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Despite his experience behind the camera, William Conrad shocked everyone when he refused to direct a single episode of ''Cannon''
Cannon had worked as a director previously but had no interest in directing his show.
Society has always been addicted to a workaholic mindset, even though it can quickly turn a passion project into a major stressor. As a workaholic, a person expects themselves to wear several hats, to bite off more than they can chew, and to take on more roles than they feel prepared for to make it appear as though they can "do it all." Ultimately, while some people are truly multifaceted and interested in multiple pursuits, it's important to remember that just doing what you can is already worthy of praise.
In addition to being an actor, William Conrad also had creative experience as a director. Conrad served as a director for various episodes of television series like Have Gun–Will Travel and Gunsmoke. Often playing a side character or even a narrator on screen, Cannon's moment to shine came in 1971 when he starred as Frank Cannon in the series Cannon. According to the Chronicle-Tribune, Conrad didn't necessarily have a preference between directing, producing, or acting, three areas of entertainment in which he had ample experience.
"I don't know what I do best," he said. "I've done all with a moderate amount of success." However, Conrad issued a stark warning in addition to his comments. "You must do what you do well and devote all of your energy to doing it right," he said.
That's probably why when Conrad was invited to direct episodes of Cannon, a series that he was already starring in, he said that he wasn't interested in directing any. "I think they [CBS] were surprised to hear the answer was 'NONE!'," said Conrad.
However, the actor knew that if he was going to act in Cannon, he had to be singularly focused on the character, not what was going on behind the scenes. "I'm going to devote all my time and energy to acting and to being the most docile, compatible, easy-to-work-with human being they have ever seen," he said.
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When Webb became the head of Warner Bros. Television, he hired Conrad as the producer for 77 Sunset Strip. For the series' final season (1963-64), Webb tore everything down and turned it into a completely new show, where Efrem Zimbalist Jr. would be working as a lone detective (and nowhere near the fabled locale of the series' title). The episodes had a darker tone to the previous seasons' episodes, and viewers abandoned the show. As a result, Webb was fired by Warners and replaced by Conrad. Conrad in turn would be replaced by the guy Webb replaced, William T. Orr.