Bill Raisch

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Carl William Raisch, (b. April 5, 1905, North Bergen, New Jersey, USA, d. July 31, 1984 Santa Monica, California USA), was an American dancer/actor.

Kirk Douglas (right) gets into a bar fight with one-armed Bill Raisch (left) in order to get himself arrested
Kirk Douglas (right) gets into a bar fight with one-armed Bill Raisch (left) in order to get himself arrested

A dancer who worked for Ziegfeld Follies in the 1930's, he lost his right arm while serving in the United States Navy in 1945 during World War II. He played bit parts in several movies; his most memorable film role was in a famous fight scene with Kirk Douglas in Lonely are the Brave (1962). Raisch's most celebrated role, however, was in the TV series The Fugitive (1963-1967), where he played Fred Johnson, the one-armed man who was the real killer of the wife of Dr. Richard Kimble, played by David Janssen.

Raisch worked for many years as an acting teacher, and also had a long professional relationship with Burt Lancaster, working as Lancaster's stand-in in several movies.

After the series' conclusion, Raisch was scarcely seen on TV or the media again, and died of lung cancer in 1984 in Santa Monica, California.

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