Biographie
Aron Kincaid, a notable movie and TV actor, was born Norman Neale Williams III on June 15, 1940, in Hollywood, California. As a toddler, his father, a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Force, was killed at 27 when his plane was shot down by the Nazis in the final year of World War II. Aron was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Big Bear Lake, nestled in the San Bernardino Mountains. Showing an early passion for art, he sold his drawings and paintings for 10 cents each to cabin residents. At 12, he earned first place in a national art contest sponsored by Eutectic Welding Alloy. After two years at Ridgewood Military Academy, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Oakland, California. While still in high school, Aron enrolled at the California College of Art but left after two sessions when a professor interfered with his work, ending his formal art education.
Growing into a tall, striking blond teenager with a deep tan and hairy chest, Aron saw potential in his looks and gravitated toward acting. As a senior at Oakland High School, he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in his first amateur film, The Fall of Nineveh (1957), an hour-long 8mm color and sound production featuring around 400 cast members, including sets and costumes he designed. After graduating, he returned to Southern California to attend UCLA, where he made several student films. In his sophomore year, Roger Corman gave him his first uncredited professional acting role as a beekeeper in the cult horror film The Wasp Woman (1959). His second unbilled role was as Laurence Olivier’s standard bearer in the epic Spartacus (1960). While accompanying an actress friend to an Equity stage audition, Aron auditioned himself and landed the role of the young suitor in "The Loud, Red Patrick." A casting agent noticed his performance, leading to a Universal contract. Producer Leonard Freeman signed him for a regular role on the last season of Bachelor Father (1957), playing John Forsythe’s law partner and fiancé to Noreen Corcoran’s character. This led to roles in Universal series such as Channing (1963), Alcoa Premiere (1961), and Boris Karloff's Thriller (1960).
After graduating from UCLA in 1962, Aron joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves before returning to Hollywood. With beach party movies popular, Aron embraced the fun-loving vibe. Thanks to actor Bart Patton, he starred in Paramount’s The Girls on the Beach (1965), reuniting with Noreen Corcoran and featuring The Beach Boys and The Crickets. He then appeared in Paramount’s Beach Ball (1965), headlined by Edd Byrnes and Chris Noel, showcasing The Supremes and The Righteous Brothers; Ski Party (1965), starring Frankie Avalon and vocalists Lesley Gore and James Brown; and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966), the final installment of the Beach Party series. Of his beach films with American International Pictures (AIP), Aron’s favorite was Ski Party (1965), where he played the obnoxious athlete-lover Freddy Carter. Contract issues with AIP resulted in a lawsuit which Aron won, earning a substantial settlement. As part of the settlement, he was obligated to star in two more films chosen by the studio; he appeared in the poorly received Creature of Destruction (1968), a remake of The She-Creature (1956), but the second film was never produced.
Freelancing thereafter, Aron returned to film with roles such as an arrogant character in Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire (1967), second billing to Chuck Connors in The Proud and Damned (1972, filmed in 1968), and co-starring in the underwater adventure Black Water Gold (1970), shot mainly in Nassau, Bahamas, alongside Keir Dullea, Bradford Dillman, Ricardo Montalban, France Nuyen, and Lana Wood. On Catalina Island, he filmed Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Sharer (1973) with David Soul. Aron also appeared on popular TV shows including The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Get Smart (1965), The F.B.I. (1965), Family Affair (1966), Lassie (1954), and Love, American Style (1969). He performed in local Equity theater productions and appeared with Virginia Mayo in "Cactus Flower." His face became familiar in numerous TV commercials. Disillusioned by a decade of limited progress and declining film quality, Aron left Hollywood in 1972, leased his home, and moved to San Francisco to focus on painting. After a brief stint bartending, he was discovered by Sabina Models, a top West Coast agency, becoming their only male client and appearing in many billboards, newspaper ads, and magazines. Within two years, he joined the Nina Blanchard Agency in Southern California and gained representation in multiple cities. His modeling pinnacle came after signing with Wilhelmina in New York, where he appeared on the New Year's cover of New York magazine. Over the next 20 years, Aron worked as a top photographic and runway model and on-camera spokesman for products ranging from aftershave to Cadillac cars. Acting offers resumed with roles in Gable and Lombard (1976), Cannonball! (1976), Planet Earth (1974), and Brave New World (1980). In the early 1980s, he also worked in animation voice acting for projects such as The Smurfs (1981), The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986), Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987), and Disney’s DuckTales (1987).
On his 55th birthday in 1995, Aron withdrew from the spotlight, retiring early to dedicate himself fully to art. He has since lived at his 1917 Benedict Canyon hunting lodge, specializing in portraits and caricatures of old Hollywood figures, as well as landscapes and seascapes inspired by California and Italy.
