Biography for
Robert Conrad (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

1 March 1935, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Birth Name

Konrad Robert Falkowski

Nickname

Bob

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Spouse

LaVelda Fann	(28 March 1977 - present) 3 children
Joan Kenlay	(23 February 1952 - 1977) (divorced) 5 children

Trivia

Born at 3:34pm-CST.

Lives in Bear Valley, California, a ski resort village in the High Sierra; has three young daughters with LaVelda Fann and five other children from a previous marriage.

Father of actors Christian Conrad, Nancy Conrad and Shane Conrad.

Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL).

On "The Wild Wild West" (1965), did most of his own stunt work, resulting in several injuries during the course of the show. During one episode's shooting, he slipped while performing a stunt and fell head first onto a concrete floor 12 feet below. Seriously injured, his recuperation delayed the series' production for nearly three months.

Has brown hair and blue eyes.

Was a star football and basketball player in middle school and high school.

Lied to get a job when he was seventeen. He had eloped with a lawyer's daughter,who was attending a religious boarding school. The only place he could think of where a kid his age could get decent wage was the loading docks in Chicago. He told them he was 21 and made $1.87 an hour -- $74.40 a week.

When he eloped, he and his wife lived under the assumed name "Robert Conrad" so their parents wouldn't find them. They only told their parents where they were in May of 1952 when his wife found out she was having a baby. They were thrilled because they figured it would be too late for their parents to annul the marriage.

Got fired from his job at the docks in December of 1954 for handing out a petition to get his union steward fired. His wife was six months pregnant with their second child at the time.

Worked as a milkman in Chicago.

Lived with his grandmother when his mother remarried.

When the 1999 movie remake of "The Wild Wild West" (1965) swept the 20th Annual Razzie Awards, "winning" 5 statuettes (including Worst Picture) Conrad, who played James West in the original 1960s TV series, accepted 3 of the awards in person as his way of expressing his low opinion of what had been done with his source material.

Father of actors Christian Conrad, Shane Conrad and Nancy Conrad.

Speaks Spanish.

Played the drums and the trumpet

Father of producer Joan Conrad.

During the Battle of the Network Stars (1976) (TV), Conrad and Gabe Kaplan ("Welcome Back, Kotter" (1975)) had an infamous showdown. Conrad was the NBC Team Captain, Kaplan was ABC Team Captain. A dispute arose over the winner of an event, and Conrad really lost his temper, pacing and saying he wouldn't accept that the other team had won. Finally, he insisted that he and Kaplan, as team captains, have a race and the winner would win the event for their team. But Conrad had underestimated Kaplan, and Kaplan won easily, which made Conrad look pretty foolish.

He was a Deputy Sheriff for approximately 8 years in the Bear Valley area of California where he still resides.

As Bob Conrad he defeated Ed Hickman on points on March 15, 1962 in San Diego, California in a 6 round professional boxing match.

Had an undefeated professional boxing record of 4-0-1.

Is of German, Polish, and English decent.

Was born in Canaryville, a section of Chicago populated mainly by Irish immigrants.

Tested for the role of Maj. Anthony Nelson on "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965).

His daughter, Nancy, was born on his nineteenth birthday (March 1, 1954).

Addressed the Republican National Convention in 2004.

At the time of his former co-star Ross Martin's death in 1981, he and Conrad were in the planning stages of another "Wild, Wild West" TV series.

Best remembered by the public for his starring role as James West in "The Wild Wild West" (1965).

Inducted into the Stuntman's Hall of Fame for his work on "The Wild Wild West" (1965).

18-year-old daughter Chelsea is a jazz-pop singer. Recording artist Richard Marx is set to produce her debut album.

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

As the star and co-creator of the original TV version of Wild Wild West, Conrad attended The 20th Annual Razzie Awards, snidely accepting several of the tacky statuettes on behalf of the Barry Sonnenfeld movie remake. The film swept that year's dis-honors with 5 awards, including Worst Picture of 1999.

Was offered the role of Hannibal Smith on "The A-Team" (1983), but turned it down because he preferred to produce his own projects.

Interviewed in Tom Weaver's book "I Talked with a Zombie" (McFarland & Co., 2008).

Once was a bandsinger and made the rounds of Chicago's major hotels with bandleaders Johnny Gilbert, Jim Redd, and a jazz trio.

Grandfather of actor Jesse Erwin.

His idols are: Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and John Garfield.

Personal Quotes

"I neither condemn nor condone the mores of others. I think there are very few really, whose conduct reflects unfavorably on the rest of us in this mythical kingdom of Hollywood. There are men who need many women in order to bolster their egos - half the time, they don't remember the girl's name afterward. But I've got a good ego to start with, and I'm too sensitive for a quick relationship with a dame and sex alone would never be enough for me. Marriage is something that goes way beyond the flesh. Each human being has his own need for security. ... It's great to have someone to lean on... it's great to have someone lean on you. ..." (Photoplay, November 1961)

(From "The Wild Wild West" (1965)) "We always put in lot more (fighting) than we really wanted to see. (The censors) would say:'We're going to take out two punches...two of this...three of that...' So when they finished,we were still left with what we really wanted anyway." -Robert Conrad

"Sometimes, I'm so preoccupied you have to drop a bomb to communicate with me and most of the time I only average four hours sleep. I don't mind. I wanted to work this hard." (Motion Picture, March 1961)

If his daughter were to marry as a teenager like he did: "If some sixteen-year-old punk were to come to me and say, 'Sir, I want to marry your daughter,' I'd say 'Fine,' and escort him to an analyst. The average boy that age isn't remotely capable - from any point of view, including the emotional - of supporting a family." - Photoplay, October 1962

"If one of the girls came to me before she had finished high school and announced that she had intended to marry a boy with no job and little education, I'd forbid it - just like a stern father in a melodrama." - Photoplay, October 1962

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