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‘The Wild Wild West’ star Robert Conrad dead at 84: US media
WASHINGTON, Feb 9, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Robert Conrad, an American actor known
for starring in the 1960s sci-fi western TV series “The Wild Wild West,” died
aged 84, US media reported on Saturday.
“He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his
passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” Jeff Ballard, a spokesman for
Conrad’s family, told People magazine.
After working as a milkman and attempting to hit it big as a nightclub
singer, Conrad’s career took off in 1959 when he joined the cast of the TV
show “Hawaiian Eye” after moving to Los Angeles, People reported.
Between 1965 and 1969, he was cast as Secret Service agent James T. West on
“The Wild Wild West,” in which he, along with his partner Artemus Gordon,
explored the western United States during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.
The series served as the basis for the 1999 film adaption “Wild Wild West”,
a critical flop that’s among the most expensive movies ever made, in which
Will Smith stars as West and Kevin Kline as both Gordon and Grant.
Conrad appeared in other TV shows in his career, many of them short-lived,
along with several movies, including “More Wild Wild West,” a spinoff from
the television series. He made his last film appearance in 2002.
“There are three cycles in showbiz,” Conrad told People in a 1988
interview.
“They don’t know you, then they love you, and then you’ve been around so
long they hate you. Now I’m starting all over again.”
Conrad is survived by his 18 grandchildren and eight children, People
reported.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0904 hrs