Cliff Robertson
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A serious and talented actor, at his best playing somewhat troubled characters, Cliff Robertson has been a fairly successful leading man through most of his career without ever becoming a major star. Following strong stage and television experience, he made an interesting film debut in a supporting role in Picnic (1955). He then played Joan Crawford's deranged young husband in Autumn Leaves (1956) and was given leads in films of fair quality such as The Naked and the Dead (1958), Gidget (1959) and The Big Show (1961).
He supplemented his somewhat unsatisfactory big-screen work with interesting appearances on television, including the lead male role in the small-screen version of "Days of Wine and Roses" in 1958. Robertson could be effective playing a chilling petty criminal obsessed with avenging his father in the B-feature Underworld U.S.A. (1961) or a pleasant doctor in the popular hospital melodrama The Interns (1962). However, significant public notice eluded him until he was picked by President John F. Kennedy to play the young JFK during the latter's WWII experience in PT 109 (1963).
Moving into slightly better pictures, Robertson gave some of his best performances: a ruthless presidential candidate in The Best Man (1964), a modern-day Mosca in an updated version of Ben Jonson's "Volpone", _Honey Pot, The (1967)_ , and most memorably as a mentally retarded man in Charly (1968), for which he won an Academy award for best actor. His critical success with "Charly" allowed him to continue starring in some good films in the 1970s, including Too Late the Hero (1970), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972) and Obsession (1976).
He also acted in, directed and co-produced the fine rodeo drama J.W. Coop (1972) and, less interestingly, The Pilot (1981). Since then, he has remained active mostly in supporting roles, notably playing Hugh M. Hefner in Star 80 (1983). More recently he had supporting parts in Escape from L.A. (1996) and Spider-Man (2002).
Film
He is notable for fine performances in PT 109 (chosen by John F. Kennedy to portray the then-Lt. Kennedy), The Best Man, Charly (an adaptation of Flowers for Algernon for which he won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor), Picnic, Autumn Leaves, Too Late the Hero, Three Days of the Condor, Obsession, J. W. Coop and Star 80.More recently, Robertson appeared as Uncle Ben Parker in the first movie adaptation of Spider-Man, as well as in that film's sequel. He was also in the 2004 horror film Riding the Bullet.
Television
He was awarded an Emmy for his leading role in an 1965 episode from Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre entitled "The Game."
Innocent player in a Hollywood scandal
In 1977 Robertson learned that his name had been forged on a $10,000 check that had been due to him. He discovered that the forgery had been carried out by Columbia studio head David Begelman, and on reporting it, the result was one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the 1970's. Robertson was subsequently blacklisted for several years before finally getting back into film in Brainstorm (1983). David McClintick, Indecent Exposure: A True story of Hollywood and Wall Street, William Morrow and Company, 1982.|- style="text-align: center;"
External links
- [Official website]
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre episode
- [Article on Robertson's private aviation collection], from Southeastern Antiquing and Collecting Magazine
References
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