10-05-2025
Iconic 80s TV star looks unrecognizable on rare outing... can you guess who it is?
An iconic 80s TV star was spotted on a very rare public outing this week.
The acclaimed actor, now 74 - who is the son of two Hollywood greats - shot to fame in 1976 film Carrie, but he is best known for his role in an acclaimed 80s superhero series.
He starred alongside his Emmy-winning mom in a string of television films while his dad was a 50s heartthrob.
He famously just missed out on the legendary role of Luke Skywalker to Mark Hamill in the Star Wars trilogy.
The star also released a soft rock amid his success on TV.
So can you guess who he is?
It's The Greatest American Hero actor William Katt!
The actor starred as teacher Ralph Hinkley who is given superhuman abilities by a group of aliens in the ABC show, which ran from 1981-1983.
The lead character's name was memorably temporarily changed to Hanley for a few months after President Ronald Reagan's shooting by John Hinckley Jr. on March 30, 1981.
Katt is the son of Hollywood greats Barbara Hale and Bill Williams. The pair met in 1945 during the filming of West of the Pecos, wed the next year and had three children together.
Hale was best known for portraying legal secretary Della Street in television series Perry Mason between 1957–1966.
She won an Emmy for the role in 1959 in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category.
She would go onto reprise her role in 30 Perry Mason TV movies between 1985-1995 alongside her son and husband.
Hale died in January 2017 at age 94 of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Williams starred as the titular character in the western series The Adventures of Kit Carson from 1951-1955 - with Katt inspired by his parents to enter the world of acting.
Williams passed away in September 1992 aged 77 from a brain tumor.
After starting in summer theater, Katt played jock Tommy Ross in 1976 horror film Carrie, before his role in surfing movie Big Wednesday (1978) alongside Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey and his own mom Hale.
He played Sundance Kid in the 1979 film Butch and Sundance: The Early Days.
He missed out on the history making Skywalker role in 1975 and instead starred in First Love in 1977 - the year the first Star Wars film was released.
Amid the success of The Greatest American Hero, he released album Secret Smiles in 1982, under the name Billy Katt.
Katt played private detective Paul Drake Jr. in nine Perry Mason films between 1985 and 1988, alongside Hale.
His other TV appearances include House, Heroes and Diagnosis Murder while he has acted in films including Mirrors 2, The Man From Earth and Alien vs Hunter.
Katt was married to Deborah Kahane from 1979-1992 and they have two sons, Clayton and Emerson.
He has been married to Danielle Hirsch since 1993 with whom he shares a daughter and stepson.
