Life sometimes imitates art. An accomplished actor in film, theater, television, and Old Time Radio, Grant Williams (1931-1985), best known for the beautiful allegorical sci-fi film The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), gradually shrank away from the world.
His film work reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood's Golden Years, with such famous filmmakers as director Jack Arnold, writer Richard Matheson, and producer Walt Disney. After gaining experience in theater and studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Grant graduated to live American television, and then, after signing a contract with Universal-International, to small roles in film, such as Written on the Wind (1956). He was also under contract with Warner Bros. (1960-1963), where his meatiest protagonist role was that of serial killer Charles Campbell in the psychological thriller The Couch (1962), written by Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. Williams also appeared on dozens of television series, such as Gunsmoke (1959), Hawaiian Eye (1960-1963), Bonanza (1960-1965), and Perry Mason (1964-1965), among many others.
A melancholy loner despite the star build-up he received from both studios, Williams gradually faded from films and fame, and became something of an enigma. . . until now. Through archival and personal documents, press evidence and testimony from people who knew him, author Giancarlo Stampalia now divulges details never known by the public and dispels some of the myths about the man that were created by columnists of the 1950s and 1960s and, most recently, by Internet sources.
Grant Williams may be known today only as the Incredible Shrinking Man, but his legacy now finally enlarges again through this titanic tribute to a tallest of talents.
Illustrated with more than 120 photographs, many never seen before, including portraits, candid or personal photos, behind-the-scenes photos, publicity and production stills, and frame captures from Williams' films and television shows, this first biography of the actor investigates both the artist and the man, analyzing his life and work in extensive detail through rigorous research.
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