Bill Daily, the man we typically remember as
thoughtless Roger, from "I Dream of Jeannie" led a career of humorous
roles, and still continues to pop up in a current sitcom every now and
then today.
Bill was born on August 30, 1928 in Des Moines,
Iowa. Bill's father died when he was very
young. He was raised by his mother, along with the help of his aunts and
uncles. His young life held a change for him when he was eleven. He and
his mother moved to Chicago.
By the mid-60's, Bill was into acting. One of
his first television roles was in the 60's sitcom, Bewitched. He
played the role of Mr. Johnson in the first Christmas episode titled "A
Vision of Sugar Plums." He also appeared in an episode of The Mike
Douglas Show. The next year was a big year for Bill. He appeared in an
episode of My Mother the Car, in which he played Phil Durkin in
the episode "The De-fenders." The greatest happening for him that year was
not that role, however. It was in 1965 that he earned the role of Captain
Roger Healy in I Dream of Jeannie, this starring role would
continue on for the next 5 years.
In I
Dream of Jeannie, Bill co-starred with Barbara Eden(Jeannie), Larry
Hagman(Captain/Major Anthony Nelson), and Hayden Rorke(Dr. Bellows).
Bill's character, Roger, was the bumbling pal of Anthony "Tony" Nelson,
who loved girls, money, and often found himself speaking without thinking.
As I Dream of Jeannie grew in popularity and moved up the rankings,
Bill Daily earned himself a permenant seat in television history. In fact,
it is his role as Captain/Major Roger Healy that he is best remembered
for. However, on May 26, 1970, after 139 filmed episodes, I Dream of
Jeannie came to end, along with Bill's role of Roger Healy.
It wasn't long though, until Bill was back into
the swing of things. Only two years after I Dream of Jeannie came
to an end, Bill was back on television. On September 16, 1972 The Bob
Newhart Show aired its first episode. It was on this sitcom that Bill
played the role of Howard Borden, a divorced pilot who lives near-by Bob(played
by Bob Newhart) and Emily Hartley(played by Suzanne Pleshette). Howard was
an annoying neighbor with an even more annoying habit, he always came
right into the Hartley's apartment without knocking. Bill's role as Howard
Borden continued for the next 6 years, but on April 1, 1978 that role as
Howard Borden also came to an end.
In the 1980's, Bill took on starring roles,
mostly as doctors of some form, in a couple of short-lived sitcoms. In
Small and Frye, which aired for a little over 3 months, Bill played
the role of Dr. Hanratty. In 1988, Bill appeared on television as Dr.
James Shepard on the sitcom, Starting from Scratch. The show only
lasted one year, however. Bill was also a recurring guest star on the
popular, late 80's sitcoms, ALF. He played the role of Larry the
Psychiatrist from 1987-1990.
In addition to his roles on television, Bill
Daily also appeared on several game shows. He was even a semi-regular on
Match Game, which he made 85 guest appearances on throughout the
years. Today Bill lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He works as a director
directing plays at the Children's Theatre there in Albuquerque.