William Self

William Self was born June 21, 1921, in Dayton, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in Political Science in 1943. He worked a year in advertising before beginning a career in acting in 1944. From 1944 to 1952 he acted in over 30 films, one of his largest roles being that of Cpl. Barnes in Howard Hawks' The Thing from Another World (1951). In 1952 Self began his producing career as an Assistant Producer on the TV series China Smith (1952). Later that same year he was named Associate Producer of the Schlitz Playhouse (1951), which aired on CBS. In 1953 his title was elevated to Producer, reflecting the fact that there had never been any other producer during his time on the series. During his tenure he produced 208 episodes. He also directed four episodes: The Last Out (1955), The Careless Cadet (1955), The Night They Won the Oscar (1956) and The Letter (1956). In 1957 Self produced The Frank Sinatra Show (1957) on ABC. Upon completion of that project, he was