu. The club was highly regarded for its emphasis on diver training and safety. At one point, club members volunteered as test subjects for a series of underwater visual acuity tests that were conducted under the auspices of Pepperdine University.

Bill Edwards married the love of his life, Hazel Allen, January 31, 1946. Bill died December 21, 1999 at the age of 81 in Newport Beach of pneumonia caused by an illness that affected his muscular system. He was survived by his wife, Hazel Allen Edwards, and his daughter, Linda Edwards.

Selected filmography

• Trail of the Yukon (1949)

External links

• Bill Edwards at the Internet Movie Database

Bill Edwards married a second time to a Beryl Margret Hunter who was born in Middlesex in England they maeeied in the late 1980s and were happily married until her death on 12 December 1995