William Katt Movies

Lorelai Mason (Joanna Miles) is the only witness when two brilliant but unbalanced psychology students, Casey Nystrom (William Katt) and Bob Viliano (Jim Borrelli), murder their professor and dump his body into the harbor. To prevent Lorelai from talking, the two cunning killers begin playing "mind games" with the hapless girl, the better to drive her insane. But Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) knows a few psychological-warfare tricks of his own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When John (Randolph Mantooth) predicted that this Wednesday would be a "weird" one for Rampart Hospital, he wasn't kidding. The case log includes a feisty 80-year-old woman (Jeanette Nolan) who sprains her ankle while dancing at her own birthday party, a panicky hooker who hauls her cardiac-victim "John" into the hospital, a near-fatal case of hiccups, a teenager (played by a young, uncredited William Katt) who tries to put himself into a deep-freeze, and a parachutist who ends up in a high tree. And have we mentioned the snakes on the golf course? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Raymond Burr tackles what amounts to a triple role in this episode, in which Chief Ironside investigates a series of murders that share a common bond. Each of four victims had in his possession a numbered disk: the current holder of Disk Number Five is none other than the police commissioner (Gene Lyons), while Number Six is held by an eccentric, bearded artist named Carlton Duffy (billed as "himself" in the closing credits but actually played by Raymond Burr). Bearing a startling resemblance to Duffy, Ironside takes the man's place in hopes of luring the murderer into a trap. Veteran Hollywood makeup artist Jim McCoy was handed the daunting task of transforming star Burr into ( a ) Chief Ironside, ( b ) Carlton Duffy, and ( c ) Ironside posing as Duffy! Featured in a supporting role is a young William Katt, the son of Burr's onetime Perry Mason costar Barbara Hale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This 1974 TV movie was based upon recent news stories about brainwashing techniques practiced by certain religious communes. Ellen (Kathy Cannon) is a confused teenager who falls in with a group of fanatics, who promise that they'll purge the "Devil" from her soul. Her anguished parents (Leslie Nielsen, Louise Fletcher) hire John Saxon to kidnap Ellen from the commune, and to exorcise the fanatics' influence from her psyche. This film was outdated within a year, but would come back in fashion during the height of the "Moonie" activity in the late 1970s. The original title of Can Ellen Be Saved?, understandably rejected by the network, was Children of God. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This classic horror movie based on Stephen King's first novel stars Sissy Spacek as Carrie White, a shy, diffident teenager who is the butt of practical jokes at her small-town high school. Her blind panic at her first menstruation, a result of ignorance and religious guilt drummed into her by her fanatical mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie), only causes her classmates' vicious cruelty to escalate, despite the attentions of her overly solicitous gym teacher (Betty Buckley). Finally, when the venomous Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen) engineers a reprehensible prank at the school prom, Carrie lashes out in a horrifying display of her heretofore minor telekinetic powers. Many films had featured school bullies, but Carrie was one of the first to focus on the special brand of cruelty unique to teenage girls. Carrie's world is presented as a snake pit, where the well-to-do female students all have fangs -- even the reticent Sue Snell (Amy Irving) -- and all the males are blind pawns, sexually twisted around the fingers of Chris and her evil cronies. The talented supporting cast includes John Travolta, P.J. Soles, and William Katt. One of the genre's true classics, the film was followed by a sequel in 1999, as well as by a famously unsuccessful Broadway musical adaptation that starred Betty Buckley, the movie's gym teacher, as Margaret White. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Jan-Michael Vincent plays a self-destructive beach bum to whom surfing is a Zen experience. We first meet Vincent in the devil-may-care 1960s, in the company of his carefree buddies William Katt and Gary Busey. The boys reunite ten years later, after one has served time in Vietnam. The beach is still there, the waves still break upon the shore, and towards the end of the film, the characters become people that we truly care about. Barbara Hale, the real-life mother of costar William Katt, makes a piquant supporting appearance. Cut from 129 minutes to 104 for its pay-cable release, Big Wednesday is also known as Summer of Innocence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season one of the tongue-in-cheek fantasy adventure series The Greatest American Hero opens with the two-hour pilot episode, wherein high-school teacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt) and FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) come into possession of a red "super suit" and a book of instructions, both gifts from visiting extraterrestrials. Unfortunately, the book is soon lost, so that neither Ralph nor Maxwell are aware of all of the suit's remarkable powers. All Ralph knows is that, whenever he dons the outfit, he is able to fly around with the greatest of ease, a talent that Maxwell harnesses to battle crime and criminals -- beginning with the prevention of a hostile rebellion in the U.S., spearheaded by the corrupt vice president. The only other people who know of Ralph's "secret identity" are his attorney girlfriend, Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca), and a motley quartet of students from Ralph's remedial education class: Tony (Michael Paré), Rhonda (Faye Grant), Cyler (Jesse D. Goins), and Rodriguez (Don Cervantes). Throughout the first season, Branden Williams makes sporadic appearances as Kevin Hinkley, Ralph's son from a previous marriage. Halfway through season one, Ralph suddenly acquires a new last name. Suddenly, those around him are referring to Ralph as "Mr. Hanley," or sometimes merely "Mr. H." This hasty augmentation was brought about after a man named John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. Aware of this alteration -- and all too aware of the clumsy attempts to redub and rewrite episodes that had already been filmed -- some viewers developed a resentment for The Greatest American Hero and turned away in droves. Small wonder, then, that by the time the series inaugurated its second season in the fall of 1981, the hero was known as Ralph Hinkley again. ~ All Movie Guide

This made-for-television movie is a filmed version of the Bob Fosse musical hit of the same name. William Katt stars in the title role of this fictionalized story of Pippin, the son of Charlemagne who sets out to find meaning in life and discovers his true self along the way. Ben Vereen appears in his Tony Award-winning role. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Season two of The Greatest American Hero finds the title character (played by William Katt) reverting to his original character name of Ralph Hinkley, after the March 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by a loser named John Hinckley prompted the series' producers to hastily (and in many cases clumsily) rewrite and redub existing episodes so that the protagonist was known as "Ralph Hanley." The ratings for The Greatest American Hero steadily climbed throughout the year. The basic satirical premise remains the same: presented with a super-powered red suit by a group of space aliens, nerdy high-school teacher Ralph Hinkley reluctantly transforms into a flying superhero, fighting crime and criminals at the behest of overzealous FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp). Hinkley is aided and abetted by his attorney girlfriend, Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca), and by four somewhat raffish students from his remedial education class: Tony (Michael Paré), Rhonda (Faye Grant), Cyler (Jesse D. Goins), and Rodriguez (Don Cervantes). Unfortunately, Ralph had lost the book of instructions which came with his marvelous suit, so his flying skills remain wildly erratic, and he continues to be amazed at how many remarkable powers are within his grasp. ~ All Movie Guide

This lively, funny Faerie Tale Theatre production of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is about a thumb-sized girl (Carrie Fisher) who has to find her way back home after being kidnapped by a toad and a mole. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Eight years before the dinosaur mania created by Jurassic Park, Bill L. Norton released this more dinosaur-friendly story about a 10-foot baby dinosaur in dire straits in Africa because Dr. Eric Kiviat (Patrick McGoohan), an evil paleontologist, is after it with a vengeance. He is the nemesis of Dr. Susan Matthews-Loomis (Sean Young) -- determined to save the baby from its hunters -- and her husband George Loomis (William Katt), a sportswriter who shares her protective instincts. Kiviat has recruited a revolutionary army to help him capture the baby's mother -- which they manage to do without killing her. The army has already shot down the father dinosaur, and so their own instincts are far from protective. As the husband and wife and baby dinosaur are united at last in their attempts to survive, the next step is to recapture Mom dinosaur and get away from the army and Kiviat, not an easy feat. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Following the excellent ratings response to the 1985 "reunion" special Perry Mason Returns, producers Fred Silverman and Dean Hargrove quickly assembled a second two-hour Mason TV movie in 1986. Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun finds Mason (Raymond Burr), now a judge, briefly stepping down from the bench to defend a nun (Michele Greene) accused of murder. The victim was a handsome priest, with whom the nun was allegedly conducting an affair. William Katt plays private detective Paul Drake Jr., who in the tradition of his late father tracks down clues on Mason's behalf--nearly losing his life at every turn. Case of the Notorious Nun was followed in short order by Perry Mason: The Case of the Shooting Star (86). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Case of the Lost Love was the fourth of the Perry Mason TV movies of the 1980s. Raymond Burr plays Mason (you're surprised?), who while out of town at a lawyer's conference is reunited with Jean Simmons, his lady friend of 30 years past. Simmons has come up in the world, and is about to be nominated for the US senate. Unfortunately, her husband Gene Barry is accused of murdering a blackmailer. The lack of surprise in the denouement is compensated for by the pathos and emotionalism in the final scenes. Back from the previous Mason films is Barbara Hale as Della Street, and Hale's son William Katt as Paul Drake Jr. Despite stiff competition from the Audrey Hepburn-Robert Wagner TV movie Love Among Thieves, Perry Mason: The Case of the Lost Love swept the ratings when it premiered on February 23, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide