Bill Daily, a congenial, unassuming, and always ingratiating comic actor, rose to fame as the lovable, bumbling, and jittery playboy astronaut Roger Healy, best friend and sidekick to Larry Hagman's accident-prone Tony Nelson in the beloved sitcom I Dream of Jeannie (1965). Initially, the role was earmarked for Don Dubbins, but show creator and executive producer Sidney Sheldon, with possible input from Hagman, made the impromptu decision to cast the relatively unknown Iowa native instead.
Prior to his acting career, Daily started as a musician, playing bass with a local jazz combo called 'Jack and the Beanstalks'. Following his compulsory military service during the Korean War, he pursued acting studies at the Goodman Theater College in Chicago. After graduating, he worked briefly as an announcer and staff director for NBC and later developed his own stand-up comedy act, performing at nightclubs across the mid-west. By 1960, Daily contributed material for comedic sketches to Westinghouse Broadcasting, which were used in popular variety shows hosted by Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, and Steve Allen. Douglas occasionally featured him in sketches, and Daily was well on his way to accumulating the credentials to become a top comedy writer.
Sheldon noticed Daily in a small supporting role in Bewitched (1964),his TV debut, and subsequently cast him as the affable Major Healy in I Dream of Jeannie. During his time on the show, Daily continued to moonlight as a writer for assorted food commercials. After I Dream of Jeannie, he enjoyed an even longer run (six seasons) as the star's annoying neighbour and clueless comic foil on The Bob Newhart Show (1972).
Throughout his later career, Daily made numerous guest appearances, frequently as a panellist on TV shows like Match Game (1973),which inspired the later UK franchise Blankety Blank (1978). He also tried his hand hosting several youth-oriented specials on magic, including 'Bill Daily's Hocus-Pocus Gang', and appeared at conventions with his former co-stars for nostalgic reunions.
