- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Paul Lundigan
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- The athletic William Lundigan stood 6' 2" and weighed 170 pounds. He played football, basketball and tennis at Syracuse (NY) University. He was discovered by Charles R. Rogers, head of production at Universal Studios. Rogers happened to tune into radio station WFBL in Syracuse. He was so intrigued by a voice he heard reading a commercial that he gave instructions for the speaker to be located, brought to New York and tested for movie possibilities. The speaker, of course, was Lundigan. He had gotten the announcing job because his father owned the building that housed WBFL. Later in his career Lundigan was successful as the host of the CBS programs Climax! (1954) and Shower of Stars (1954). For these programs he delivered on-air commercials for their sponsor, Chrysler Motors. Off screen he traveled as a goodwill ambassador for the company, covering over 100,000 miles on the road and visiting 560,000 people in 90 weeks.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ray Hamel
- SpouseRena Morgan Cournyn(August 18, 1945 - December 20, 1975) (his death, 1 child)
- ParentsMichael F. Lundigan
- Although he was draft exempt, owing to an earlier in life physical injury, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps out of patriotism and later served in the battle of Okinawa during WWII. Under contract to MGM at the time, boss Louis B. Mayer was furious with him for enlisting, just as the studio was promoting him as a star, and he was dropped.
- While at Warners, Lundigan's 'voice with a smile in it' narration was used in several of the classic 1940s Looney Tunes cartoons.
- Is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, Plot: D, L269, 3.
- In 1963 and 1964, Lundigan joined fellow actors Walter Brennan, Chill Wills, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., in making appearances on behalf of U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater, the Republican nominee in the campaign against U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Initially planned to go into law.
- [on why he seemed to make so many "B" pictures] My mistake was in being so damned cooperative. Not only did I accept the bad pictures but I accepted lousy parts in those bad pictures.
- The Underwater City (1962) - $10,000
- The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) - $500 a week
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