William Ching
Birthday: 1913-10-02
Place of Birth: St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Synopsis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
William Ching, also credited as William Brooks, Bill Ching and William Brooks Ching (born 2 October 1913, St. Louis, Missouri - died 1 July 1989, Tustin, California) was a United States character actor who appeared in almost 20 films and on television during the later 1940s and throughout the 1950s. By the early 21st century Ching was most widely noted for his supporting role in Rudolph Maté's 1950 film noir drama D.O.A. as Halliday, who slips "luminous poison" into the drink of an accountant visiting San Francisco for the weekend, along with his role as the overbearing boyfriend of Katharine Hepburn's character in George Cukor's 1952 Tracy-Hepburn comedy Pat and Mike.
Ching began his career as a professional singer, appearing in musical comedies such as Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro (1947). His first film role was in 1946. He signed with Republic Pictures in 1947 and for the next dozen years acted mostly in westerns and dramas. His last major acting credit was in a 1959 episode of the television series 77 Sunset Strip.
William Ching died of congestive heart failure in 1989 at the age of 75 and is buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California.
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Acting
My World Dies Screaming
as Mark Snell (as Bill Ching)
A newlywed is terrified when her husband brings her to live in the old house that figures in her recurring nightmare.
Tall Man Riding
as Rex Willard
Still seeking revenge against ranch owner Tuck Ordway for publicly whipping him years earlier and breaking up his relationship with Ordway's daughter, cowboy Larry Madden plans to oust Ordway from his ranch by having his claim to the land declared invalid. Ordway's daughter Corinna, believing Madden to be the cause of the family's recent misfortunes, is unaware that the local saloon owner also has designs upon the Ordway holdings.
Give a Girl a Break
as Anson Prichett
When the temperamental star of a new Broadway musical revue in rehearsals walks out, director and choreographer Ted Sturgis suggests casting an unknown for the role. When it is announced in the newspapers, throngs of hopefuls show up. The revue's musical composer, Leo Belney, champions ballerina Joanna Moss, while gofer Bob Dowdy is enchanted by novice Suzy Doolittle. Then producer Felix Jordan persuades Ted's former dance partner, Madelyn Corlan, to come out of retirement to try out, much to Ted's great discomfort.
Never Wave at a WAC
as Lt. Col. Schuyler 'Sky' Fairchild
A divorced socialite decides to join the Army because she hopes it will enable her to see more of her boyfriend, a Colonel. She soon encounters many difficulties with the Army lifestyle. Moreover, her ex-husband is working as a consultant with the Army, and he uses his position to disrupt her romantic plans by making her join a group of WACs who are testing new equipment.
The Moonlighter
as Tom Anderson
Wes Anderson (Fred MacMurray) is caught cattle rustling and promptly jailed. The public is outraged, but, since Wes always worked at night, they don't know what he looks like. Still, they break into the prison and lynch a hobo they think is Wes, while the actual culprit sneaks off to see his old flame, Rela (Barbara Stanwyck), who has recently taken up with his straitlaced brother, Tom (William Ching). But Tom is envious of his outlaw brother, and he decides to join Wes in a life of crime.
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Pat and Mike
as Collier Weld
Pat Pemberton is a brilliant athlete, except when her domineering fiancé is around. The ladies golf championship is in her reach until she gets flustered by his presence at the final holes. He wants them to get married and forget the whole thing, but she cannot give up on herself that easily. She enlists the help of Mike Conovan, a slightly shady sports promoter. Together they face mobsters, a jealous boxer, and a growing mutual attraction.
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Bal Tabarin
as Don Barlow
Story of a girl who witnesses murder of notorious international jewel thief. Afraid that the gang will attack her, she flees to Paris.
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Belle Le Grand
as Bill Shanks
Upon her release from prison for a murder she didn't commit, a woman finds that her younger sister has been placed in an orphanage. Determined to do whatever it takes to get her out, she eventually becomes the proprietor of a notorious gambling establishment.
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The Wild Blue Yonder
as Lt. Ted Cranshaw
Wendell Corey and Forrest Tucker star as a pair of World War II Army Air Corps officers. In between their battles over the affections of a beautiful nurse, Corey and Tucker prepare to fly a bombing mission in the South Pacific. Before boarding their B29 Superfortress, Tucker appears to be chickening out, but he's steadfastly at his cockpit post at takeoff time.
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The Showdown
as Mike Shattay
Shadrach Jones, ex-Texas State Policeman, has the ruthless determination to find and kill the man who shot his brother in the back and stole the money with which he was to buy a ranch for the two of them. At the saloon-hotel run by Adelaide, Shadrach is convinced that one of the cowhands on the Captain McKellar cattle drive to Montana is his man. He takes the job of trail-herd boss to find the killer. McKellar preaches to Jones that he should forget revenge and let the law of retribution take care of the killer. Shadrach's hard driving of the men and his hunt for the killer makes him bitterly hated, and his retribution quest ends in a manner he did not anticipated.
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In a Lonely Place
as Ted Barton
An screenwriter with a violence record is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.
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D.O.A.
as Halliday
Frank Bigelow is about to die, and he knows it. The accountant has been poisoned and has only 24 hours before the lethal concoction kills him. Determined to find out who his murderer is, Frank, with the help of his assistant and girlfriend, Paula, begins to trace back over his last steps. As he frantically tries to unravel the mystery behind his own impending demise, his sleuthing leads him to a group of crooked businessmen and another murder.
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The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap
as Jim Simpson
Chester Wooley and Duke Egan are travelling salesmen who make a stopover in Wagon Gap, Montana while enroute to California. During the stopover, a notorious criminal is murdered, and the two are charged with the crime.
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Michigan Kid
as Steve Randolph Prescott
A former U.S. marshal rescues an instant heiress from an outlaw's gang.
