Willard B. Koontz (August 28, 1917 – April 7, 1978),[2] also known as Bill Foster,[1] was an American actor and stuntman.[1][3]
Coontz was born in Iowa.[1] His film career started in 1949, when he worked as a stuntman on the film Apache Chief, and he spent almost a quarter of a century working as a stunt double in films and television.[1] Coontz played numerous roles in numerous television programs including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Daniel Boone, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Fugitive, Wagon Train, The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Johnny Ringo, The Californians, Tales of Wells Fargo, Mission: Impossible, Bat Masterson and Rawhide.[1][4]
Coontz appeared in numerous films such as Outlaw Gold (1950), starring Johnny Mack Brown; Gold Raiders (1951), starring George O'Brien and The Three Stooges; Night Stage to Galveston (1952), starring Gene Autry; The Law vs. Billy the Kid (1954), starring Scott Brady and Betta St. John; Hidden Guns (1956), starring Bruce Bennett, Richard Arlen and John Carradine; The Badge of Marshal Brennan (1957), starring Jim Davis; Gunsmoke in Tucson (1958), starring Mark Stevens, Forrest Tucker and Gale Robbins; Lone Texan (1959), starring Willard Parker; Gunfight at Comanche Creek (1963), starring Audie Murphy and Heaven with a Gun (1969), starring Glenn Ford. His final credit was from the 1978 film Convoy, where he had played as the Old Iguana.[1]
Coontz starred in the 1973 film Guns of a Stranger,[5] where he played as Ace Gorenum. He was credited as William Foster.[6] Coontz died in April 1978 of cancer, at the age of 60.[1]
^ abcdefghScott Freese, Gene (April 10, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 9780786476435 – via Google Books.
^Lentz, Harris (1996). Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903-1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers. McFarland. p. 184. ISBN 9780786402175 – via Google Books.
^Freese, Gene (October 5, 2017). Classic Movie Fight Scenes: 75 Years of Bare Knuckle Brawls, 1914-1989. McFarland. p. 164. ISBN 9781476669434 – via Google Books.
^Hinkle, Robert (March 25, 2015). Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780806151960 – via Google Books.
^"Guns of a Stranger (1973)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
^"Guns of a Stranger (1973)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
(August 28, 1917 – April 7, 1978), also known as Bill Foster, was an American actor and stuntman. Coontz was born in Iowa. His film career started in 1949...
Christopher Connelly Chuck Connors Mike Connors Tim Considine Elisha Cook Jr. BillCoontz Charles Cooper Glenn Corbett Gretchen Corbett Jeff Corey Robert Cornthwaite...
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episodes) Bill Cassady as Dr. McCarty (11 episodes) Jimmy Noel as Townsman (144 episodes) Ethan Laidlaw as Townsman (138 episodes) BillCoontz as Townsman...
film stars Marty Robbins, Chill Wills, Dovie Beams, Steven Tackett, BillCoontz and Shug Fisher. The film was released on May 1, 1973, by Universal Pictures...
written by Robert Hinkle and Jack Specht. The film stars Billy Hughes, BillCoontz, Robert Hinkle, Whitey Hughes, William Hughes and Richard McCarty. The...
Kingford Gordon Terry as Terry Charles Heard as Stage Stop Attendant BillCoontz as Dave Michael Darrin as Hank "Hidden Guns (1956) - Overview". TCM.com...
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Charles W. Aldridge (screenplay); Marty Robbins, Chill Wills, Dovie Beams, BillCoontz, Shug Fisher, Fred Graham, Steven Tackett, Tom Hartman, Charles W. Aldridge...
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Baker, Bob Morgan as The Officer, Alma Murphy as The Little Old Lady, BillCoontz as Daniel Boone. 43 5 "Herman, Coach of the Year" Norman Abbott James...
Johnston, Dick Van Patten, Randy Stonehill, Cindy Williams, Larry Norman, BillCoontz, Shelley Berman, Godfrey Cambridge, Larry Hagman, Carol Lynley, Burgess...
Third (Der Dritte) – (East Germany) Hickey & Boggs, starring Robert Culp and Bill Cosby Hit Man, starring Bernie Casey and Pam Grier The Hot Rock, directed...
Fantasy A.I.P. Nude on the Moon Doris Wishman Adult Ole Rex Robert Hinkle BillCoontz, Billy Hughes Western Universal On the Double Melville Shavelson Danny...
Johnson Douglas Fowley as Sheriff Larry Dobkin as Don Miguel Sebastian BillCoontz as Turk Don Diamond as Pepe Ric Vallon as Burt Tom Hubbard as Emmet...
in tandem with another 1960s short-lived Western series, the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production Branded; King World was previously responsible for distributing...
Frank "Red" Carpenter as Big Red Fred Carson as Snake Eyes Bill Chaney as BillBillCoontz as Red Rock Johnny Dew as Carson Hank Caldwell as leader Leonard...
as Ma Mondier Billy Hughes, Jr. as Till Mondier BillCoontz as Stapp Huckaby Jack Horton as Gib Bill McKenzie as The Bartender Smoke in the Wind was filmed...
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