William Katt Bio
William Theodore Katt is an American actor and musician whose career spans film and television from the 1970s to the present. Born in Los Angeles to actors Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, Katt established a screen presence with supporting film roles in the late 1970s before rising to national recognition as the lead on the television series The Greatest American Hero in the early 1980s.
Early Life and Background
William Theodore Katt was born on February 16, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley in a performing-arts family: his father was actor Bill Williams and his mother was actress Barbara Hale. Katt’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Germany while his mother’s family included Irish and Scottish ancestry.
Katt began acting as a teenager, sometimes appearing with his parents, and attended Army and Navy Academy in Carlsbad, California. He later studied at Orange Coast College and pursued music before focusing more consistently on an acting career, gaining experience in summer stock theatre and in small television roles before moving into feature films.
Path to Celebrity
Katt’s early work combined music ambitions with steady acting training and stage work. After college he pursued music and worked the stage circuit while building television credits. His casting in Brian De Palma’s film Carrie in 1976 introduced him to a wider audience; the role of prom date Tommy Ross was an early, visible film credit that helped Katt transition from stage and small television parts into mainstream cinema.
Following Carrie, Katt secured a string of roles in feature films that reached diverse audiences. He played romantic and athletic young leads in First Love (1977) and returned to mainstream dramatic cinema in John Milius’s Big Wednesday (1978), where he portrayed the young surfer Barlow opposite Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. Katt’s real-life mother, Barbara Hale, appeared in Big Wednesday as his character’s mother, an uncommon on-screen family pairing that underscored his theatrical roots.
William Katt Career
Early Career (1970–1979)
Katt began his professional career in the early 1970s with stage work and television appearances before moving into feature films by the mid-1970s. His performance as Tommy Ross in Carrie (1976) provided a high-profile credit in a major film adaptation that introduced him to horror and mainstream audiences alike. He followed that with the romantic drama First Love (1977), which further established him in lead and supporting roles tailored to youthful protagonists.
Through the late 1970s Katt continued to work steadily in cinema, taking roles that highlighted physicality and character work. In 1978 he appeared in Big Wednesday, a surf drama that connected him with a dedicated sports and cultural community, and in 1979 he took on the role of the Sundance Kid in Butch and Sundance: The Early Days, a period western that expanded his range into genre storytelling. These projects positioned Katt as a versatile screen actor comfortable in both ensemble films and starring parts.
Breakthrough (1981–1983)
Katt’s most widely recognized breakthrough came in 1981 when he was cast as Ralph Hinkley, the mild-mannered schoolteacher who acquires a superpowered suit, in the ABC television series The Greatest American Hero. The role showcased Katt’s ability to anchor a series as a sympathetic lead and gave him a durable fanbase through the show’s broadcast run from 1981 to 1983. The series retained a cult following after cancellation, and its theme song, “Believe It or Not,” written by Mike Post, became a popular single associated with the show.
The Greatest American Hero also opened new avenues for Katt’s creative work. In 1982, capitalizing on the show’s visibility and his musical background, he signed with MCA and released a soft rock album under the name Billy Katt. The record represented a parallel artistic interest and reflected a pattern in Katt’s career of crossing between acting and music.
Following the series, Katt balanced film and television roles, returning periodically to feature films while maintaining a television presence. His film work after the series included family adventure and genre fare, demonstrating a continued openness to varied material rather than a narrow typecasting based on his television persona.
Notable Works and Milestones
Throughout his career Katt has been identified with a handful of signature projects. The Greatest American Hero remains his most prominent television credit and a defining milestone in public recognition. His early film performances in Carrie, First Love, Big Wednesday and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days formed the foundation of his screen résumé and introduced him to both mainstream and niche audiences. In the mid-1980s he appeared in the adventure film Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985) and the horror-comedy House (1985), later reprising his role in House IV (1992). Between 1985 and 1988 Katt starred in a series of Perry Mason television films as private detective Paul Drake Jr., appearing alongside his mother Barbara Hale, who returned to her long-running role as Della Street; that collaboration underscored a continuing family connection in his professional life.
Later Career (1990s–present)
In the decades after his mainstream breakthrough Katt has sustained a steady working profile in television, film and voice acting. He appeared in the television series Top of the Hill (1989) and continued to make guest appearances on contemporary shows, including roles on serial dramas and genre series. Katt also pursued supporting roles in independent projects and returned to genre filmmaking with appearances in films such as Gamers (2006) and The Man from Earth (2007), where he contributed to ensemble-driven independent cinema.
He has periodically revisited franchise and genre material, making guest appearances in series like Heroes and Justice League and taking roles in low-budget and independent features including Alien vs Hunter (2007) and Mirrors 2. Katt appeared as himself in the 2013 spoof Paranormal Movie and continued to work in film into the 2010s and 2020, with credits including The Unwanted (2014) and The 2nd (2020), demonstrating an ongoing commitment to screen work across formats and scales of production.
William Katt Family
Katt was born to actors Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, both of whom shaped his early exposure to performance and the entertainment industry. The family connection extended to professional collaborations, most notably the Perry Mason television films in which Katt co-starred with his mother as Della Street while he portrayed Paul Drake Jr.
Katt has three children: two sons, Clayton and Emerson, from his first marriage to Deborah Kahane, and a daughter, Dakota, from his marriage to Danielle Hirsch. He also has a stepson, Andrew, from his second marriage, reflecting a blended family life shared across long-term personal relationships.
Personal Life
Katt married Deborah Kahane in 1979; the couple had two sons, Clayton and Emerson, and divorced in 1992. He married Danielle Hirsch in 1993 and they have a daughter, Dakota; the marriage also brought a stepson into the family. Katt’s personal life has remained relatively private while he continued to work steadily in film and television.
Across five decades of professional activity, William Theodore Katt has maintained a versatile career that bridges mainstream television, feature films and occasional musical work, while sustaining ties to the performing traditions of his parents and to a diverse set of genre and independent filmmakers.