Bill Bixby, the sixth-generation Californian, was born Wilfred Bailey Bixby on January 22, 1934, in San Francisco, California. He was an only child growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, and attended schools in the same area. Bixby took ballroom dance lessons and attended Lowell High School, where he excelled in drama. He then attended San Francisco City College, majoring in drama, before transferring to the University of California-Berkeley, where he majored in the pre-law program. However, he never stopped falling in love with acting.
After almost graduating, Bixby left San Francisco to travel to Los Angeles, where he became a lifeguard and a bellhop. Two years later, in 1959, two executives noticed him and hired him immediately for commercial work and modeling in Detroit, Michigan. At the same time, he auditioned for theater roles and joined the Detroit Civic Theatre Company, making his professional stage debut in the musical "The Boy Friend."
Bixby made his TV debut in an episode of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (1959) and went on to do many other roles, including a co-starring role opposite Ray Walston in "My Favorite Martian" (1963). The show became a hit, and Bixby became a household name to millions of fans. After the show's cancellation, he continued to work in film and television, starring in movies such as "Ride Beyond Vengeance" (1966) and "Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!" (1967).
In the late 1960s, Bixby landed a co-starring role opposite Elvis Presley in "Clambake" (1967) and "Speedway" (1968). He then returned to series television, playing the role of widowed father "Tom Corbett" on "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1969). The show became a bigger hit than his previous show, and Bixby took actress Brenda Benet as his bride and fathered a son.
Bixby's next role was as "Anthony Dorian/Anthony Blake" on the NBC dramatic series "The Magician" (1973). The show focused on Anthony performing magic tricks that helped people in trouble, and Bixby became a fine magician in real life. However, the show was canceled after one season due to its expensive costs.
After a seven-year absence from the big screen, Bixby co-starred in the western "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975). He then returned to television, starring in the science fiction-dramatic series "The Incredible Hulk" (1977),in which he played Dr. David Bruce Banner. The show became the #1 show in the United States and many other countries, and Bixby's character became famous for ripping up shirts each time he turned into the Hulk.
Bixby returned to series television, acting, producing, and directing the sitcom "Goodnight, Beantown" (1983). He then concentrated on directing, working on "Wizards and Warriors" (1983),"Goodnight, Beantown" (1983),and "Sledge Hammer!" (1986). He also directed the pilot for a New York spy series, "Rockhopper."
In the late 1980s, Bixby reprised his role of Dr. David Banner in three spin-off movies: "The Incredible Hulk Returns" (1988),"The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" (1989),and "The Death of the Incredible Hulk" (1990). He also directed TV movies such as "Baby of the Bride" (1991) and "Another Pair of Aces: Three of a Kind" (1991).
In April 1991, Bixby became ill and was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He underwent surgery and seemed to be in remission by December. However, the cancer returned, and Bixby passed away on November 21, 1993, at the age of 59, after a two-year battle with cancer.
