William Redfield (Actor)

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(01-26-1927 - 08-17-1976) Age 49

William Redfield was in the original Broadway production of Our Town. He was diagnosed with leukemia while working on the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

He appeared in the following 80 episodes of Radio Mystery Theater
Date Episode Title Plot
01/22/1974 0017 A Very Old Man A wizened man has clairvoyance abilities and even relieve physical suffering with a simple touch
01/23/1974 0018 And Nothing but the Truth A young investigator guesses at the facts of a hit-and-run case and believes the convict to be a willing victim in lieu of his son. But he cannot prove it to his superior.
02/02/1974 0028 A Ghostly Game of Death A prospective buyer for an ancient dwelling recruits the services of a ghost hunter to get rid of the spirit of the wife of a sea captain.
02/05/1974 0031 The Lady Was a Tiger A femme fatale double agent frames an unemployed reporter for homicide in Paris.
02/10/1974 0035 Dead Man's Mountain An architect with a strange passion to create a cursed mountain. Any who attempt to climb it lose their beloved
02/14/1974 0038 Under Grave Suspicion A bitter fight between a couple. A sea side cottage. And turbulent weather that threatens to turn into a hurricane.
02/19/1974 0042 Sea Fever A fearsome captain of the seas inflicts the ultimate punishment for people who even dare to look at his wife. But some people can't contain their passions for her.
02/24/1974 0045 The Horse That Wasn't for Sale Hereditary equestrian passion notwithstanding, a woman has to put up her horses for sale after her father's death. All except one that is fabled to be the best to the dismay of her dad's rivals.
03/03/1974 0049 Prognosis Negative A mentally disturbed soldier is recruited by a fake medium to take her game to the next level. The military conducts a desperate search for the missing psychopath. She might not have bargained for what she had let herself into.
03/19/1974 0059 Frankenstein Revisited The 400th anniversary coverage of Baron Von Frankenstein might just be a bad idea for a news item. Especially since the good doctor and his creation are eager to attend.
03/25/1974 0062 The Diary of a Madman This namesake of the famous Nikolai Gogol story deals with the confession of a magistrate to multiple arbitrary homicides.
04/03/1974 0068 Die! You're on Magic Camera A young photographer discovers a strange camera that can photograph incidents yet to happen. But he is persuaded by its creators. And the people whose futures have already been predicted by the camera.
04/10/1974 0072 Out of Focus An advertising professional makes futile attempts to take the pictures of a beautiful model as all her photos turn out blank. In the process, he falls hopelessly in love with her until her real nature is revealed.
04/25/1974 0081 Sunset to Sunrise A daughter remembers how her mother turned into a vampire.
05/01/1974 0084 The Death Bell Family genealogy research gets a man into trouble with the IRA who believe he is from the police.
05/15/1974 0092 The Forever Man A luckless man is offered every material comfort in the world through free cars, houses and monetary wealth by a millionaire. The latter only wants to swap their souls in exchange so he can regain his youth.
05/27/1974 0097 Mirror for Murder A bored wife is tired of her menagerie chores and her husband's job priorities. She starts to believe her mirror reflection and plans to reclaim her self.
06/04/1974 0101 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge To escape an appointment with the gallows at Owl Creek Bridge, a confederate spy embarks on a dangerous journey through hostile territory in order to reach Dixie.
06/17/1974 0106 Three Times Dead A store-keeper shows his gratitude to the police officer that saves them by giving his wife a magical figurine able to grant three boons.
07/15/1974 0118 The Canterville Ghost In this classic tale by Oscar Wilde, a spirit repeatedly attempts to drive away the new owners of his castle and instead, becomes a source of hilarity and amusement.
07/23/1974 0122 Adam's Astral Self The ability to project his spiritual self to other places while asleep annoys Adam Farr's wife to no end. When she finally leaves him, he comes up with the perfect plan to woo her.
08/19/1974 0135 The Hands of Mrs. Mallory Shortly after the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallory loses control of both her hands mysteriously. She meets a woman in Central Park who seems to have lost her legs in a similar manner and decides to consult her doctor. The consequences are beyond her expectations.
09/03/1974 0143 The Imp in the Bottle A man buys an amulet that can make his wishes come true. But in order to salvage his soul, he must dispose of it before he dies by selling it for a lesser price than he had bought it for.
10/21/1974 0163 Mind Over Matthew A middle-aged man marries a young girl he begins to believe might be a sorceress. He enlists the aid of his physician to get to the bottom of the mystery.
11/06/1974 0170 Terror on the Heath A young man thinks he is the incarnation of serial killer who was hanged for a series of murders in the 1800s. He finds an old photo of the killer in the public museum, and also a man well-versed in the history of the crimes.
11/28/1974 0180 The Aaron Burr Murder Case In a re-enactment of a famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. The actor portraying Hamilton is killed by when his partner's gun fires real bullets instead of blanks. The police investigate and soon find that all evidence point towards the real Aaron Burr as the perpetrator of the crime.
12/16/1974 0187 Stephanie's Room A married woman moves back to her birthplace in New York when her husband is posted there for work. She visits the house she grew up in and meets a childless old lady. They bond in a strange, symbiotic manner as mysterious things happen to her childhood quarters.
01/05/1975 0196 The Many Names of Death A trust officer in a bank hires a sexy secretary. She charms him to take a few rash steps and walk the wilder side of things. The ride may turn out more bumpy for him than he expected.
01/16/1975 0206 A Death of Kings A genius but modest scientist takes in a student. He ends up losing his wife to him, his skills and aptitudes too.
01/27/1975 0213 A Coffin for the Devil A man gathers a group of specialists along with the famous E. G. Marshall and reads them a very old letter written by one of his ancestors. The letter narrates the events regarding a young mortician's assistant and a peculiar man ordering a special coffin for himself.
02/06/1975 0219 The Sire De Maletroit's Door This is a retelling of a Robert Louis Stevenson tale set in 16th century France. Two friends flee for their lives. One gets fatally wounded, and the other finds shelter at the residence of a crazy aristocrat who tries to force him to marry his unruly niece.
02/24/1975 0228 Hell Hath No Fury An actor conspires to kill his rich wife, but her sister, being a modern witch, is keeping abreast and schemes against him.
02/28/1975 0231 An Identical Murder Two identical twin brothers are in love with the same woman, but she cares for just one. One brother dies in an accident, and she is doubtful as to which one of the brothers it was.
06/23/1975 0296 The Mills of the Gods An American tourist becomes enamored of a Parisian while traveling through Europe. What she doesn't know is that the Frenchman is a wanted serial killer, and that the whole police task force are determined to capture him before he can strike again.
07/02/1975 0301 Come Back with Me A hard up businessman goes back in time to his favorite hangout to relive his glory days. He encounters old friends at the bar and learn that they share an unusual similarity.
07/21/1975 0312 Fateful Reunion After successfully developing a highly advanced computer that can predict future events, a scientist and his fiance use it for entertainment at a party. The fun stops when the machine foretells the death of one of their fathers.
07/24/1975 0314 Appointment in Uganda After obsessively preparing himself for the afterlife, a man is declared clinically dead for a few minutes due to a heart attack. In the time between life and death, he is transported into the body of an elephant calf. He tries to integrate the lessons he learned when he is finally revived.
08/01/1975 0319 The Onyx Eye After purchasing a strange curio at an antique store, a man and his wife are immediately blessed with good fortune. However, when their child perishes soon after, the woman begins to suspect that a great evil surrounds the supposed lucky charm.
08/08/1975 0323 The Grey Ghost Overcome by grief at the death of her race car driver father, a woman abandons her husband and loses herself in Italy. While roaming the city streets, she meets a talented driver whom she decides to sponsor. She learns the truth surrounding her father's accident while watching him race.
08/18/1975 0328 Help Somebody The desires of a nomadic writer seem to materialize all at the same time. His novel is a smash hit, he inherits a fortune and ultimately wins the perfect woman. But despite having all the physical trappings of success, happiness still eludes him.
08/29/1975 0335 Murder by Proxy Finally released from prison, Tim Cohain is out for revenge against the jury foreman that put him there in the first place- Ed Hunter.
09/22/1975 0348 Solid Gold Soldiers During the civil unrest, two double agents working against the Confederacy engage in a battle of wits despite playing for the same team. In a game of deception and betrayal, they both work towards obtaining one million dollars of the enemy's gold.
09/26/1975 0352 Assassination in Time A time traveling pair are tormented by their decision to save Abraham Lincoln from certain death; thereby changing history as we know it.
10/09/1975 0360 They Shall Stone Them with Stones A husband and wife team are hired to do a Vaudeville act. Trouble finds them when the woman accidentally reads the mind of a cold-blooded murderer- who plans to engage their services for a special performance!
10/24/1975 0367 The Summer People In search of a quiet place to work and improve on their respective crafts over the summer, an artistically gifted couple stumble upon Granville, an all-too perfect town that they have difficulty leaving - even when they want to.
11/07/1975 0375 Killing Valley In order to exact revenge against the people that ruined her father's life, a famous writer goes back to the place of her birth to dig up dirt on the town and its people. As she goes along, she is surprised to discover things that she never knew about her parents.
11/13/1975 0378 Home Is Where the Ghost Is In the midst of aiding a colleague in his desire to abandon his post, a scientist is haunted by the ghost of his dead wife.
11/14/1975 0379 The Money Makers When a couple of counterfeiters set up their operation in an abandoned house, they are unaware that a spirit haunts the place. The wife of one of the criminals is placed in a bind when she learns of their illegal activities from the ghost.
11/25/1975 0385 The Lap of the Gods After an accident lands a modern man in the hospital, his spirit travels back in time into the body of a sea captain in the 1820's. Meanwhile, his real body lies in a coma.
12/01/1975 0388 With Malice Aforethought A victim of the prejudice of the times, an African American cop is tried for the murder of an allegedly unarmed Caucasian during a drug bust. Believing in his innocence, his colleagues and friends work to get him a pardon.
12/08/1975 0392 How Quiet the Night After learning that his former flame is pregnant with his child, a man resorts to violence in order to safeguard his current betrothal. Before long, he begins being haunted by his deceased lover's ghost.
12/15/1975 0396 Burn, Witch, Burn A woman is sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft. However, Judge Cotton Mather, a notorious Puritan attempts to save the woman's soul by inviting an Episcopalian minister perform an exorcism on her.
12/22/1975 0400 The Image A self-absorbed author forces his will upon his wife and compatriots in an attempt to bolster his image.
12/24/1975 0402 A Christmas Carol E.G. Marshall spotlights as Scrooge in this dramatic retelling of Charles Dickens' classic christmas radio show tale. A tightfisted old man is haunted by a trio of ghosts that reveal the wretchedness of his heart-- and his possible future should he refuse to repent his wicked ways.
01/12/1976 0415 What the Shepherd Saw After seeing the brutal slaying of his master's beloved wife, a young shepherd must do everything in his power to prove he did not witness a single thing.
01/21/1976 0419 The Lady of the Mist It is said that the pool in which the Lady of the Mist waterfall cascades into reviles all who attempt to usurp the place of Meg Drayton, lady of the Manor. Her Brother Charles' first wife fell into the lake and was never seen again. Ten years later, he has returned with a young wife who plans to take over the manor. Enraged by their presumption, Meg concocts a scheme to fulfill the myth of the Lady of the Mist.
01/30/1976 0423 Castle Kerfol On a tour of a British castle, an American tourist is suddenly attacked by a pack of dogs. She is sheltered by a neighbor and there discovers the castle's history and the origins of its strange guardians.
02/03/1976 0425 The Dead Deserve to Rest Distraught and grieving, a widow falls prey to an unscrupulous occultist who swindles her into believing he can help her reach out to beyond the grave.
02/11/1976 0429 You Owe Me a Death Haunted by dreams and visions of the untimely death of her deceased twin, a woman desires to put the voices to rest. In order to do so, she must first unravel the mysteries surrounding her identical twin to find the truth.
03/05/1976 0443 The Infernal Triangle Finally free from her sister's shadow, Ann Fairchild has found happiness in the arms of her husband-to-be, Hugh Denning. A storm threatens her world in the former of her elder sister Eve, who has come home fresh from her latest divorce. Old insecurities resurface and Ann finds herself promising death should her fiancee fall prey to Eve's seductive charms.
03/16/1976 0449 Crime Casts a Shadow Desperately in need of cash, Gay Armstrong tries to sell her late mother's pearl necklace and is disturbed to find out that the pearls are a fake. In a sign of goodwill that raises her suspicions, her stepfather offers her $15,000 for the piece of jewelry. Now Gay will stop at nothing until she uncovers the truth.
03/19/1976 0451 A Matter of Love and Death Having grown weary over sharing him with crazed fans, the wife of a legendary football player walks into a police precinct and confesses to his murder.
03/26/1976 0456 Extortion The past catches up to her when the wife of a prominent politician is forced to submit to blackmail for a previous crime.
04/06/1976 0463 The Boy Wonder On a quest to find a missing child named Buchanan, his team slowly disappears one after another. It's no coincidence that the boy and his friends possess amazing talents, and only too late does the man learn the futility of his search.
04/07/1976 0464 The Paradise Cafe In a desperate bid to exorcise the demons of his past, a mafia boss makes a shocking confession to his psychiatrist. Confronting his inner self, he narrates his attempted rape and subsequent slaying of an innocent girl.
04/12/1976 0467 The Safe Judge When the son of the city's most fearsome gangsters pulls strings to get his son of drug possession charges, an upstanding judge finds his reputation on the line and he himself becomes a victim of blackmail.
04/19/1976 0470 Murder Most Foul In this Shakespearean drama of arrogance and blind ambition, a nobleman falls victim to a chilling prophecy.
04/29/1976 0478 Two Plus Two Equals Death A young architect is pulled into the maddening rush of the circus when he falls for an enchanting dancer. His troubles begin when he learns his lover has an equally beautiful but heartless identical twin sister. Can he have one without the other?
05/10/1976 0481 The Ghost of San Juan Hill Chaos ensues with the resurrection from the dead of the bride's deceased husband who had supposedly perished in the Spanish-American War.
05/13/1976 0482 The Secret Sharer

A modern take on Joseph Conrad's tale of a fugitive and his alter ego-- and the ship captain who harbors them.
06/07/1976 0489 The Corpse that Would Not Die To marry his lover, a man kills her husband despite being his best friend. Soon the weight of both their sins begins to slowly poison their love.
06/17/1976 0492 Pension Plan On the eve of retirement, a purchasing manager discovers he is penniless and that an entire life of being honest and straightforward has brought him no reward. His values are tested when he realizes that living by his principles were all for naught.
07/12/1976 0497 Blood Red Roses When his son is brutally murdered by the mafia, a father's beliefs are shaken. He meets the mastermind behind the crime and falls deeper into confusion and the Boss' love for Red Roses is the key to their salvation.
07/19/1976 0499 Future Eye An investigator is sent back in time with a critical mission-- to secure a microchip which has a complete account of the world until 2976. It's a race against time to retrieve the technology which, in the wrong hands has the power to wipe out the future.
08/09/1976 0505 Overnight to Freedom During WWII an American POW from a German prison camp and with the help of some friendly advice, makes his attempt at escaping across Germany into occupied France. There, he tries to make contact with the French Underground. But who can he trust?
08/19/1976 0508 The Golden People Richard Paradon has it all, looks, brains, charm, talent, and the ability to make money -- or should I say the ability to bilk women out of theirs. Then he meets a woman he falls in love with at first sight. Can he put his past behind him to treat this woman right? She did promise to never leave him -- even in death!
08/26/1976 0510 The Man Who Could Work Miracles As 1899 comes to a close, in the Bowery section of lower Manhattan, George comes to the realization that he can alter events by just willing it to be so. Everything he wishes for comes true. But his power leads to hubris and he goes too far. Will he be able to reverse the course he has set for the world?
09/10/1976 0516 A Magical Place Elinor and Timothy Elkins, a middle-aged couple, revisit a house they rented as newlyweds to see if they can rekindle their marriage and find it for rent again. Shadows from the past bring life back to their dead marriage when they encounter another couple they can hear, but not see.
09/14/1976 0518 Journey to Jerusalem A man longs to be young again so he can live his life differently. A strange woman says she can make it happen.
10/07/1976 0531 Pool of Fear A spoiled rich, Beth, feels her step-mother is trying to replace her mother. She befriends ex-con Matt and has him pose as her fiancee so that he can kill her step-mother Millie for $10,000.

9 Responses to Redfield William

Mr Redfield is a personal hero of mine. His minor role in Death Wish, his significant role in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and his work on CBS Radio Mystery Theater were all performed in his final years. If he were diagnosed with leukemia at that time, does that mean he was in great pain at the end? He stood at the microphone like a trooper and gave us performances that we will all love. As I said, he is a personal hero of mine.

Robert RJMGREEN@AOL.COM

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Mr Redfield was very talented and he has a wonderful voice for comedy as well as drama. He's great at playing very sharp tongued, intelligent characters. I've been hearing his voice for many years on many different radio shows, but I only recently thought to look him up. He has TV appearances worth checking out (A great episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents called "The Manacled" for example) and I've been greatly enjoying the book he wrote about his experiences performing with Richard Burton in John Gielgud's production of Hamlet in 1964. Well worth reading if you can find it. "Letters from an Actor"

Alison

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William Redfield was one of the most talented actors I've ever seen. He was under-recognized and underrated but he was wonderful. I can't imagine performing such roles so near the end of his short life but somehow he did it and these roles, and all of his work, remain with us for a lifetime. God, what a gem! Aren't we lucky?

Lori

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It seems that he was a very talented actor. I can only assume that he was someone that was respected if not loved by his peers and associates, including Hi Brown given the multitude of Radio plays he was cast in in the months of life. I would like to think that it was not only a blessing to Hi to have him available but Hi was a blessing to Mr. Redfield. Giving him some income and probably more important, a way to focus on work instead of torture of his illness.

Kurt L

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William Redfield is a personal hero of mine. The poor man became quite sick, but was able to get in those mystery theater episodes before he died. He died in his 40s. I was quite sick in my 30s, I had surgery at 40, and my recovery was long, slow and hard. I am doing much better these days. I always could relate to him.

Robert

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I love Russell Horton in everything he did. I even liked him as the goof ball in Annie Hall. He was awesome in Twilight Zone. I liked him even in his brief little role in Windows as the husband.

David

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William Redfield was a great actor. i love all his audio dramas. other faves of mine are Tony Roberts and Joseph Julian..

Donna

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william redfield was a brilliant actor.so glad we have these 80 episodes of his work on cbs radio mystery theater.his role in one flew over the cuckoos nest was amazing.jimmy boy.

jimmy gonsalves

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He was also good with Marian Seldes. They both sounded snooty and happy with each other. William Redfield is a personal hero of mine. The poor man became quite sick, but was able to get in those mystery theater episodes before he died. He died in his 40s. I was quite sick in my 30s, I had surgery at 40, and my recovery was long, slow and hard. I am doing much better these days. I always could relate to him.

Robert

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