| Net Worth: | $8 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Musician |
| Date of Birth: | 1954 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5′ 7″ |
About Bill Mumy
Mumy made his acting debut at the tender age of eight in the 1963 episodes of Jack Palance’s ABC-TV circus drama The Greatest Show on Earth, as the orphaned Miles in Perry Mason’s “The Case of the Shifty Shoebox,” and as Freddy in the 1963 episode of NBC-modern TV’s Western series Empire, starring Richard Egan.
Mumy was the son of cattle rancher Charles William Mumy. At the tender age of five, he launched a successful career that has seen him contribute to over 400 television episodes, 18 feature films, countless commercials, and dozens of voice-over roles. He is also a writer, musician, and recording artist.
Mumy’s first television role was as 6-year-old Willy in an episode of National Velvet (1960) on NBC-family TV’s drama series starring Lori Martin called “Donald’s Friend” The original Twilight Zone on CBS-TV featured his acting in three episodes, including “It’s a Good Life” (November 1961).
Mumy’s father, John Larch (who also appeared in “The Door Without a Key”), was in the 1961 episode “It’s a Good Life” of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series on CBS-TV, which Mumy appeared in. In the same year, Mumy co-starred with Marta Kristen, who played his sister Judy on Lost in Space, as little Jackie in the episode “Bang! You’re Dead” It was in the 1962 episode of Gene Kelly’s ABC drama series Going My Way, titled “Keep an Eye on Santa Claus” that Mumy first appeared as Mark Murdock. Cloris Leachman (who played his mother in “It’s a Good Life”), Steve Brodie, and Frank McHugh also appeared as guests starring alongside him.
In 1964, he appeared as Richard Kimble’s nephew in an episode of The Fugitive on ABC-TV titled “Home Is the Hunted,” as Barry in an episode of NBC-medical TV’s drama The Eleventh Hour titled “Sunday Father,” as himself three times in the ABC sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, in a Disney film titled For the Love of Willadena, and as a troubled orphan taken in by the Stephenses
From 1965 to 1968, Mumy portrayed Will Robinson on Lost in Space, who was often warned by the robot character (Dick Tufeld) to “Danger, Will Robinson”
In the episode “Whatever Became of Baby Custer?” from NBC’s I Dream of Jeannie, Mumy appeared as a special guest star. Also in 1965, he played a youthful version of Darrin Stephens in an episode of Bewitched titled “Junior Executive”
Mumy made his first television appearance as Nick Butler in the debut episode of NBC’s The Rockford Files in 1974 and returned in a later episode of same season as a sidewalk artist. On October 9, 1986, Mumy wed Eileen Joy Davis. Seth and Liliana currently call Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles home. Dr. Irwin Bruckner, Ben Matlock’s brilliant nephew, was played by him on Matlock in 1988.
He played Starfleet officer Kellin in the November 1998 episode “The Siege of AR-558” of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Kellin helps destroy a Jem’Hadar force. Since Mumy hates being labeled a “alien actor” and because it takes too much time to apply prosthetics, his character being human this time was a relief. He played Lennier in Babylon 5.
Mumy collaborated with Harris for the final time on June 14, 2006, after Harris’s death. Harris recorded his voice for the animated short film The Bolt Who Screwed Christmas years before he passed away; he narrated the video and voiced the character of The Bolt. Writer-director John Wardlaw included a piece as a memorial to Harris that brought back Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, and voice actor Mumy to reprise their roles as the animated Ratchett family. After that, Mumy was in the 2006 Syfy original film A.I. Assault and an episode of Crossing Jordan.
If Rick Tocquigny is to be believed, Mumy was already a fan of Jonathan Harris before they co-starred on Lost in Space, a question he was asked by Rick Tocquigny in a 2010 interview on Blog Talk Radio’s Lessons Learned. Tocquigny claimed that Mumy was too young to watch The Third Man, the show of his mentor, at the age of five, but that he was old enough to watch The Bill Dana Show.
Among his many talents is voice acting, and he has narrated numerous documentaries and specials, including episodes of the highly regarded “A&E: Biographies” McDonald’s, Mattel, Bud Ice, Amtrak, Blockbuster, Ford, KFC, Wal-Mart, and Nickelodeon are just a few of the companies he has done commercial work for in this field. At the moment, he is the voice behind Farmers Insurance’s television and radio commercials. The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991), Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Animaniacs (1993), Little Wizard Adventures, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command are just a few of the animated shows in which he has provided his voice (2000).
Mumy is also a skilled musician, having mastered the banjo, bass guitar, guitar, harmonica, piano, mandolin, and percussion. He has played with Rick Springfield’s band in the film Hard to Hold, as well as having written and produced songs with America and touring with Shaun Cassidy. Together with his fellow castmates from “Babylon 5,” he formed the band The Be Five.
Mumy has been a part of the Lost in Space fan community for a while now, what with attendance at reunions and shows and co-authorship of Lost (and Found) in Space with Angela Cartwright in 2015.
A member of the bands The Cowsills and The Action Skulls, he formed the latter band in 2017 alongside John Cowsill and Vicki Peterson of The Bangles. On September 27, 2017, they released their debut studio album, titled Angels Hear. The album featured posthumous contributions from bassist Rick Rosas.
Mumy made an appearance in the first episode of the Lost in Space adaptation on Netflix in 2018. Dr. Z. Smith is his stage name, a nod to Jonathan Harris’s portrayal of a similar character in the original 1965 TV series. Lost (and Found) in Space 2: Blast Off into the Expanded Edition was written by Mumy and Angela Cartwright and will be released in 2021.
