6'2" blond, Ivy-League-handsome William Ching was just as skilled in
the vocal as he was in the acting department but he purposely shied
away from the musical film genre in fear of harming his career as a
dramatic actor. Had he thought otherwise, the actor might have enjoyed
the musical baritone career of a
Nelson Eddy,
Gordon MacRae,
Howard Keel or
Dan Dailey. Nevertheless, while full-out
stardom proved quite elusive, he did find a modicum of post-war acting
work on film and TV for nearly a decade and a half before he abandoned
his career and moved successfully into real estate.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on October 2, 1913, he was christened
William Brooks Ching and came from a strong English background.
Studying voice as a teen, he earned jobs out of high school in theatre
stock shows before gaining valuable experience as a member of a light
opera company in Memphis, Tennessee. His career was then interrupted by
WWII after enlisting in the Coast Guard.
Following military service, Ching regrouped and found work singing on
radio in San Francisco. Spotted by a talent agent, he was brought into
the Hollywood fold as a newly-signed Universal contract player. Because
his Asian-sounding surname confused audiences, the studio re-named him
"William Brooks" and, when not appearing unbilled in such films as
Lied des Orients (1947)
and the Abbott & Costello comedy
Zwei trübe Tassen - vom Militär entlassen (1947),
was identified as such in two of his earliest films -- the
multi-chaptered cliffhanger
The Mysterious Mr. M (1946)
and the western
Michigan Kid (1947) starring
Jon Hall in the title role.
Ching, however, was very protective of his family name and insisted on
returning to it, figuring that when he established a firmer reputation
with audiences, the problem would fade away. The studio reluctantly
consented but the "problem" didn't go away. Primarily handed bland but
brawny bit parts, Ching was generally unhappy with his minor standing
at Universal and turned to the Broadway stage for fulfillment after a
so-so featured role in the studio's Abbott & Costello comedy vehicle
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947).
Cast in one of the top male roles in the lesser known Rodgers &
Hammerstein musical "Allegro" in October of 1947 (their third
collaboration after "Carousel" and "Oklahoma!"), the New York show, in
which Bill introduced the song "A Fellow Needs a Girl," earned mixed
reviews but still managed an eight-month run.
Finding some breaks in NY with live TV roles and with his own radio
show, Ching eventually returned to films in 1950 when he was cast in a
deceptively villainous role in the film noir classic _D.O.A. (1950)
starring Edmond O'Brien. His optimism did
not last long when he was then given a very minor role in another film
noir piece, the Humphrey Bogart starrer
Ein einsamer Ort (1950).
Republic Studios saved the day when they signed the actor up, albeit
for featured roles in "B" westerns and war dramas. During this period
he backed up Bill Elliott in
Blutrache in Montana (1950),
John Carroll and
Vera Ralston in both
Surrender (1950) and
Belle Le Grand (1951),
Rod Cameron in both
Apachenschlacht am schwarzen Berge (1951) and
Der Seewolf von Barracuda (1951) and
'Wendell Corey and Vera Ralston
again in
Höllenreiter der Nacht (1951).
In these (and later) films he was usually typecast in "other man" roles
or as a staunch military man.
Finally, Republic had the sense to make use of Ching's strong singing
voice by casting him as the lead in its musical crime melodrama
Bal Tabarin (1952) wherein he took
second billing opposite operatic soprano
Muriel Lawrence. Unfortunately the
musical, which figured in the historic Parisian nightclub in its plot,
was not released by MGM or a highly comparable studio so it came and
went without much fanfare. As a result, Ching's reward was that
Republic dropped him.
While the actor did appear in another musical, MGM's
Eine Chance für Suzy (1953)
starring Gower Champion and then-wife
Marge Champion, his was only a minor role
and he was given no songs to solo on. MGM did, however, cast the actor
in what became arguably his cinematic career highlight, the
Tracy/Hepburn vehicle
Pat und Mike (1952) as
Katharine Hepburn's arrogant
husband-to-be. Fourth billed (behind Aldo Ray),
Ching would not find an important role in a quality film like this
again.
Trying to keep the momentum of his ever-stalling career going, Ching
began to include TV assignments, alternately switching between them and
film parts. TV proved a stronger medium for his playing of handsome
leading men types. He was afforded the opportunity to guest opposite
such lovelies as Joan Crawford,
Jane Wyman,
Laraine Day,
Jane Greer,
Gale Storm,
Marjorie Lord, and others in both dramatic
and lightly comedic appearances. In 1955 he enjoyed a minor, recurring
part as a physical education teacher who briefly catches the attention
of teacher Eve Arden in the popular
Our Miss Brooks (1952)
series.
In the mid-1950s the twice-married father of five (two from his second
wife's first marriage) was forced to focus more and more on selling
real estate to make ends meet. Finishing his film career uneventfully
with the horror opus
My World Dies Screaming (1958)
and Patrouille westwärts (1959) (the latter
billed as "Bill Ching" far below star
Victor Mature), the actor phased out his
career altogether and fully retired in 1959. Bill and his family
remained in the Southern California area where he continued to thrive
as a realtor. Ching died on July 1, 1989, in Tustin, California of
congestive heart failure and was buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in
Santa Ana.
