Robert Conrad, who played an Old West update on James Bond in the hit 1960s TV series Wild Wild West, died Saturday at 84.
The actor died of heart failure at his Malibu home, according to family spokesperson Jeff Ballard.
‘He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,’ Ballard said.
Television star: Robert Conrad, who played an Old West update on James Bond in the hit 1960s TV series Wild Wild West, died Saturday at 84; pictured in 2013
After a brief career in film, Conrad was put under contract by Warner Bros. Television, and most of his most popular work was for the small screen.
His first major success was on the detective series Hawaiian Eye, on which he starred as the half-Hawaiian private investigator Tom Lopaka.
Conrad’s most popular series was Wild Wild West, which creator Michael Garrisoin envisioned as ‘James Bond on horseback.’
He starred as the secret service agent James West, who worked with the inventor and master of disguises Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States Government.
Humble beginnings: Conrad’s first success was on the detective series Hawaiian Eye, which he starred on shortly after launching his TV career; still from Wild Wild West
Zeitgeist: Conrad’s most popular series was Wild Wild West, which creator Michael Garrisoin envisioned as ‘James Bond on horseback’
The series departed from traditional Western shows and featured science fiction elements with its futuristic gadgets and fantastical villains.
Wild Wild West was popular with viewers, but was violent for television of the mid-to-late 1960s.
Conrad performed most of his own stunts on the series, and he even choreographed the fights with stuntman Whitey Hughes.
Toward the end of the third season, he suffered a serious injury resulting in a fractured skull and a concussion, which delayed production while he recuperated.
Following the political upheaval of 1968 and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, members of Congress amped up their criticism of violent TV.
Wild Wild West was a victim of network appeasement, and CBS canceled the show toward the end of its fourth season, despite it still commanding strong ratings.
Top secret: He starred as the secret service agent James West, who worked with the inventor and master of disguises Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), to protect President Ulysses S. Grant and the United States Government
Bloody screen: Wild Wild West was popular with viewers but was canceled after four seasons when Congress began cracking down on violent television; still from Young Dillinger
Following its cancellation, Conrad starred in a number of short-lived legal and crime dramas, before finding success again with the WWII-era series Baa Baa Black Sheep.
He played the real-life fighter pilot Major Greg ‘Pappy’ Boyington in the show, which ran from 1976–1978 and was retitled Black Sheep Squadron in syndication.
Conrad was also featured on multiple episodes of Mission: Impossible, as well as The D.A., 77 Sunset Strip, Columbo, Adam-12, Maverick, and the miniseries Centennial.
In later years, he played a humorous supporting turn in the Christmas comedy Jingle All The Way alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad.
Conrad later starred on the WWII flier series Baa Baa Black Sheep, and he was featured on episodes of Mission: Impossible, The D.A., 77 Sunset Strip and Columbo
He was born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, where he worked as a delivery truck driver after dropping out of high school at 15; still from Glory Days
Conrad was born March 1, 1935 in Chicago.
He dropped out of high school at age 15 to load and drive delivery trucks.
Following his theater studies at Northwestern University, he met the actor Nick Adams when the two visited James Dean’s grave in Fairmount, Indiana.
With Adams’ encouragement, Conrad moved out west to California further his acting career.
Special meeting: Conrad moved to California to pursue acting after he met the actor Nick Adams at James Dean’s grave in Fairmount, Indiana; pictured in 2013
During his early years, he split his time between acting and singing.
Conrad was married to Joan Kenlay from 1952–1977, with whom he shared five children.
Following their amicable divorce, he remarried to LaVelda Ione Fann, with whom he had three more children.
Conrad pleaded no contest to drunken driving after crashing his jaguar into a car driven by 26-year-old Kevin Burnett, who died two years later. The crash left Conrad with a partially paralyzed left side
In 2003, Conrad crashed his jaguar into 26-year-old Kevin Burnett’s car near his home in Northern California’s Alpine County.
Both survived but suffered serious injuries, and Conrad was convicted of drunken driving after he pleaded no contest.
Burnett died two years after the crash.
Conrad’s left side was partially paralyzed as the result of nerve damage from the crash.