Bartlett Robinson
Bartlett Robinson | |
---|---|
Born |
Manhattan, New York | December 9, 1912
Died |
March 26, 1986 73) Fallbrook, California | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1933–1982 |
Spouse(s) |
Margaret Whitney Ballantine (1938-1971), divorced[1] Margot B. Robinson (?-1986)[2] |
Children | 2 |
Bartlett Whitney Robinson (December 9, 1912—March 26, 1986) was an American actor who performed on radio, the stage, in films, and on television for five decades. In 1943 he was the first actor of several performers who provided the voice of the title character on the radio version of Perry Mason. Later, as a character actor in films and on television, he was often cast in roles of authority figures, such as military officers, wealthy ranchers, corporate executives, doctors, and judges. Robinson appeared in 21 films from 1956 to 1973 and in over 110 television productions between 1949 and 1982. He was also credited as Bart Robinson.[1]
Early life, radio and stage
Bartlett Robinson was born in Manhattan, New York, on December 9, 1912. He began his career in entertainment in 1933 when he and his friends formed a performance group called the "Sunday Players", who later drove across country together to Los Angeles, California, in hopes of finding steady work. There Robinson subsequently got a job in the city at radio station KFI.[2] For the remainder of the 1930s and into the 1940s, Robinson traveled back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to take parts in both stage and radio productions.[2][3] Some of his roles in old-time radio programs included the following:
Program | Role |
---|---|
Backstage Wife | Rupert[4] |
Foreign Assignment | Barry Brian[4]:120 |
Perry Mason | Perry Mason[4]:269 |
Portia Faces Life | Walter Manning[4]:274 |
Pretty Kitty Kelly | Byron Welby[4]:275 |
Valiant Lady (radio) | Truman Scott[4]:346 |
Backstage Wife[3] | |
Young Doctor Malone[3] | |
The Romance of Helen Trent[3] |
Robinson was cast in stage productions for two decades and appeared in plays with stars such as Henry Fonda and Lillian Gish. He would continue to be active in theater well into the 1950s.[3] A few of his Broadway credits are Naughty Naught '00 (1936), Sweet River (1936), Dear Ruth (1944), The Girl in Pink Tights (1953), and The Prescott Proposals (1953).[5]
Film and television career
By the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Robinson began to focus his acting career on productions in the rapidly expanding medium of television and on film projects. On June 13, 1949, he appeared on television in "Light Up the Sky", an episode on the anthology series Ford Theatre.[1] He made his film debut playing the part of a guest in the 1956 comedy The Birds and the Bees, which starred George Gobel, Mitzi Gaynor and David Niven. Earlier, he had appeared in other television episodes, including Ski Story on the Armstrong Circle Theatre, which aired 13 January 1953. Among others television series, he played the role of Frank Caldwell in 26 episodes of Mona McCluskey (1965-1966)[6] and appeared in many other episodes, predominantly in supporting roles.
Robinson's last appearance on television was in the episode "Law" on the television series Lou Grant, which aired on April 12, 1982. In that episode he played Jacob Bauman, a character he had already portrayed on the series in a 1979 episode titled "Witness". With regard to the "big screen," his final credited role was that of Dr. Orva in Woody Allen's 1973 film Sleeper.
Personal life and death
Bartlett Robinson was married twice, first to Margaret Whitney Ballantine in 1938. The couple had two children and remained wedded for 33 years, until their divorce in 1978.[1] Bartlett then married Margot B. Robinson, a union that lasted until 1986, when he died from cancer at a retirement home in Fallbrook, California.[3][7]
Film and television credits
Films
- 1956: The Birds and the Bees, directed by Norman Taurog
- 1956: Toward the Unknown, directed by Mervyn LeRoy
- 1957: Battle Hymn, directed by Douglas Sirk
- 1957: The Spirit of St. Louis, directed by Billy Wilder
- 1958: No Time for Sergeants, directed by Mervyn LeRoy
- 1958: Girl in the Woods, directed by Tom Gries
- 1958: I Want to Live!, directed by Robert Wise
- 1959: A Stranger in My Arms, directed by Helmut Käutner
- 1959: Warlock, directed by Edward Dmytryk
- 1961: All Hands on Deck, directed by Norman Taurog
- 1964: A Distant Trumpet, directed by Raoul Walsh
- 1964: Where Love Has Gone, directed by Edward Dmytryk
- 1965: Joy in the Morning, directed by Alex Segal
- 1966: Dawn of Victory - Short
- 1966: The Fortune Cookie, directed by Billy Wilder
- 1968: Live a Little, Love a Little, directed by Norman Taurog
- 1968: The Bamboo Saucer, directed by Frank Telford
- 1968: The Wrecking Crew, directed by Phil Karlson
- 1969: Marlowe, directed by Paul Bogart
- 1970: R. P. M., directed by Stanley Kramer
- 1973: Sleeper, directed by Woody Allen
Television
- 1949: Ford Television Theatre, one episode
- 1953: Armstrong Circle Theater, one episode
- 1953: Goodyear Television Playhouse, one episode
- 1954: The Philco Television Playhouse, one episode
- 1955: Medic, one episode
- 1955-1956: Big Town, two episodes
- 1956: Crusader, one episode
- 1956: Lux Video Theater, three episodes
- 1957: Climax!, one episode
- 1957: Telephone Time, one episode
- 1957: Meet McGraw, one episode
- 1957: Fireside Theatre, one episode
- 1958: Cheyenne, one episode
- 1958: State Trooper, one episode
- 1958: Father Knows Best, one episode
- 1958: The Court of Last Resort, one episode
- 1958: M Squad, one episode
- 1958: Tombstone Territory, one episode
- 1958: The Walter Winchell File, one episode
- 1958: Bachelor Father, three episodes
- 1958: The Restless Gun, one episode
- 1958: Yancy Derringer, one episode
- 1958: Peter Gunn, one episode
- 1958: Steve Canyon, one episode
- 1959: The Third Man, one episode
- 1959: Lux Playhouse, one episode
- 1959: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, one episode
- 1958-1959 Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, three episodes
- 1959: The Rifleman, one episode
- 1957-1959 Whirlybirds, three episodes
- 1959: Johnny Ringo, one episode
- 1959: Men into Space, one episode
- 1958-1959: Richard Diamond, Private Detective, four episodes
- 1959: Startime, one episode
- 1958-1959: Zane Grey Theatre, episodes series
- 1956-1959: Playhouse 90, two episodes
- 1959: Hennesey, one episode
- 1960: Fury, one episode
- 1960: Markham, one episode
- 1960: Mr. Lucky, one episode
- 1956-1960: Gunsmoke, seven episodes
- 1960: Bronco, one episode
- 1960: Overland Trail, one episode
- 1960: Riverboat, 2 episodes
- 1960: Hawaiian Eye, one episode
- 1961: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, one episode
- 1959-1961: The Untouchables, three episodes
- 1957, 1961: Maverick, 2 episodes series
- 1961: The Case of the Dangerous Robin, one episode
- 1961: The Brothers Brannagan, one episode
- 1961: The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, one episode
- 1961: Thriller, one episode
- 1961: Whispering Smith, one episode
- 1959-1961: The Lawless Years, 3 episodes
- 1961: Follow the Sun, one episode
- 1958-1961: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 8 episodes
- 1962: Cain's Hundred, one episode
- 1958, 1962: 77 Sunset Strip, 2 episodes
- 1960-1962: Outlaws, 2 episodes
- 1961-1962: The Twilight Zone, 2 episodes
- 1960-1962: Leave It to Beaver, 2 episodes
- 1962: The New Breed, 3 episodes
- 1962: Stoney Burke, one episode
- 1962: The Dick Powell Show, one episode
- 1962: My Three Sons, one episode
- 1959-1963: Laramie, 9 episodes
- 1963: The Dakotas, one episode
- 1963 The Eleventh Hour, one episode
- 1962-1963: Alcoa Premiere, 2 episodes
- 1964: Kraft Suspense Theatre, one episode
- 1964: Ready for the People, made-for-television movie
- 1964: My Living Doll, one episode
- 1964: The Andy Griffith Show, one episode
- 1964-1965: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, 3 episodes
- Wendy and Me - TV, 6 episode series ( 1964 - 1965 )
- Slattery's People - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- The Cara Williams Show - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- Monsters ( The Munsters ) - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- OK Crackerby! - TV, 2 episodes series ( 1965 )
- Bewitched ( Bewitched ) - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- The Smothers Brothers Show - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- 1965: F Troop, one episode
- My Mother the Car ( My Mother the Car ) - TV series, one episode ( 1965 )
- The law of Burke ( Burke's Law ) - TV series, 2 episodes ( 1965 )
- Perry Mason - TV series, 6 episodes ( 1959 - 1966 )
- Wild West ( The Wild Wild West ) - TV series, one episode ( 1966 )
- Mona McCluskey - TV series, 26 episodes ( 1965 - 1966 )
- 1966: Felony Squad, one episode
- 1967: Love on a Rooftop, one episode
- 1967: Gilligan's Island, one episode
- 1967: The Lucy Show, one episode
- 1967: Judd for the Defense, one episode
- 1967: Ironside, one episode
- The invaders ( The Invaders ) - TV series, one episode ( 1968 )
- Here's Lucy - TV series, one episode ( 1968 )
- Trial Run - TV movie ( 1969 )
- Hawaii Five-O ( Hawaii Five-O ) - TV series, 2 episodes ( 1969 )
- 1967-1969: The Guns of Will Sonnett, three episodes
- The Survivors - TV, 2 episodes series (1969 )
- The Mod Squad ( The Mod Squad ) - TV series, one episode (1969)
- Petticoat Junction - TV series, 2 episodes ( 1967 - 1969 )
- Green Acres ( Green Acres ) - TV series, one episode ( 1970 )
- Thief ( It Takes a Thief ) - TV series, 2 episodes ( 1968 - 1970 )
- Bonanza - TV series, 3 episodes ( 1959 - 1970 )
- The Most Deadly Game - TV series, one episode ( 1970 )
- The Bill Cosby Show - TV series, one episode ( 1970 )
- The Virginian ( The Virginian ) - TV series, 3 episodes ( 1967 - 1970 )
- Mannix - TV series, 3 episodes ( 1969 - 1972 )
- Kung Fu - TV series, one episode ( 1974 )
- Lincoln - TV series, one episode ( 1974 )
- 1975: The Odd Couple, one episode
- Cannon - TV, 2 episodes series ( 1971 - 1976 )
- 1978: The New Adventures of Heidi, TV movie
- 1979-1982: Lou Grant, three episodes
References and notes
- 1 2 3 4 "Bartlett Robinson", mini-biography and listing of acting roles during his career. Internet Movie Database (IMDb), a subsidiary of Amazon, Seattle, Washington. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
- 1 2 3 "Bartlett Robinson Dead at 73; Radio Voice of Perry Mason", The New York Times, April 7, 1986; edited obituary from Associated Press (AP) release. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bartlett Robinson, Radio's Perry Mason, Is Dead at 73". Los Angeles Times. April 5, 1968. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
- ↑ "("Bartlett Robinson" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 710. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- ↑ Philbin, Gordon (2011). "Bartlett Robinson", Find a Grave memorial (81408598) with biographical profile and photograph, online memorial established December 2, 2011. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
External links
- Bartlett Robinson on IMDb
- Bartlett Robinson at TCM Movie Database
- Bartlett Robinson at TVGuide.com
- Bartlett Robinson at Aveleyman
- Bartlett Robinson a Allmovie
- Bartlett Robinson at Find a Grave