William L. O'Connell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American film and television actor.
O'Connell was born in Richmond, Virginia, on August 20, 1933.
O'Connell worked often with Clint Eastwood, with whom he first appeared in the 1969 musical Paint Your Wagon.
In 1972, O'Connell was cast as a nervous barber in Eastwood's second directorial effort, High Plains Drifter, released the following year.
In 1976, O'Connell appeared as ferryman Sim Carstairs in The Outlaw Josey Wales, also directed by Eastwood. O'Connell's other roles include portrayals in Every Which Way But Loose and its sequel Any Which Way You Can, where he played a member of a comically inept biker gang constantly being outmatched by Eastwood.
In addition to his film career, O'Connell was very active on TV throughout the 1960s and '70s, appearing in about 50 different roles on such series such as Star Trek, Rawhide, Petticoat Junction, and Quincy, M.E.
William O'Connell found success as an actor early on, when he was just five years old. In the beginning of his acting career, O'Connell starred in comedies like "Way... Way Out" (1966) starring Jerry Lewis and "It's a Bikini World" (1967) starring Deborah Walley.
He worked in television in his early acting career as well, including parts on "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1959-1964) and "Batman" (ABC, 1965-68).
He kept working in film throughout the sixties and the seventies, starring in the Rock Hudson adaptation "Ice Station Zebra" (1968), the Lee Marvin adaptation "Paint Your Wagon" (1969) and the Jean Simmons drama "The Happy Ending" (1969).
He also appeared in "High Plains Drifter" (1973).
Film continued to be his passion as he played roles in the action movie "Every Which Way But Loose" (1978) with Clint Eastwood and the comedic adventure "Any Which Way You Can" (1980) with Clint Eastwood.
He also was featured in the TV movie "The Dead Don't Die" (NBC, 1974-75).
Most recently, O'Connell worked on the Eric Bana dramatic adaptation "Romulus, My Father" (2008).