Cliff Robertson Biography

Clifford Parker "Cliff" Robertson III (September 9, 1923 - September 10, 2011) was an American actor with a film and television career that spanned half a century. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Charly. On television, he portrayed retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the 1976 adaptation of Aldrin's autobiographic Return to Earth, played a fictional character based on Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms in the 1977 miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors, and portrayed Henry Ford 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 peritonitis a year later in El Paso, Texas at the age of 21. He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Eleanor "Eleanora" Willingham (ne Sawyer, 1875-1957), in California, and rarely saw his father. He graduated in 1941 from La Jolla High School, where he was known as "The Walking Phoenix". He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II before attending Antioch College (Ohio) and dropping out to work as a journalist for a short time.

Feature films

Robertson was President John F. Kennedy's personal choice to play him in 1963's PT 109 as a young Lieutenant PT boat captain. The next year, Robertson played a presidential candidate in The Best Man. A life member of The Actors Studio, Robertson won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a mentally disabled man in Charly, an adaptation of the science fiction novel Flowers for Algernon.

Other films included Picnic (1955), Autumn Leaves (1956), Gidget (1959), Wild River (1960), Underworld USA (1961), The Interns (1962), Sunday in New York (1963), 633 Squadron (1964), Devil's Brigade (1968), Too Late the Hero (1970), J. W. Coop (1972), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Obsession (1976), Class (1983), Star 80 (1983), Malone (1987) and Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (1991). Late in his life Robertson's career had a resurgence. He appeared as Uncle Ben Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002), as well as in the sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007; his last acting role). 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 Bullet (2004).

In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.

Television

Robertson's early television appearances included a starring role in the live space opera Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953-1954), as well as recurring roles on Hallmark Hall of Fame (1952), Alcoa Theatre (1959), and Playhouse 90 (1958, 1960), The Outlaws (three episodes). Robertson also appeared as a special guest star on Wagon Train for one episode, portraying an Irish immigrant.

In 1958, Robertson portrayed Joe Clay in the first broadcast of Playhouse 90's Days of Wine and Roses. In 1960, he was cast as Martinus Van Der Brig, a con man, in the episode "End of a Dream" of Riverboat.

Other appearances included The Twilight Zone episodes "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" (1961) and "The Dummy" (1962), followed by the The Eleventh Hour in the 1963 episode, "The Man Who Came Home Late". He guest-starred on such television series as The Greatest Show on Earth, Breaking Point and ABC Stage 67. He had starring roles in episodes of both the 1960s and 1990s versions of The Outer Limits. He was awarded an Emmy for his leading role in a 1965 episode, "The Game" of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. He appeared twice as a guest-villain on ABC's Batman as the gunfighter "Shame" (1966 and 1968), the second time with his wife, Dina Merrill, as "Calamity Jan".

In 1976, he portrayed a retired Buzz Aldrin in an adaptation of Aldrin's autobiography Return to Earth. The next year, he portrayed a fictional Director of Central Intelligence (based on Richard Helms) in Washington: Behind Closed Doors, an adaptation of John Ehrlichman's roman a clef The Company, in turn based on the Watergate scandal. In 1987, he portrayed Henry Ford in Ford: The Man and The Machine. From 1983-84, he played Dr. Michael Ranson in Falcon Crest.

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 Pictures head David Begelman, and on reporting it he inadvertently triggered one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the 1970s. Begelman was charged with embezzlement, convicted, and later fired from Columbia. Despite the pressure to remain quiet Robertson and his wife Dina Merrill spoke to the press. As a result, Hollywood producers blacklisted him. He finally returned to film five years later, starring in Brainstorm (1983). The story of the scandal is told in David McClintick's 1982 bestseller Indecent Exposure.

Personal life

In 1957, Robertson married actress Cynthia Stone, the former wife of actor Jack Lemmon. They had a daughter, Stephanie, before divorcing in 1959; he also had a stepson by this marriage, Chris Lemmon. In 1966, he married actress and Post Cereals heiress Dina Merrill, the former wife of Stanley M. Rumbough, Jr.; 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.

Aviation

One of Robertson's main hobbies was flying and, among other aircraft, he owned several de Havilland Tiger Moths, a Messerschmitt Bf 108, and a genuine World War II - era Mk.IX Supermarine Spitfire MK923. His piloting skills helped him get the part as the squadron leader in the British war film 633 Squadron. He entered balloon races, including one in 1964 from the mainland to Catalina Island that ended with him being rescued from the Pacific Ocean. Robertson's first plane ride was in a Lockheed Model 9 Orion. As a 13-year-old he would clean hangars for airplane rides. He met Paul Mantz, Art Scholl, and Charles Lindbergh while flying at local California airports.

A certified private pilot, Robertson was a longtime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, working his way through the ranks in prominence and eventually co-founding the EAA's Young Eagles program, which he chaired from its 1992 inception to 1994 (succeeded by former test pilot Gen. Chuck Yeager). The initial goal of the program was to fly one million children (many of them never having flown before) prior to the 100th Anniversary of Flight celebration on Dec. 17, 2003. That goal was achieved on November 13, 2003.

Robertson was flying a private Beechcraft Baron directly over New York City on the morning of September 11, 2001. He was directly over the World Trade Center, climbing through 7,500 feet, when the first Boeing 767 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.

Death

On September 10, 2011, just one day after his 88th birthday, Robertson died of natural causes in Stony Brook, New York. His body was cremated, and a private funeral was held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton, Long Island.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1943	We've Never Been Licked	Adams	Uncredited
	Corvette K-225	Lookout	Uncredited
1955	Picnic	Alan Benson
1956	Autumn Leaves	Burt Hanson
1958	The Girl Most Likely	Pete
	The Naked and the Dead	Lieutenant Robert Hearn
	Days of Wine and Roses	Joe Clay	Part of the Playhouse 90 anthology series
1959	Gidget	The Big Kahuna
	Battle of the Coral Sea	Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Conway
	'	Clements
1960	Riverboat	Martinus Van Der Brig	Episode: "End of a Dream" (NBC-TV)
1961	The Twilight Zone	Christian Horn, Sr.	Episode: "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim"
	All in a Night's Work	Warren Kingsley, Jr.
	Underworld U.S.A.	Tolly Devlin
	The Big Show	Josef Everard
1962	The Twilight Zone	Jerry Etherson	Episode: "The Dummy"
	The Interns	Dr. John Paul Otis
1963	My Six Loves	Reverend Jim Larkin
	PT 109	Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy
	Sunday in New York	Adam Tyler
1964	The Best Man	Joe Cantwell
	633 Squadron	Wing Cmdr. Roy Grant
1965	Love Has Many Faces	Pete Jordon
	Masquerade	David Frazer
	Up from the Beach	Sgt. Edward Baxter
1966-1968	Batman	Shame	Two-part episode: "Come Back, Shame"/"It's How You Play the Game"
1967	The Honey Pot	William McFly
1968	The Devil's Brigade	Maj. Alan Crown
	Charly	Charlie Gordon	Academy Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated"?Laurel Award for Best Male Dramatic Performance
1970	Too Late the Hero	Lt. (j.g.) Sam Lawson
1971	J. W. Coop	J. W. Coop
1972	The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid	Cole Younger
1973	The Men Who Made the Movies: Alfred Hitchcock	narrator
	Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies	Ace Eli Walford
1974	Man on a Swing	Lee Tucker
1975	Out of Season	Joe Tanner	Entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival
	Three Days of the Condor	J. Higgins
1976	Return to Earth	Buzz Aldrin
	Shoot	Rex
	Midway	Cmdr. Carl Jessop
	Obsession	Michael Courtland
1977	Fraternity Row	Narrator
	Washington: Behind Closed Doors	William Martin	Adaptation of The Company; character based on Richard Helms
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
	Dominique	David Ballard
1980	Charly II	Charly Gordon
	The Pilot	Mike Hagan
1983	Falcon Crest	Dr. Michael Ranson	Season 3
	Star 80	Hugh Hefner
	Class	Mr. Burroughs
	Brainstorm	Alex Terson
1985	Shaker Run	Judd Pierson
1987	Malone	Charles Delaney
	Ford: The Man and the Machine	Henry Ford
1990	Dead Reckoning	Daniel Barnard	TV movie
1991	Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken	Doctor Carver
1992	Wind	Morgan Weld
	The Ghosts of '87	Host
1994	Renaissance Man	Colonel James
1995	Waiting for Sunset or The Sunset Boys (Pakten)	Ted Roth
1996	Escape from L.A.	President
1998	Melting Pot	Jack Durman
	Assignment Berlin	Cliff Garret
1999	Family Tree	Larry
2001	Falcon Down	Buzz Thomas
	Mach 2	Vice President Pike
2002	Spider-Man	Ben Parker
	13th Child	Mr. Shroud	Robertson was one of the writers of this film
2004	Spider-Man 2	Ben Parker	Cameo
	Riding the Bullet	Farmer
2007	Spider-Man 3	Ben Parker	Cameo; (Last appearance)

Awards

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 festivals, Robertson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 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. Robertson was inducted in to the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006.

See also