The mark of a good detective isn't what they look like, but rather, how they act. If we had a mystery on our hands, we'd feel lucky to have someone like Frank Cannon at our side to solve the case. However, Cannon differed from the typical television detectives of the age. Where many on-screen detectives were well-polished and suave, Cannon had a disheveled look about him that seemed to follow him throughout the series. This wasn't any side effect of any poor planning on the production's part; it was an intentional choice by actor William Conrad.

Conrad had already made a name for himself in the entertainment industry by the time he starred in Cannon. Most notably, Conrad served as the original voice for Marshal Matt Dillion in the radio series Gunsmoke.

In an interview with The Windsor Star, Conrad readily admitted that he bore more similarities to Cannon than one might expect. "I am a slob," he said. However, appearances can be deceiving, because ironically enough, Conrad worked incredibly hard to convince audiences that Frank Cannon was very lazy.

So difficult and arduous was the filming schedule for Cannon that it completely changed Conrad's outlook on his career, as well as his goals for the future.

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William ConradCannon

Despite his experience behind the camera, William Conrad shocked everyone when he refused to direct a single episode of ''Cannon''

"When I did Cannon, I was working fourteen hour days for a seven-day period," he said. "I vowed I'd never do that again." Of course, Conrad's hard work wasn't for nothing, as a show like Cannon is still watched and enjoyed today. However, it's important to remember that not everything is exactly as it seems.

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