- For other people with the same name, see Robert Osborne (disambiguation)
Robert Osborne may refer to:*Robert Osborne, American actor and film historian*R. Travis Osborne, American psychologist*Bobby Osborne, bluegrass musician...
.
Robert Jolin Osborne (born May 3, 1932) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and film historian best known as the primary host for
Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, and previously a host of
The Movie ChannelThe Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
.
Life and career
Born in the small town of
Colfax, WashingtonColfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States.The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census.It is situated amidst wheat-covered hills in a valley at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Palouse River. U.S...
, Osborne graduated from the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
's School of Journalism. He began his career working as a contract actor for
Desi ArnazDesi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...
and
Lucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
's Desilu Studios, becoming part of Lucille Ball's Desilu Workshop, in which Ball worked with and nurtured young performers such as Osborne and actress-singer
Carole CookCarole Cook is an American actress. She has appeared in many theatrical productions, in films and on television.Born as Mildred Frances Cook, she was a protege of Lucille Ball. Ball gave her the stage name of "Carole", after her friend Carole Lombard because, Ball reportedly told Cook, "you have...
. One of Osborne's early television appearances was in 1959 on an episode of
Westinghouse Desilu PlayhouseWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on CBS television between 1958 and 1960...
called "Chain of Command," starring
Hugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor, known for his starring role in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
. He was also featured on the special Christmas Day
Desilu Playhouse installment "The Desilu Revue" in December of that year. He had small roles in such TV shows as
The CaliforniansThe Californians is a 2005 independent drama film from Hart Sharp Films starring Noah Wyle.-Cast:*Noah Wyle as Gavin Ransom*Illeana Douglas as Olive Ransom*Kate Mara as Zoe Tripp*Cloris Leachman as Eileen Boatwright*Joanne Whalley as Luna...
and in the pilot episode of
The Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
.
Ball suggested that Osborne combine his love of film with his abilities as a journalist. Osborne took her advice, although he has continued to appear in small parts in television and film, including an appearance
parodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
ing his TCM hosting job on
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.
Osborne was a columnist for
The Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
from 1982 to 2009. In 2008, Abbeville Press published his book
80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. Between 1986 and 1993, Osborne was an on-air host for The Movie Channel. In 1994, he moved to Turner Classic Movies.
For TCM, in addition to hosting four primetime movies seven days per week, he has also been the host of special one-on-one "Private Screening" interviews featuring many familiar actors and directors. Since 2006, he has also co-hosted TCM's
The EssentialsThe Essentials is a weekly film showcase on Turner Classic Movies airing Saturdays at 8pm EST, spotlighting a specific movie and containing a special introduction and post-movie discussion...
, with
Molly HaskellMolly Haskell is an American feminist film critic and author. Her most influential book is From Reverence to Rape: the Treatment of Women in the Movies...
from 2006 to 2007, with
Carrie FisherCarrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
from 2007 to 2008, with
Rose McGowanRose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
from 2008 to 2009, and currently with
Alec BaldwinAlexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
.
Osborne has also participated in events at the Paley Center for Media in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
saluting the television careers of Lucille Ball and
Cloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
. He recently served as moderator at the Paley for an evening celebrating the 100th birthday of Academy Award-winning songwriter
Johnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
.
Osborne also hosts the annual Robert Osborne's Classic Film Festival in
AthensAthens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. It began in 2005. The non-profit event is held by the
University of GeorgiaThe University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2010 he hosted the very first TCM Classic Film Festival. The 2011 Film Festival takes place April 28 to May 1 in Hollywood.
On July 11, 2011, TCM announced that Osborne would be taking "a short break from his TCM hosting duties for minor surgery, followed by a vacation." Osborne's original projected three-month leave of absence stretched into five months with the announcement of his official return as host of Turner Classic Movies to be December 1, 2011. Osborne did however continue to appear on Saturday nights hosting "The Essentials" with Alec Baldwin.
Osborne resides in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Awards and honors
Osborne won the Publicists Guild of America 1984 Press Award. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from the
Academy of Art UniversityThe Academy of Art University , a for-profit university owned by the Stephens Institute, was founded in San Francisco, California in 1929 by Richard S. Stephens...
, and he was awarded a star at Vine Street 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...
in 2006. In 2008, he received the National Board of Review's
William K. EversonWilliam Keith "Bill" Everson was an English-American archivist, author, critic, educator, collector and film historian. He often discovered lost films.-Early life and career:...
Award.
Works
- Academy Awards Illustrated (1965)
- Hollywood Legends: The Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart and Greta Garbo (1967)
- Academy Awards Oscar Annual (1971–1976)
- Best Actor Oscar Winners (1977)
- Best Actress Oscar Winners (1977)
- Best Picture Oscar Winners (1977)
- 50 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (1978)
- 60 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (1988)
- 65 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (1993)
- 70 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (1998)
- 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (2003)
- 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards (2008)
- "Foreword" – Picture Show: Classic Movie Posters from the TCM Archives by Dianna Edwards and Turner Classic Movies (2003)
- In the Picture: Production Stills from the TCM Archives by Robert Osborne, Alexa L. Foreman, Ruth A. Peltason, and Mark A. Vieira (2004)
- "Foreword" – Under the Rainbow: An Intimate Memoir of Judy Garland, Rock Hudson and My Life in Old Hollywood by John Carlyle (2006)
- "Foreword" – Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era by Turner Classic Movies (2006)
- "Foreword" – Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era by Turner Classic Movies (2006)
- "Introduction" – Leading Couples: The Most Unforgettable Screen Romances of the Studio Era by Turner Classic Movies (2008)
External links