LOS ANGELES — Robert Conrad, the rugged, contentious actor who starred in the hugely popular 1960s television series "Hawaiian Eye" and "The Wild, Wild West," died Saturday. In "The Wild, Wild West," which debuted in 1965, he was James T. West, a James Bond-like agent who used innovative tactics and futuristic gadgets (futuristic for the 1800s anyway) to battle bizarre villains. Conrad played Pappy Boyington, so nicknamed because he often rescued his pilots from severe punishment. Playing himself in a 1999 episode of the TV series "Just Shoot Me," he lampooned his threatening, tough-guy persona. An example was the 1988 television series "High Mountain Rangers," which Conrad had proposed, bankrolled with his own money and directed.

Source: Fox News February 09, 2020 00:11 UTC