Cliff Robertson Dies: Oscar Winner Was 88
Mr. Hole the Magnificent
NEW YORK — Cliff Robertson, the handsome movie actor who played John
F. Kennedy in "PT-109," won an Oscar for "Charly" and was famously
victimized in a 1977 Hollywood forgery scandal, died Saturday. He was
88.
His secretary of 53 years, Evelyn Christel, said he died in Stony
Brook of natural causes a day after his 88th birthday.
Robertson never elevated into the top ranks of leading men, but he
remained a popular actor from the mid-1950s into the following
century. His later roles included kindly Uncle Ben in the "Spider-Man"
movies.
He also gained attention for his second marriage to actress and
heiress Dina Merrill, daughter of financier E.F. Hutton and Marjorie
Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune and one of the
world's richest women.
His triumph came in 1968 with his Academy Award performance in
"Charly," as a mentally disabled man who undergoes medical treatment
that makes him a genius – until a poignant regression to his former
state.
"My father was a loving father, devoted friend, dedicated professional
and honorable man," daughter Stephanie Saunders said in a statement.
"He stood by his family, friends, and colleagues through good times
and bad. He made a difference in all our lives and made our world a
better place. We will all miss him terribly."
Robertson had created a string of impressive performances in
television and on Broadway, but always saw his role played in films by
bigger names. His TV performances in "Days of Wine and Roses" and "The
Hustler," for example, were filmed with Jack Lemmon and Paul Newman,
respectively. Robertson's role in Tennessee Williams' play "Orpheus
Descending" was awarded to Marlon Brando in the movie.
Robertson first appeared in the "Charly" story in a TV version, "The
Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon." Both were based on "Flowers for
Algernon," a short story that author Daniel Keyes later revised into a
novel. Robertson was determined that this time the big-screen role
would not go to another actor.
"I bought the movie rights to the show, and I tried for eight years to
persuade a studio to make it," he said in 1968. "Finally I found a new
company, ABC Films. I owned 50 percent of the gross, but I gave half
of it to Ralph Nelson to direct."
Critic Roger Ebert called Robertson's portrayal "a sensitive,
believable one." The motion picture academy agreed, though Robertson
was unable to get a break from an overseas movie shoot and was not on
hand when his Oscar was announced.
Another memorable movie role, portraying future President Kennedy in
the World War II drama "PT-109," presented other challenges.
Released in 1963, it was the first movie to be made about a sitting
president, and dozens of actors were considered. Kennedy himself
favored Robertson, but he warned him he didn't want someone trying to
imitate his distinctive New England accent.
"That was fine with me," the actor commented in 1963. "I think it
would have been a mistake for me to say `Hahvahd' or try to reproduce
gestures. Then the audience would have been constantly aware that an
actor was impersonating the president."
He added that the film obviously couldn't be done with heroics, "like
Errol Flynn gunning down 30 of the enemy. This young naval officer
just does things because they have to be done."
After seeing photos of Robertson in costume, Kennedy had one critique:
His hair was parted on the wrong side.
The actor dutifully trained his hair to part on the left.
"PT-109" was plagued with problems from the start: script changes,
switch of directors, bad weather, snakes and mosquitoes in the Florida
Keys where it was filmed.
The troubles were evident on the screen, and critics roundly rapped
the film, although Robertson's work won praise.
In 1977, Robertson made the headlines again, this time by blowing the
whistle on a Hollywood financial scandal.
He had discovered that David Begelman, president of Columbia Pictures,
had forged his signature on a $10,000 salary check, and he called the
FBI and the Burbank and Beverly Hills police departments. Hollywood
insiders were not happy with the ugly publicity.
"I got phone calls from powerful people who said, `You've been very
fortunate in this business; I'm sure you wouldn't want all this to
come to an end,'" Robertson recalled in 1984.
Begelman served time for embezzlement, but he returned to the film
business. He committed suicide in 1995.
Robertson said neither the studios nor the networks would hire him for
four years.
He supported himself as a spokesman for AT&T until the drought ended
in 1981 when he was hired by MGM for "Brainstorm," Natalie Wood's
final film.
Born Sept. 9, 1923, in La Jolla, Calif., Robertson was 2 when he was
adopted by wealthy parents who named him Clifford Parker Robertson
III. After his parents divorced and his mother died, he was reared by
his maternal grandmother, whom he adored.
Robertson studied briefly at Antioch College, majoring in journalism,
then returned to California and appeared in two small roles in
Hollywood movies. Rejected by the services in World War II because of
a weak eye, he served in the Merchant Marine.
He set his sights on New York theater, and like dozens of other future
stars, profited from the advent of live television drama. His Broadway
roles also attracted notice, and after avoiding Hollywood offers for
several years, he accepted a contract at Columbia Pictures.
"I think I held the record for the number of times I was on
suspension," he remarked in 1969. "I remember once I turned down a B
picture, telling the boss, Harry Cohn, I would rather take a
suspension. He shouted at me, `Kid, ya got more guts than brains.' I
think old Harry might have been right."
Robertson's first performance for Columbia, "Picnic," was impressive,
even though his screen pal, William Holden, stole the girl, Kim Novak.
He followed with a tearjerker, "Autumn Leaves," as Joan Crawford's
young husband, then a musical, "The Girl Most Likely" with Jane
Powell. In 1959 he endeared himself to "Gidget" fans as The Big
Kahuna, the mature Malibu surf bum who takes Gidget under his wing.
He remained a busy, versatile leading man through the `60s and `70s,
but lacked the intensity of Brando, James Dean and others who brought
a new style of acting to the screen.
"I'm not one of the Golden Six," he commented in 1967, referring to
the top male stars of that day. "I take what's left over."
"They all know me as a great utility player. `Good old Cliff,' they
say. Someday I'd like to be in there as the starting pitcher."
The chance came with "Charly," but after the usual Oscar flurry, he
resumed his utility position.
Robertson had the most success in war movies. His strong presence made
him ideal for such films as "The Naked and the Dead," "Battle of Coral
Sea," "633 Squadron," "Up From the Beach," "The Devil's Brigade," "Too
Late the Hero" and "Midway."
He had a passion for flying, and he poured his movie earnings into
buying and restoring World War I and II planes. He even entered
balloon races, including one in 1964 from the mainland to Catalina
Island that ended with him being rescued from the Pacific Ocean.
In 1957, Robertson married Lemmon's ex-wife, Cynthia Stone, and they
had a daughter, Stephanie, before splitting in 1960. In 1966, he
married Merrill and they had a daughter, Heather. The couple divorced
in 1989.
Robertson's funeral is set for Friday in East Hampton.
___
Former Associated Press writer Bob Thomas in Los Angeles contributed
to this report.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/10/cliff-robertson-dies-osca_n_957075.html
tomcervo
Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson dies at 88
By DENNIS MCLELLAN
Cliff Robertson, who starred as John F. Kennedy in a 1963 World War II
drama and later won an Academy Award for his portrayal of a mentally
disabled bakery janitor in the movie "Charly," died Saturday, one day
after his 88th birthday.
Robertson, who also played a real-life role as the whistle-blower in
the check-forging scandal of then-Columbia Pictures president David
Begelman that rocked Hollywood in the late 1970s, died at Stony Brook
University Medical Center on New York's Long Island, according to
Evelyn Christel, his longtime personal secretary. A family statement
said he died of natural causes.
In a more than 50-year career in films, Robertson appeared in 60
movies, including "PT 109," "My Six Loves," "Sunday In New York," "The
Best Man," "The Devil's Brigade," "Three Days of the Condor,"
"Obsession" and "Star 80."
More recently, he played Uncle Ben Parker in the "Spider-Man" films.
Throughout his career, Robertson worked regularly in television,
including delivering an Emmy Award-winning performance in "The Game,"
a 1965 drama on "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre."
Robertson first came to filmgoers' attention playing Kim Novak's
wealthy boyfriend in "Picnic," the 1955 romantic-drama starring
William Holden.
While continuing to work on stage and in television, Robertson starred
in a string of movies over the next seven years.
He was Jane Powell's love interest in the 1957 musical comedy "The
Girl Most Likely," an Army lieutenant in the 1958 World War II drama
"The Naked and the Dead," a surf bum (the Kahuna) in the 1959 Sandra
Dee surf-and-sand epic "Gidget" and a doctor in the 1962 drama "The
Interns."
Despite his continued work in films, Robertson failed to reach the top
level of stardom - or, as he put it in the early '60s, he had yet to
make it to "that golden circle of three or five (stars) in Hollywood
who can pick and choose" their movie roles.
Robertson appeared to be on his way after President Kennedy personally
approved him to star in "PT 109," the 1963 film about Kennedy's heroic
World War II exploits in the Navy as a motor torpedo boat skipper in
the South Pacific.
Although described in a Look magazine cover story as "The Big Epic
that Robertson's career has always needed," "PT 109" ultimately didn't
do much to advance the screen career of what the magazine called "one
of the finest young actors in America today."
In contrast to most of the movies he was making at the time, Robertson
found some of his choicest roles on stage and in television.
On Broadway in 1957, he played the lead role of the drifter in
Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending" - the same role Marlon Brando
played in "The Fugitive Kind," director Sidney Lumet's 1959 movie
version of the play.
And on television, he played an alcoholic in the critically acclaimed
1958 "Playhouse 90" production of "The Days of Wine and Roses," only
to see Jack Lemmon land the role in the 1962 movie version.
Frustrated by seeing roles he originated go to major movie stars for
the film versions - "I had a reputation then for being the bridesmaid,
never the bride" - Robertson wasn't about to let it happen again when
he starred in the 1961 production of "The Two Worlds of Charlie
Gordon" on "The United States Steel Hour."
While still in rehearsals for the TV role that would earn him an Emmy
nomination, Robertson bought the movie rights to the story of a
mentally disabled man who undergoes an experimental brain operation
that increases his IQ but later discovers that the life-altering
changes won't be permanent.
Robertson continued to appear in films, notably playing a ruthless,
conservative presidential candidate in "The Best Man," a 1964 drama co-
starring Henry Fonda. In the meantime, he continued to do research for
the title role in what became the movie "Charly."
"I would visit shelter workshops," he recalled in a 2006 interview
with the Los Angeles Times. "I spent a lot of time with retarded
people on both coasts."
In his review of the film, Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert
expressed displeasure with "the whole scientific hocus-pocus" aspect
of it. But he called it "a warm and rewarding film" and described
Robertson's portrayal of the good-natured Charly, who post-operatively
falls in love with his teacher (played by Claire Bloom), as "a
sensitive, believable one."
In the wake of his Oscar win, Robertson was a star in films such as
"The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid," "Man on a Swing," "Three Days
of the Condor" and "Obsession."
He also starred in, produced, co-wrote and directed "J.W. Coop," a
1972 drama about an ex-con who returns to his life as a professional
rodeo cowboy - as well as starring in a number of TV movies and the
mini-series "Washington: Behind Closed Doors."
But in 1977, Robertson's life took an unexpected twist after he
received an IRS form for "miscellaneous income" that indicated that
Columbia Pictures had paid him $10,000 the previous year.
Robertson, however, hadn't done any work for Columbia that year and
had not received $10,000 from the studio.
After asking his accountant to look into it, Robertson learned that a
check for $10,000 had been made out to him and had been cashed at a
bank in Beverly Hills. The endorsed check, bearing Robertson's forged
signature, had been processed and paid out in American Express
travelers' checks to the president of Columbia Studios, David
Begelman.
After consulting his attorney, Robertson notified the local police.
But after months of inactivity, he took the advice of Arizona
Congressman Morris K. Udall, whom he had supported in the 1976
Democratic presidential primaries, and contacted the FBI.
"I was simply looking out for No. 1," Robertson told People magazine
in 1983. "I wasn't trying to be Don Quixote. If I hadn't done what the
law required, which was to give evidence to the authorities, I would
have been a party to a crime."
The ensuing Begelman embezzlement scandal, which came to symbolize
Hollywood corruption, was chronicled in David McClintick's 1982
bestseller "Indecent Exposure: A True Story of Hollywood and Wall
Street."
In March 1978, Begelman was charged with grand theft and three counts
of forgery: for forging the names of Robertson, director Martin Ritt
and restaurateur Pierre Groleau on checks written in the amounts of
$10,000, $5,000 and $25,000 respectively.
Three months later, Begelman was fined $5,000 and placed on three
years' probation. The judge, who directed Begelman to continue the
psychiatric treatment he had recently begun, also accepted Begelman's
offer to make a documentary on the dangers of "angel dust" (PCP) as a
public service.
Begelman, whose grand-theft conviction was reduced from a felony to a
misdemeanor in 1979, was hired later that year to head MGM's motion
picture division, and he later became a producer. He committed suicide
in 1995.
For his part in exposing the embezzlement, Robertson said he was
"blackballed" in Hollywood for 3 1/2 years.
"I broke the unwritten commandment: Thou shalt never confront a major
mogul on corruption," he told The Times in 1998. "Suddenly, the phone
stopped ringing."
Robertson said his Hollywood exile ended in 1981 when director Douglas
Trumbull cast him in a role "Brainstorm," a thriller released in 1983
starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood.
Robertson later appeared with Jacqueline Bisset and Rob Lowe in the
comedy-drama "Class," played Hugh Hefner in Bob Fosse's "Star 80" and
joined the cast of TV's "Falcon Crest." He also launched a long run as
the commercial spokesman for AT&T.
The son of the heir to a ranching fortune, he was born Clifford Parker
Robertson III on Sept. 9, 1923, in Los Angeles.
His parents were divorced when he was 2 and his mother died of a
ruptured appendix several months later. He grew up in the La Jolla
home of his maternal grandmother, a divorcee who adopted him.
A lifelong aviation enthusiast who had a collection of vintage
aircraft, Robertson began learning to fly at 14.
After graduating from high school, Robertson spent World War II in the
Merchant Marine. After the war, he attended Antioch College in Yellow
Springs, Ohio, and worked briefly as a reporter for a daily newspaper
in Springfield, Ohio.
With thoughts of becoming a playwright, he moved to New York City,
where he was advised that the best way to learn about the theater was
to get a job in summer stock.
In the early '50s, Robertson began landing parts in live television
anthology series such as "Armstrong Circle Theatre" and "Hallmark Hall
of Fame." He also starred in the title role of "Rod Brown of the
Rocket Rangers," a live, Saturday morning TV series on CBS from 1953
to '54.
In 1957, Robertson married actress Cynthia Stone. The marriage, during
which they had a daughter, Stephanie, ended in divorce in 1959.
Robertson's 1966 marriage to actress Dina Merrill ended in divorce in
1986. Their daughter, Heather, died of cancer in 2007.
Robertson is survived by his daughter Stephanie Robertson Saunders of
Charleston, S.C., and a granddaughter.
Stone me
"Mr. Hole the Magnificent" <classic...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:c51d0762-1e83-45c3...@eb1g2000vbb.googlegroups.com...
By KAREN ZRAICK
NEW YORK � Cliff Robertson, the handsome movie actor who played John
F. Kennedy in "PT-109," won an Oscar for "Charly" and was famously
victimized in a 1977 Hollywood forgery scandal, died Saturday. He was
88.
"My father was a loving father, devoted friend, dedicated professional
and honorable man," daughter Stephanie Saunders said in a statement.
"He stood by his family, friends, and colleagues through good times
and bad. He made a difference in all our lives and made our world a
better place. We will all miss him terribly."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think any further praise is redundant.
Stone me.