William Hinnant(1935-1978)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Bill Hinnant was born on August 28, 1935, on Chincoteague Island,
Virginia. His younger brother is actor Skip Hinnant. He attended the Yale
School of Drama, and left after his sophomore year to originate the
role of the navigator in the play No Time for Sergeants (1958) and the teen exploitation
film Four Boys and a Gun (1957). He returned to Yale in 1957 and graduated in 1959.
After college, he worked in the theater as well as on television, appearing on-stage in Julius Monk's revue "Dressed to the Nines" and on TV in shows such as To Tell the Truth (1956) and the Hallmark Movie of the Week. In the early 1960s, he continued to work in television, garnering a season-long stint on the spin-off Pete and Gladys (1960) as Bruce Carter, Gladys's nephew. He also appeared in guest spots on Naked City (1958) and The Phil Silvers Show (1955) in the years 1961-63, and in a small role in the Peter Sellers film The World of Henry Orient (1964) in 1964.
Throughout the 1960s he also performed in the musical and revue "All Kinds of Giants" (1962); "Put it in Writing" (1963); and, in his most successful show and performance, as Snoopy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (1967). He received both critical praise and a Drama Desk award for this performance. He followed this with the revue "The All-American Hamburger Leauge" and the film A Nice Girl Like Me (1969) in 1969. In the 1970s, the only known works he did were the musical "Frank Merriwell (or Honor Challenged)" (1971) and the Hallmark television version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1973).
Tragically, Bill Hinnant drowned while swimming on February 17, 1978, at the age of 42 while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. At the time of his death, he was survived by his mother, sister, and brother Skip.
After college, he worked in the theater as well as on television, appearing on-stage in Julius Monk's revue "Dressed to the Nines" and on TV in shows such as To Tell the Truth (1956) and the Hallmark Movie of the Week. In the early 1960s, he continued to work in television, garnering a season-long stint on the spin-off Pete and Gladys (1960) as Bruce Carter, Gladys's nephew. He also appeared in guest spots on Naked City (1958) and The Phil Silvers Show (1955) in the years 1961-63, and in a small role in the Peter Sellers film The World of Henry Orient (1964) in 1964.
Throughout the 1960s he also performed in the musical and revue "All Kinds of Giants" (1962); "Put it in Writing" (1963); and, in his most successful show and performance, as Snoopy in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" (1967). He received both critical praise and a Drama Desk award for this performance. He followed this with the revue "The All-American Hamburger Leauge" and the film A Nice Girl Like Me (1969) in 1969. In the 1970s, the only known works he did were the musical "Frank Merriwell (or Honor Challenged)" (1971) and the Hallmark television version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1973).
Tragically, Bill Hinnant drowned while swimming on February 17, 1978, at the age of 42 while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. At the time of his death, he was survived by his mother, sister, and brother Skip.
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