William Whitney Talman Jr. was born on February 4, 1915, in Detroit, Michigan, to William Talman Sr. and Ada B. Talman. His father was a successful businessman who made a good deal of money, enough to send Talman to school in a limousine each day. This meant that Talman had to fight his way in and out of public school. He developed an avid interest in athletics, particularly boxing and baseball, and even played semi-professional baseball.
Talman was educated at Cranbrook School and later attended Dartmouth College, where his interest in acting first took hold. However, he left Dartmouth in his sophomore year after an incident in which a stolen car he was driving was involved in an accident that resulted in the death of a boy. Talman was asked to resign from Dartmouth and never returned.
After the war, Talman returned to Broadway and appeared in numerous roles, including "Dear Ruth" and "A Young Man's Fancy". In 1949, he moved to Hollywood and began making films, including "Red, Hot and Blue" and "The Racket". He also starred in several films, including "The Hitch-Hiker" and "One Minute to Zero".
Talman was married twice, first to actress Lynne Carter and then to actress Barbara Read. He had three children with Carter and two with Read. However, his personal life was marked by tragedy, including the death of his second wife and the suicide of his former wife.
Talman's best-known role was as Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who perpetually lost to Perry Mason in the long-running series "Perry Mason". He played the role from 1957 until his death in 1968. During his time on the show, Talman became known for his sharp wit and clever one-liners.
Talman was also a talented writer and co-wrote two feature films, "I've Lived Before" and "Joe Dakota". He was a heavy smoker for most of his life, but near the end of his life, he volunteered to make a short film for the American Cancer Society, part of which was shown as a television anti-smoking commercial.
William Talman died of cardiac arrest due to complications from lung cancer on August 30, 1968, at the age of 53. Despite his short life, he left an enduring legacy through his writing, acting, and heroism.
