Born and raised in the Morris Park section of the Northeast Bronx in New York City, Bill graduated from Public School 108, St. Francis Xavier and St. Raymond's High School For Boys and attended some college (Fordham/John Jay). After working as a Wild Animal Keeper at the Catskill Game Farm (Now Closed due to very poor management on the part of the Founder's daughter) and an Office Manager for the late then Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Bill followed in his Father's and Grandfather's footsteps and was sworn in as a New York City Housing Authority Police Officer in July of 1983 and spent three years on uniformed patrol in the housing projects of the South Bronx, Harlem and the Lower East Side. In 1986, with the emergence of the "crack" epidemic, he was assigned as an undercover narcotics officer on a re-assignment to the NYPD. In 1989, a year after his teammate (P.O.Christopher Hoban) was killed in a drug bust gone bad (unfortunately the same night another NYPD Police Officer, Michael Buczyek (34th Pct) was killed) he was re-assigned back to the Housing Police Department where he was promoted to Detective and continued working several different assignments throughout the city. In 1995, a merge between the Housing and Transit Authority Police Departments and the NYPD sent him to the 28th Precinct Detective Squad in Harlem. Seven years and numerous assignments later including the Homicide Squad and the Special Victims Unit, Bill was transferred, at his request, to the Central Park Precinct Detective Squad in Central Park in Manhattan where he would have more "down time" to focus on his impending retirement and the pursuit of his second career as an actor. On October 31, 2003, Halloween Day, Bill officially retired from the NYPD after almost 21 years. In addition to enjoying a so far successful part-time acting career, Bill also owns William H. Burns & Associates Inc., a Private Investigation, Security and Ground Transportation business catering mainly to the music and entertainment industry. If you are flying in and out of the NYC area, Bill IS your man!! During the summer of 2007, Bill also volunteered part-time as an Animal Keeper in the Mammal Department at The Bronx Zoo. He is an avid skier, scuba diver and outdoorsman and is a fully trained member of the Continental Village Fire Department. He and his wife Janice(Brooklyn Italian!), a successful artist, antique art restorer and tax specialist, were married on May 12, 2001 and live in the woods in the Hudson Valley/Cold Spring/Garrison area of New York State with their Black Lab "Trooper", 8 exotic birds and two cats. Visitors are always welcome (but don't sneak up on us because we got guns!!!)...Call for directions, come hungry and bring something to throw on the grill!!!
