Cliff Robertson

Birthday: 9 September 1923, La Jolla [now in San Diego], California, USA

Birth Name: Clifford Parker Robertson III

Height: 180 cm

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 World War II 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", The Honey Pot (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 (1971) and, less interestingly, The Pilot (1980). Since then, he had 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).Cliff Robertson died on September 10, 2011, just one day after his 88th birthday in Stony Brook, New York. Hide

[on trying to get a sequel for Charly (1968)] You don't have to be a 17-year-old zealot to wage guer Show more [on trying to get a sequel for Charly (1968)] You don't have to be a 17-year-old zealot to wage guerrilla warfare. Some of us, by nature, are intrigued by the challenge. I never intended to play Don Quixote and I don't intend to go out looking for more windmills, I can tell you. I love making movies very much. Hide

The year you win an Oscar is the fastest year in a Hollywood actor's life. Twelve months later they Show more The year you win an Oscar is the fastest year in a Hollywood actor's life. Twelve months later they ask, "Who won the Oscar last year?". Hide

[on director Frank Perry] I've been in so many bad movies and worked with so many bad directors that Show more [on director Frank Perry] I've been in so many bad movies and worked with so many bad directors that I go into a film expecting nothing. That's why I respect and admire Frank Perry so much. He's a rare man and I've worked with enough stiffs to know the difference, pal, but he knows the problems of actors and I know the problems of a director. Frank is as far away from Otto Preminger as you can get. Hide

As long as I get phone calls from the Museum of Modern Art, that all the film buffs love it, that's Show more As long as I get phone calls from the Museum of Modern Art, that all the film buffs love it, that's a residual. It isn't a financial residual and it isn't an artistic residual, but it's an ego residual. Hide

Show business is like a bumpy bus ride. Sometimes you find yourself temporarily juggled out of your Show more Show business is like a bumpy bus ride. Sometimes you find yourself temporarily juggled out of your seat and holding onto a strap. But the main idea is to hang in there and not be shoved out the door. Hide

[on Joan Crawford] I think she felt fraudulent, precisely because she had crossed the railroad track Show more [on Joan Crawford] I think she felt fraudulent, precisely because she had crossed the railroad tracks - had come up from nothing - and that therefore she felt she wasn't the real thing because she was just "acting". But Joan was the real thing. Hide

This isn't exactly a stable business. It's like trying to stand up in a canoe with your pants down. This isn't exactly a stable business. It's like trying to stand up in a canoe with your pants down.

[on being blacklisted in Hollywood after exposing David Begelman in 1977] People told me I set a dan Show more [on being blacklisted in Hollywood after exposing David Begelman in 1977] People told me I set a dangerous precedent. My ex-wife said that if I had played the game I would have owned the town, but I was always too independent. Hide

Cliff Robertson's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (81)

Wagon Train - Season 1

Wagon Train - Season 6

Saturday Night Live - Season 5

The Twilight Zone - Season 4

The Twilight Zone - Season 3

The Outer Limits - Season 1

Saturday Night Live - Season 4

Wagon Train - Season 8

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

Escape from L.A.