William Katt, the actor who became a familiar face of 1980s television as the superhero Ralph Hinkley, was once seriously considered to play Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars film.
Katt, now 75, auditioned for George Lucas’s space adventure before the role went to Mark Hamill. His screen test has since appeared in documentaries about the making of the blockbuster.
Although he did not become one of the most recognisable figures in cinema, Katt soon secured a significant part in Brian De Palma’s 1976 horror film Carrie. He played Tommy Ross, the popular schoolboy who invites Carrie White to the prom.
The role was an important early break for Katt, whose career had begun against the backdrop of Hollywood royalty. He was the son of actors Bill Williams and Barbara Hale, both established television performers in the 1950s.
Williams was best known for playing the frontier scout in The Adventures of Kit Carson, while Hale achieved lasting fame as Della Street in the legal drama Perry Mason.
Katt nevertheless developed a career of his own, appearing in films including First Love, Big Wednesday and Butch and Sundance: The Early Days during the 1970s.
His most enduring television role arrived in 1981, when he was cast as mild-mannered teacher Ralph Hinkley in The Greatest American Hero. The series followed Hinkley after aliens gave him a super-powered suit, which he struggled to control while protecting the public.
The programme ran until 1983 and became closely associated with its theme song, “Believe It or Not”. Katt later returned to television in a series of Perry Mason films alongside his mother, who reprised her role as Della Street.
