William "Will" Jordan is a veteran actor of over forty-five years of stage, screen and television experience with over 50 TV and film credits to his resume, Jordan played Major Jake Gatlin in the syndicated television series "Project UFO". Jordan, who usually appeared in roles as either authority, particularly military, police, and political figures in dramas and heavies in westerns, also portrayed the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the critically acclaimed 1978 NBC-TV miniseries "King". He also has made appearances in such TV shows as Mannix, The Big Valley, The Rockford Files, Knots Landing, T.J. Hooker, and Walker, Texas Ranger. A graduate of Indiana University, Will got his start in theatre in bit or supporting parts in several On and Off-Broadway productions.
Played on the Milan High School Basketball team when they won the state championship in 1954. Milans win of the state title was the basis for the movie Hoosiers .
(January 2010) Currently resides in Florida.
A member of the British Army Film & Photographic Unit during World War II, Jordan happened to be attached to an artillery unit in North Africa when it was given orders to launch a barrage against German positions. Armed with only an Eyemo camera, he photographed what turned out to be the beginning of the famous Battle of El Alamein; almost all of the footage of masses of artillery pieces firing salvo after salvo, night and day, that has been stock footage in countless documentaries about the battle was shot by Jordan.
After the battle for Tunis, Tunisia, in World War II, Jordan jumped on a British armored car that was part of a convoy headed to mop up remaining German resistance in the town. He was riding on top of the car, shooting scenes of the ravaged city, when the vehicle passed the bombed-out remains of an apartment building. Inside the building were several German snipers, one of whom shot and wounded Jordan. He called down into the armored car and informed them of the snipers, at which point the car stopped, rotated its cannon and fired at the building, killing the snipers. Two German soldiers then ran out of the building, and one pulled out a hand grenade and threw it at the armored car; it landed on top of the car, directly in front of Jordan, but did not explode. He then notified the driver that there were two Germans in back of the car preparing to throw another grenade; the driver trained his gun on the Germans and killed them.
Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom. .
