Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half of a century. Robertson portrayed a young
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
in the 1963 film
PT 109PT 109 is a 1963 biographical film which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 as an officer of the United States Navy during World War II. The movie was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by...
, and won the 1968
Academy Award for Best ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for his role in the movie
CharlyCharly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
. On television, he portrayed retired astronaut
Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
in the 1976 adaptation of Aldrin's autobiographic Return to Earth, played a fictional character based on
Director of Central IntelligenceThe Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...
Richard HelmsRichard McGarrah Helms was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1966 to 1973. He was the only director to have been convicted of lying to the United States Congress over Central Intelligence Agency undercover activities. In 1977, he was sentenced to the maximum fine and received a suspended...
in the 1977 adaptation of
John EhrlichmanJohn Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. He was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate first break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury...
's
WatergateThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
novel
The CompanyThe Company is a political fiction Roman à clef novel written by John Ehrlichman, a former close aide to President Richard Nixon and a figure in the Watergate scandal, first published in 1976 by Simon & Schuster. The title is an insider nicknkame for the Central Intelligence Agency...
, and portrayed
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
in the 1987 Ford: The Man and the Machine. His last well-known film appearances were in 2002 through 2007 as Uncle Ben in the Spider-Man film trilogy.
Early life
Robertson was born on September 9, 1923 in La Jolla, California, the son of Clifford Parker Robertson, Jr. (1902-1968), and his first wife, the former Audrey Olga Willingham (1903-1925). His Texas-born father was described as "the idle heir to a tidy sum of ranching money." Robertson recalled that his father "was a very romantic figure—tall, handsome. He married four or five times, and between marriages he'd pop in to see me. He was a great raconteur, and he was always surrounded by sycophants who let him pick up the tab. During the Depression, he tapped the trust for $500,000, and six months later he was back for more."
The actor's parents divorced when he was one, and Robertson's mother died of
peritonitisPeritonitis is an inflammation of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines part of the abdominal cavity and viscera. Peritonitis may be localised or generalised, and may result from infection or from a non-infectious process.-Abdominal pain and tenderness:The main manifestations of...
a year later in El Paso, Texas, at the age of 21. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Eleanor "Eleanora" Willingham (née Sawyer, 1875-1957), in California, and he and his father rarely saw one another. He graduated from
La Jolla High SchoolLa Jolla, CA 92037 Enrollment 1,650 Colors Black & Red██ Mascot Viking Rival Schools The Bishop's School, Cathedral Catholic High School, Mission Bay High School, University City High School Homepage...
in 1941, where he was known as "The Walking Phoenix." He then served in the merchant marine in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
before attending
Antioch CollegeAntioch College is a private, independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was the founder and the flagship institution of the six-campus Antioch University system. Founded in 1852 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1853 with politician and...
in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and dropping out to work as a
journalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for a short time.
Feature films
Robertson was President
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's personal choice to play him in the 1963
PT 109PT 109 is a 1963 biographical film which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 as an officer of the United States Navy during World War II. The movie was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by...
as a young Lieutenant (junior grade)
PT boat captainPT-109 was a PT boat last commanded by Lieutenant, junior grade John F. Kennedy in the Pacific Theater during World War II...
. Kennedy chose Robertson over Edd "Kookie" Byrnes,
Warren BeattyWarren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
(Jacqueline Kennedy's choice), and
Jeffrey HunterJeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
.
The next year, Robertson played a presidential candidate in
The Best ManThe Best Man is a 1964 film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with a screenplay by Gore Vidal based on his play of the same title. Starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, and Lee Tracy, the film details the seamy political maneuverings behind the nomination of a presidential candidate...
.
He won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a mentally disabled man in
CharlyCharly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
, an adaptation of the
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Flowers for AlgernonFlowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
.
Other films included Picnic (1955),
Autumn LeavesAutumn Leaves is a 1956 Columbia Pictures drama film starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness. The screenplay was written by Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler, though it was credited to Jack Jevne, Rouverol and Butler being blacklisted at the time...
(1956),
GidgetGidget is a fictional character created by author Frederick Kohner in his 1957 novel, Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas. The novel follows the adventures of a teenage girl and her surfing friends on the beach at Malibu. The name Gidget is a portmanteau of "girl and midget"...
(1959),
Sunday in New YorkSunday in New York, filmed in Metrocolor, is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, and Rod Taylor. It was one of Fonda's earliest films, and she was called "the loveliest and most gifted of all our new young actresses" by Newsday...
(1963),
Devil's BrigadeThe Devil's Brigade , was a joint World War II American-Canadian commando unit organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana in the United States...
(1968),
Too Late the HeroToo Late the Hero is a 1970 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ken Takakura, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Lance Percival, Ronald Fraser, Harry Andrews and Percy Herbert.-Plot:...
(1970),
J. W. CoopJ. W. Coop is a 1972 Western film set in the world of the modern American rodeo circuit. It stars and was directed by Cliff Robertson who also co-scripted the film. Featuring footage from actual rodeo events, it was made with the cooperation of the Rodeo Cowboys Association .-Cast:* Cliff Robertson...
(1972),
Three Days of the CondorThree Days of the Condor is a 1975 American action thriller film produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr...
(1975), Obsession (1976),
Star 80Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider in 1980...
(1983) and
MaloneMalone is a 1987 movie, starring Burt Reynolds and written by Christopher Frank. It is based on a novel by William P. Wingate. Reynolds stars as ex-CIA agent Richard Malone. Cliff Robertson and Lauren Hutton also star.-Plot:...
(1987). Late in his life Robertson's career had a resurgence. He appeared as Uncle Ben Parker in the
first movie adaptation of Spider-ManSpider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
(2002), as well as in the sequels
Spider-Man 2Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2004) and
Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
(2007). He commented on his website: "Since Spider-Man 1 and 2, I seem to have a whole new generation of fans. That in itself is a fine residual." He was also in the horror film
Riding the BulletRiding the Bullet is a 2004 horror/thriller film, directed by Mick Garris. It is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella of the same name. The movie, which received a limited theatrical release, was not successful in theaters, earning a domestic gross of $134,711.-Plot:Set in 1969, Alan Parker is...
(2004).
In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the
39th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 39th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to 21, 1989.-Jury:* Rolf Liebermann * Leslie Caron* Chen Kaige* Vadim Glowna* Randa Haines* Vladimir Ignatovski* Adrian Kutter* Francisco Rabal...
.
Television
Robertson's early television appearances include a starring role in the live
space operaSpace opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
Rod Brown of the Rocket RangersRod Brown of the Rocket Rangers was a 30-minute, weekly CBS-TV network outer space adventure series, broadcast live Saturdays from April 18, 1953 to May 29, 1954...
(1953–1954), as well as recurring roles on
Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
(1952),
Alcoa TheatreAlcoa Theatre is a half-hour anthology series telecast on NBC at 9:30 pm on alternate Monday nights from October 7, 1957 to September 16, 1960. The program also aired under the title Turn of Fate, with the stories depicting the difficulties faced by individuals who are suddenly thrust into...
(1959), and
Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
(1958, 1960),
The OutlawsOutlaws is an NBC Western television series, starring Barton MacLane as U.S. marshal Frank Caine, who operated in a lawless section of Oklahoma Territory about Stillwater. The program aired 50 one-hour episodes from September 29, 1960, to May 10, 1962. The first season was shot in black-and-white,...
(three episodes as Chad Burns).
Other appearances included
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
episodes "
A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In the year 1847, Chris Horn is one of the leaders of a small wagon train from Ohio attempting to reach California. Horn's wife and young son Christian are in one Conestoga wagon of...
" (1961) and "
The Dummy"The Dummy" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:The episode opens with ventriloquist Jerry Etherson and his dummy Willie in the middle of one of his acts, somewhere in New York City. After the act, he goes back to his dressing room and begins to...
" (1962) followed by guest starring roles in such series as the NBC
medical dramaA medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
about
psychiatryPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
The Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour is an American medical drama about psychiatry starring Wendell Corey, Jack Ging, and Ralph Bellamy, which aired sixty-two new episodes plus selected rebroadcasts on NBC from October 3, 1962, to September 9, 1964.-Series premise:...
(1963) in the role of Jeff Dillon, "The Man Who Came Home Late". In 1958, he portrayed Joe Clay in the very first broadcast of Playhouse 90s
Days of Wine and RosesDays of Wine and Roses was an acclaimed 1958 teleplay by JP Miller which dramatized the problems of alcoholism. John Frankenheimer directed the cast headed by Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie and Charles Bickford....
, in what some critics cite as a superior version of this story about alcoholism. Other network appearances included
The Greatest Show on EarthThe Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964...
(1963) and
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Breaking Point (1964) and the
ABC Stage 67ABC Stage 67 was the umbrella title for a series of 26 weekly shows that included dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and original musicals....
episode "The Trap of Gold" (1966).
He had starring roles in episodes of both the 1960s and 1990s versions of
The Outer LimitsThe Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
. He was awarded an
EmmyAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his leading role in a
1965 episodeThe year 1965 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1965.For the American TV schedule, see: 1965-66 American network television schedule.-Events:...
from
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an anthology television series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967...
entitled "The Game".
He appeared twice as a guest villain on
BatmanBatman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
as the gunfighter "Shame" (1966 and 1968), the second time with his wife,
Dina Merrill-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...
as "Calamity Jan".
In 1976, he portrayed a retired
Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
in an adaptation of Aldrin's autobiography Return to Earth. The next year, he portrayed a fictional
Director of Central IntelligenceThe Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...
(based on
Richard HelmsRichard McGarrah Helms was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1966 to 1973. He was the only director to have been convicted of lying to the United States Congress over Central Intelligence Agency undercover activities. In 1977, he was sentenced to the maximum fine and received a suspended...
) in Washington: Behind Closed Doors, an adaptation of
John EhrlichmanJohn Daniel Ehrlichman was counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. He was a key figure in events leading to the Watergate first break-in and the ensuing Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury...
's
roman a clefRoman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
The CompanyThe Company is a political fiction Roman à clef novel written by John Ehrlichman, a former close aide to President Richard Nixon and a figure in the Watergate scandal, first published in 1976 by Simon & Schuster. The title is an insider nicknkame for the Central Intelligence Agency...
, in turn based on the
Watergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
.
In 1987, he portrayed
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
in Ford: The Man and The Machine.
Later he appeared on
Falcon CrestFalcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
(1983–1984) as Dr. Michael Ranson.
In 1984, he narrated an
AT&TAT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
promotional video documenting some of its technological improvements at the time. Robertson then became AT&T's national television spokesman for ten years, winning the Advertising Age award for best commercial. He was to be the keynote speaker at an AT&T stockholders' meeting during a strike by AT&T workers, but he refused to cross the picket line and did not speak.
In 2003, he appeared on the short-lived series
The Lyon's DenThe Lyon's Den is a 2003 television series set in Washington, D.C. The legal drama starred Rob Lowe as a lawyer called Jack Turner, newly appointed as partner of a long-established law firm that, as the plot revealed, harbored some dark secrets...
.
Columbia Pictures scandal
In 1977, Robertson discovered that his signature had been forged on a $10,000 check payable to him, although it was for work he had not performed. He also learned that the forgery had been carried out by
Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
head
David BegelmanDavid Begelman was a Hollywood producer who was involved in a studio embezzlement scandal in the 1970s.-Agent and studio head:...
, and on reporting it he inadvertently triggered one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the 1970s. Robertson was subsequently blacklisted for several years before he finally returned to film in
BrainstormBrainstorm is a 1983 science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull and starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood...
(1983). The story of the scandal is told in David McClintick's 1982 bestseller Indecent Exposure.
Personal life
In 1957, Robertson married actress
Cynthia StoneCynthia Stone was an American television actress.-Biography:Born in Peoria, Illinois, Stone had a brief career in the 1950s and 1960s as a television actress. Though she mainly appeared in guest spots in various television series, she and then-husband Jack Lemmon starred together in the short...
, the former wife of actor
Jack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
. They had a daughter, Stephanie, before divorcing in 1959; by this marriage he also had a stepson,
Chris Lemmon-History:Lemmon was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Cynthia Stone and actor Jack Lemmon. With a natural talent for music, he was encouraged by his father to study piano. Lemmon considered playing piano professionally after having graduated from the California Institute of the...
.
In 1966, he married actress and
Post CerealsPost Foods, LLC, also known as Post Cereals is a food company that was founded by C.W. Post in 1895 with the first Postum, a "cereal beverage," developed by Post in Battle Creek, Michigan. The first cereal, Grape-Nuts, was developed in 1897. Post has its headquarters in the Bank of America Plaza...
heiress
Dina Merrill-Early life:Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton in New York City, New York, the only child of Post Cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and her second husband, Wall Street stockbroker Edward Francis Hutton...
, the former wife of
Stanley M. Rumbough, Jr.Stanley M. Rumbough, Jr. was born in New York City and attended Yale University. For many years he worked for a variety of manufacturing companies. Rumbough also had an interest in Republican politics. In 1951 he was co-founder of the Citizens for Eisenhower movement, which helped develop grass...
; they had a daughter, Heather (1969-2007), before divorcing in 1989. By this marriage, he also had stepchildren Stanley Hutton Rumbough, David Post Rumbough, and Nedenia (Nina) Colgate Rumbough.
One of Robertson's main hobbies was flying and, among other aircraft, he owned several
de Havilland Tiger MothThe de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
s, a
Messerschmitt Bf 108-Popular culture:Bf 108s and postwar Nord 1000s, played the role of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters in war movies, including The Longest Day, 633 Squadron, Von Ryan's Express and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-See also:-References:Notes...
and a genuine World War II era Mk.IX
Supermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
MK923. He even entered balloon races, including one in 1964 from the mainland to
Catalina IslandSanta Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
that ended with him being rescued from the Pacific Ocean. A certified private pilot, Robertson was a longtime member of the
Experimental Aircraft AssociationThe Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....
, working his way through the ranks in prominence and eventually co-founding the EAA's
Young EaglesYoung Eagles is a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children between the ages of 8 to 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating children about aviation. This program is offered free of charge with donations and...
program, which he chaired from its 1992 inception to 1994 (succeeded by former test pilot
Gen. Chuck YeagerCharles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...
).
Robertson was flying a private
Beechcraft Baron|-See also:- Further reading :*Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 1990. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.*Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.*Taylor, John W. R....
directly over New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was directly over the
World Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, climbing through 7,500 feet, when the first
Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
struck. He was ordered by air traffic control to land immediately at the nearest airport following a nationwide order to ground all civilian and commercial aircraft following the attacks.
Robertson received an award from Antioch College Alumni in 2007 for his contributions to his field of work. In addition to his Oscar and Emmy and several lifetime achievement awards from various
film festivalA film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, Robertson has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. He was also awarded the 2008 Ambassador of Good Will Aviation Award by the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association in Alexandria, Virginia, on May 18, 2008, for his leadership in and promotion of general aviation.
On September 10, 2011, Robertson died in
Stony Brook, New YorkStony Brook is a hamlet located in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, which is on the North Shore of Long Island...
one day after his 88th birthday.
Filmography
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 1943 |
Corvette K-225 Corvette K -225 is a 1943 film starring Randolph Scott and Ella Raines. It was released in the UK as The Nelson Touch. Tony Gaudio was nominated for the 1943 Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on the film....
|
uncredited |
|
| We've Never Been Licked We've Never Been Licked is a World War II propaganda film produced by Walter Wanger and released by United Artists. Parts of the movie were shot on location at the Texas A&M University campus...
|
Adams (uncredited) |
|
| 1956 |
Picnic |
Alan Benson |
|
| Autumn Leaves Autumn Leaves is a 1956 Columbia Pictures drama film starring Joan Crawford and Cliff Robertson in an older woman/younger man tale of mental illness. The screenplay was written by Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler, though it was credited to Jack Jevne, Rouverol and Butler being blacklisted at the time...
|
Burt Hanson |
|
| 1957 |
The Girl Most Likely The Girl Most Likely is a musical about a young woman who ends up engaged to three men at the same time. The film, a remake of Tom, Dick and Harry , was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Jane Powell, Cliff Robertson, and Keith Andes...
|
Pete |
|
| 1958 |
The Naked and the Dead The Naked and the Dead is a 1958 widescreen film based on Norman Mailer's World War II novel The Naked and the Dead. Directed by Raoul Walsh and filmed in Panama the screenplay attributed to the Sanders Brothers adds a strip tease and larger action scenes to Mailer's original narrative...
|
Lieutenant Robert Hearn |
|
| 1959 |
GidgetGidget is a 1959 Columbia Pictures CinemaScope feature film. It stars Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren in a story about a teenager's initiation into the California surf culture and her affiliated romance with a young surfer. The screenplay was written by Gabrielle Upton, a nom de plume...
|
The Big Kahuna |
|
| As the Sea Rages |
Clements |
|
| Battle of the Coral Sea Battle of the Coral Sea is a 1959 film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Cliff Robertson and Gia Scala.-Plot:The crew of an American submarine are on a reconnaissance mission photographing Japanese installations through a periscope camera. When attacked by the Japanese the submarine is scuttled...
|
Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Conway |
|
| 1961 |
The Big Show |
Josef Everard |
|
The Twilight Zone - A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:In the year 1847, Chris Horn is one of the leaders of a small wagon train from Ohio attempting to reach California. Horn's wife and young son Christian are in one Conestoga wagon of...
|
Christian Horn |
|
| All in a Night's Work All in a Night's Work is a 1961 romantic screwball comedy starring Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine, and directed by Joseph Anthony.-Plot:Tony Ryder's uncle, the wealthy owner of a newspaper, has just died...
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Warren Kingsley, Jr. |
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Underworld U.S.A.Underworld U.S.A. is a 1961 neo-noir film produced, written and directed by Samuel Fuller. It tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy who goes to enormous lengths to get revenge against the mobsters who beat his father to death...
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Tolly Devlin |
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| 1962 |
The Interns The Interns is a 1962 drama film that starred Michael Callan and Cliff Robertson. This film is a medical melodrama that presages many similar TV programs to follow. It centers around the personal and professional conflicts of young medical interns under the tutorage of senior surgeons, Telly...
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Dr. John Paul Otis |
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| The Dummy: The Twilight Zone: Episode 98 |
Ventriloquist |
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| 1963 |
My Six Loves My Six Loves is a 1963 comedy film starring Debbie Reynolds as a Broadway star who takes a vacation and finds herself responsible for six abandoned children, in Gower Champion's directorial debut...
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Reverend Jim Larkin |
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| PT 109 PT 109 is a 1963 biographical film which depicts the actions of John F. Kennedy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 as an officer of the United States Navy during World War II. The movie was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by...
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Lt. (j.g.) John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
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Sunday in New YorkSunday in New York, filmed in Metrocolor, is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Jane Fonda, Cliff Robertson, and Rod Taylor. It was one of Fonda's earliest films, and she was called "the loveliest and most gifted of all our new young actresses" by Newsday...
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Adam Tyler |
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| 1964 |
633 Squadron 633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
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Wing Cmdr. Roy Grant |
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| The Best Man The Best Man is a 1964 film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner with a screenplay by Gore Vidal based on his play of the same title. Starring Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, and Lee Tracy, the film details the seamy political maneuverings behind the nomination of a presidential candidate...
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Joe Cantwell |
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| 1965 |
Up from the Beach Up from the Beach is a 1965 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Parrish and starring Cliff Robertson, Red Buttons and James Robertson Justice...
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Sgt. Edward Baxter |
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| Masquerade |
David Frazer |
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Love Has Many FacesLove Has Many Faces is a 1965 drama film made by Columbia Pictures. The movie was directed by Alexander Singer, and written by Marguerite Roberts. Nancy Wilson sings the title song whilst Edith Head designed Lana Turner's clothes.-Plot:...
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Pete Jordon |
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| 1967 |
The Honey PotThe Honey Pot, also known as The Honeypot, is a 1967 crime comedy film made by Famous Artists Productions and distributed by United Artists. The film stars Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Cliff Robertson, Capucine, Edie Adams, and Maggie Smith. It was written for the screen and directed by Joseph L....
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William McFly |
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| 1968 |
The Devil's Brigade The Devil's Brigade is a 1968 American war film based on the 1966 book of the same name co-written by American novelist and historian Robert H. Adleman and Col...
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Maj. Alan Crown |
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| Charly Charly is a 1968 American film directed by Ralph Nelson. The drama stars Cliff Robertson , Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney and Dick Van Patten and tells the story of a mentally retarded bakery worker who is the subject of an experiment to increase human intelligence...
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Charlie Gordon |
Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
National Board of Review Award for Best ActorAn incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actor :-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1970 |
Too Late the HeroToo Late the Hero is a 1970 Anglo-American war film directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Michael Caine, Henry Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Ken Takakura, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Lance Percival, Ronald Fraser, Harry Andrews and Percy Herbert.-Plot:...
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Lt. (j.g.) Sam Lawson |
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| 1972 |
J. W. Coop J. W. Coop is a 1972 Western film set in the world of the modern American rodeo circuit. It stars and was directed by Cliff Robertson who also co-scripted the film. Featuring footage from actual rodeo events, it was made with the cooperation of the Rodeo Cowboys Association .-Cast:* Cliff Robertson...
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J. W. Coop |
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| The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid is a 1972 Technicolor Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starred Cliff Robertson as Cole Younger, Robert Duvall as Jesse James, Luke Askew as Jim Younger, R....
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Cole Younger Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw with the James-Younger gang...
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| 1973 |
The Men Who Made the Movies: Alfred Hitchcock |
narrator |
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| Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies is a 1973 adventure-comedy film, with a story by Steven Spielberg. The film centers on a stunt pilot and his son as they fly around the United States in the 1920s, and their adventures along the way.-Background:Steven Spielberg had developed the story of a flyer...
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Ace Eli Walford |
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| 1974 |
Man on a Swing |
Lee Tucker |
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| 1975 |
Out of Season Out of Season is a 1975 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Vanessa Redgrave - Ann* Cliff Robertson - Joe Tanner* Susan George - Joanna* Edward Evans - Charlie...
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Joe Tanner |
Entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival The 25th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 27 to July 8, 1975.-Jury:* Sylvia Syms * Ottokar Runze* Henry Chapier* Else Goelz* Albert Johnson* Rostislav Yurenev* Carlo Martins* S...
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Three Days of the CondorThree Days of the Condor is a 1975 American action thriller film produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr...
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J. Higgins |
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| 1976 |
Shoot Shoot is a Canadian film directed by Harvey Hart. The screenplay was written by Richard Berg and based on the novel of the same name by Douglas Fairbairn....
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Rex |
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MidwayMidway is a 1976 war film directed by Jack Smight and produced byWalter Mirisch from a screenplay by Donald S. Sanford. The music score was by John Williams and the cinematography by Harry Stradling, Jr...
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Cmdr. Carl Jessop |
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| Obsession |
Michael Courtland |
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| Return to Earth |
Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
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| 1977 |
Fraternity Row Fraternity Row is a 1977 film drama portraying life in a 1950s fraternity at a fictional college.-Plot:This movie tells the story of one college student and his trials and tribulations as he pledges the Gamma Nu Pi Fraternity at a fictional Eastern school.Originally this film was Charles Gary...
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Narrator |
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| Washington: Behind Closed Doors |
William Martin |
Adaptation of The Company The Company is a political fiction Roman à clef novel written by John Ehrlichman, a former close aide to President Richard Nixon and a figure in the Watergate scandal, first published in 1976 by Simon & Schuster. The title is an insider nicknkame for the Central Intelligence Agency...
; character based on Richard HelmsRichard McGarrah Helms was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1966 to 1973. He was the only director to have been convicted of lying to the United States Congress over Central Intelligence Agency undercover activities. In 1977, he was sentenced to the maximum fine and received a suspended...
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| 1979 |
The Little Prince
Martin the Cobbler
Rip Van Wynkle
The Diary of Adam and Eve |
Host; The pilot (Little Prince) |
Package of Claymation shorts by Will Vinton Will Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
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| 1980 |
Dominique Dominique is a 1980 British film directed by Michael Anderson.The film is also known as Dominique Is Dead .-Plot:...
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David Ballard |
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| The Pilot The Pilot is a 1980 film by director Cliff Robertson and is based on the novel of the same name by Robert P. Davis.The main character, Mike Hagan, is a pilot in passenger service and a candidate for the honor of Best Pilot of the Year. There's only one problem -- Mike is an alcoholic...
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Mike Hagan |
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| 1983 |
Brainstorm Brainstorm is a 1983 science fiction film directed by Douglas Trumbull and starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood...
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Alex Terson |
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Falcon CrestFalcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
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Dr. Michael Ranson |
Season 3 |
| Class Class is a 1983 American movie that was directed by Lewis John Carlino, the writer/director of the 1979 film The Great Santini. It features the film debuts of actors Andrew McCarthy, John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, Lolita Davidovich, and Alan Ruck....
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Mr. Burroughs |
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| Star 80 Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider in 1980...
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Hugh HefnerHugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
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| 1985 |
Shaker Run |
Judd Pierson |
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| 1987 |
Malone |
Charles Delaney |
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| Ford: The Man and the Machine |
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
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| 1991 |
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken is a 1991 film about Sonora Webster Carver, a rider of diving horses. It is based on events in her life as told in her memoir A Girl and Five Brave Horses...
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Doctor Carver |
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| 1992 |
Wind Wind is a film released in 1992. The movie was directed by Carroll Ballard and starred Matthew Modine, Jennifer Grey, and Cliff Robertson.- Plot summary :...
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Morgan Weld |
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| 1994 |
Renaissance Man |
Colonel James |
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| 1995 |
Pakten |
Ted Roth |
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| 1996 |
Escape from L.A. Escape From L.A. is a 1996 film directed by John Carpenter. The sequel to the action film Escape from New York, the film follows former war hero Snake Plissken, played by Kurt Russell...
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President |
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| 1998 |
Assignment Berlin |
Cliff Garret |
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| Melting Pot |
Jack Durman |
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| 1999 |
Family Tree |
Larry |
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| 2000 |
Falcon Down Falcon Down was an action film from 2000 directed by Philip J. Roth and starring Dale Midkiff, William Shatner, Judd Nelson, Jennifer Rubin and Cliff Robertson.-Story:DVD synopsis: The biggest U.S...
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Buzz Thomas |
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| 2001 |
Mach 2 |
Vice President Pike |
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| 2002 |
13th Child13th Child is a 2002 direct-to-video horror film, based on the Jersey Devil. The screenplay was written by Michael Maryk and Cliff Robertson, who also stars in the film. The story is based on the book "The Jersey Devil" by James F. McCloy and Ray Miller Jr...
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Mr. Shroud |
Robertson was one of the writers of this film |
Spider-ManSpider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
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Ben Parker |
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| 2004 |
Spider-Man 2Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
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Ben Parker |
Cameo |
| Riding the Bullet Riding the Bullet is a 2004 horror/thriller film, directed by Mick Garris. It is an adaptation of a Stephen King novella of the same name. The movie, which received a limited theatrical release, was not successful in theaters, earning a domestic gross of $134,711.-Plot:Set in 1969, Alan Parker is...
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Farmer |
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| 2007 |
Spider-Man 3Spider-Man 3 is a 2007 American superhero film written and directed by Sam Raimi, with a screenplay by Ivan Raimi and Alvin Sargent. It is the third film in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
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Ben Parker |
Cameo; Last film appearance |
External links