William was a character actor, whose popularity was due to hundreds of appearances in soap operas.

Going from stage to screen, William had an undistinguished movie career in the '40s which ran out of steam after about four years.

But in the '50s, he would find his calling on the small screen. On Young Dr. Malone (1958), he played the father for five years. He was also cast in Another World (1964), The Edge of Night (1956), Search for Tomorrow (1951) and A World Apart (1970). One noteworthy credit was that he was part of the continuing cast on the first hour-long television drama series, The Mask (1954).

By the '70s and '80s, he appeared in a number of television mini-series and television movies. On stage, he appeared in plays by Eugene O'Neill and Edward Albee.