In Memory of 'Tough Guy' Actor Robert Conrad ('Wild, Wild West): 4 Years After His Tragic Death

Photo byPinterest.com

It's been four years since the charismatic and rugged actor Robert Conrad died at 84. Best known for feature films like Palm Springs Weekend, and the trio of hit TV shows, Hawaiian Eye, Wild Wild West, and Black Sheep Squadron (a.k.a., Baa Baa Black Sheep), Robert Conrad was one tough cookie. This is his story.

A Closer Look

On The Wild Wild West (CBS, 1965-1969), Robert Conrad was Special Agent Jim West. It was on that hit TV show, among his others (Hawaiian Eye, ABC, 1959-1963; and Black Sheep, NBC, 1976-1978) that he did most of his own stunt work.

Unfortunately, that led to what would become several of his physical injuries.

Case in Point: While filming a stunt for one Wild episode, Conrad slipped and fell 12 feet, head-first, onto a concrete floor. Severely incapacitated, his recuperation delayed the show's production for nearly three months.

Unstoppable

However, challenging circumstances never derailed Robert Conrad or his career. Like Duracell's Energizing Bunny from the famed TV batter commercials (even though he was a "tough-guy" spokesman in rival Eveready battery commercials), Conrad "kept on going."

In the process, the actor, who had an undefeated professional boxing record of 4-0-1, was a straight-shooter, and never one to mince words.

In 1976, while taping the ABC TV special, Battle of the Network Stars, Conrad and actor/comedian Gabe Kaplan (Welcome Back, Kotter, ABC, 1975-1979), had an infamous confrontation. Conrad was the NBC Team Captain; Kaplan led for ABC, which was named the winning network. At that point, Conrad lost his temper, complained, and insisted that he and Kaplan have a race and the winner. The victor would designate the entire event's win for their team. Conrad lost, but not without a fight because that's the way he lived.

Two decades later, in 1999, when actor Will Smith rebooted Conrad's acclaimed Wild Wild West TV series for the big screen, the film "won" five statuettes (including "Worst Picture") at the 20th Annual Razzie Awards. Conrad was only too happy to attend the ceremony and accept three of the awards to validate his low opinion of the failed film and then delivered them in person to the actual recipients.

Multiple Talents

Beyond his acting talent, temper, and athletic ability, Robert Conrad knew his way around music. He sang, played the drums and the trumpet, and recorded albums. Early in his career, he toured Chicago's major hotels with bandleaders like Johnny Gilbert, Jim Redd, and a jazz trio.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Conrad spent his first few years out of school supporting himself and his family by driving a milk truck and singing in a Chicago cabaret.

Around that time, Conrad befriended up-and-coming actor Nick Adams who, in 1957, helped him get his first job in Hollywood. Following a few bit roles, Conrad became a contract player for Warner Bros. studios, and in 1959 was cast as detective Tom Lopaka on the weekly adventure series Hawaiian Eye.

After that show folded in 1963, the actor Conrad appeared in a few Spanish and American movies and toured with a nightclub act in Australia and Mexico City.

Then Came Wild, Wild West, and Black Sheep Squadron

Then came the unique sci-fi/spy/Western hybrid Wild Wild West in 1965, which co-starred his dear friend Ross Martin.

West was followed one decade later by the military drama, Baa Baa Black Sheep (renamed Black Sheep Squadron for the second season).

Then, in 1979, Conrad and Martin reunited for the TV-movie, Wild, Wild West Revisited.

The film was so successful, that the two actors were to star in a new weekly series version, but sadly, those plans were thwarted. In 1981, Martin died of a heart attack.

Twenty years later, in 2002, Conrad retired from acting. He then became a Deputy Sheriff for approximately eight years in the Bear Valley area of California, where he lived.

The End Was Still Two Decades Away

In 2003, Robert Conrad was seriously injured in a head-on car crash in which he sustained head injuries and neurological damage that left his right hand and arm paralyzed and slowed his speech. Convicted of DUI, Conrad was sentenced to six months of house arrest, five years probation, and alcohol counseling. He also lost his driver's license for one year.

However, Conrad lived another two decades before succumbing to heart failure on February 8, 2020, in Malibu, CA.

Conclusion

Robert Conrad left a diverse legacy of work, life experience, truth, and stamina rarely seen in any era of Hollywood.