From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Ching, also credited as William Brooks, Bill Ching and William Brooks Ching (born 2 October 1913, St. Louis, Missouri - died 1 July 1989, Tustin, California) was a United States character actor who appeared in almost 20 films and on television during the later 1940s and throughout the 1950s. By the early 21st century Ching was most widely noted for his supporting role in Rudolph Maté's 1950 film noir drama D.O.A. as Halliday, who slips "luminous poison" into the drink of an accountant visiting Sa…