Robert Lansing (actor)

For other people named Robert Lansing, see Robert Lansing (disambiguation).
Robert Lansing

Lansing in 1962
Born Robert Howell Brown
(1928-06-05)June 5, 1928
San Diego, California, U.S.
Died October 23, 1994(1994-10-23) (aged 66)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of death Cancer
Resting place Union Field Cemetery, Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Ridgewood, Queens, New York City
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Emily McLaughlin (June 15, 1956 – April 11, 1968) (divorced) (1 child)
Gari Hardy Anderson (November 2, 1969 - 1971) (divorced) (1 child)
Anne Pivar (October 25, 1981 - October 23, 1994) (his death)

Robert Lansing (/ˈlænsɪŋ/; June 5, 1928 – October 23, 1994) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Lansing's motion picture roles included A Gathering of Eagles with Rock Hudson and Under the Yum Yum Tree opposite Jack Lemmon. On television, he appeared in episodes of such hits as Star Trek, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and Murder, She Wrote. Lansing is probably best remembered as the authoritarian Brig. Gen. Frank Savage in 12 O'Clock High (1964), the television drama series about World War II bomber pilots.[1][2]

Early life

Born in San Diego, California, as Robert Howell Brown, he reportedly took his acting surname from the state capital of Michigan. As a young actor in New York City, he was hired to join a stock company in Michigan but was told he would first have to join the Actors' Equity Association. Equity would not allow him to join as "Robert Brown" because another actor was using that name. Because the stock company was based in Lansing, this became the actor's new surname.[3]

Lansing served two years in the United States Army and was stationed in Osaka, Japan, where he worked at Armed Forces Radio.[3]

Stage, film and television career

During his long career, which spanned five decades, Lansing appeared in 245 episodes of 73 television series, 11 TV movies, and 19 motion pictures. [4]

Lansing first appeared on Broadway in the play Stalag 17 (1951) directed by José Ferrer, replacing Mark Roberts in the role of Dunbar at the 48th Street Theater.[5] His rugged good looks, commanding stage presence and stentorian voice earned him continuing stage work [1] and throughout his film career he periodically returned to the New York stage, making his last such appearance in 1991.[6]

José Ferrer asked Lansing to perform in a series of plays at the New York City Center, including as a Cadet of Gascoyne in Cyrano de Bergerac and as the Marquis of Dorset in Richard III.[7] He appeared in Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer and Eugene O'Neill’s The Great God Brown in the title role. Other stage performances included roles in Charley's Aunt, Elmer Rice’s Cue for Passion, The Lovers, and The Cut of the Axe.[2] Off-Broadway, his work included The Father, the "Sea Plays" of Eugene O'Neill and two one-man shows, "Damien" and "The Disciple of Discontent." [1]

On film, Lansing starred in the 1959 science fiction film 4D Man. He also starred as marine biologist Hank Donner in the 1966 nature drama film Namu, the Killer Whale, which featured one of the first orcas ever displayed in captivity.[8] His other films included Under the Yum Yum Tree, A Gathering of Eagles, The Grissom Gang, Bittersweet Love, Scalpel (a.k.a. False Face), Empire of the Ants and The Nest.

Lansing first appeared on TV on the Kraft Television Theatre in 1956.[2] In the 1961–1962 television season, Lansing was cast as Detective Steve Carella on NBC's 87th Precinct series, based on the Ed McBain detective novels. His costars were Gena Rowlands, Ron Harper, Gregory Walcott, and Norman Fell. In 1961, he played the outlaw Frank Dalton in a two-part episode of NBC's Outlaws with Barton MacLane. Also in 1961, he played Jed Trask, a troubled shooter, in the Bonanza episode, "Cutthroat Junction." [9] He played the frontier dentist, gambler, and gunfighter Doc Holliday in an episode of NBC's The Tall Man, with Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager. Lansing would star alongside Clu Gulager again in a 1965 episode of NBC's The Virginian TV series titled "The Brothers", as an older brother who kills a prison guard in order to free his younger brother (played by Andrew Prine) from jail before, what Lansing's character believes to be, an unjust death sentence is carried out. Again on NBC, in 1966, Lansing guest starred as General Custer in a three episode segment of Branded called "Call to Glory".

Robert Lansing is probably best known for his role as Brigadier General Frank Savage in the Quinn Martin production of 12 O'Clock High, which aired on the ABC Television Network from 1964 to 1967, although Robert Lansing only appeared in the first season. At the end of that season, the studio executives decided a younger-looking lead actor was needed. In the first episode of the second season, General Savage, was killed in action and replaced by Colonel Joe Gallagher, played by Paul Burke. Burke, though considered more youthful-looking than Lansing, was actually two years older, a fact that TV critics were quick to point out.

Other television roles include portrayals of an alcoholic college professor in ABC's drama Channing, as General George Armstrong Custer on Chuck Connors's NBC series Branded, as Gil Green in the 1963 episode "Fear Begins at Forty" on the NBC medical drama The Eleventh Hour, as a bounty hunter on Gunsmoke, as a parole officer in a 1968 episode (A Time to Love — A Time to Cry) of The Mod Squad, and as interstellar secret agent Gary Seven in the episode "Assignment: Earth" (1968) of Star Trek. The episode was a backdoor pilot for a new series that would have starred Lansing and Teri Garr, but the series never materialized.[10]

Lansing played an international secret agent in The Man Who Never Was, as Lt. Jack Curtis on Automan. He also played a recurring role, known only as "Control", on 29 episodes of The Equalizer between 1985 and 1989,[11] which then was spun-off into the made-for-TV movie Memories of Manon which aired on 13 February 1989.[12] He guest starred in The Twilight Zone episode "The Long Morrow" and in the Thriller episode "Fatal Impulse." He also guest starred on other television productions such as NBC's Law & Order. In the 1980s he did a series of television commercials for Liberty National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky.

Robert Lansing's final television role was that of Police Captain Paul Blaisdell, on the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues . The role was written specifically for Lansing by series writer and Executive Producer Michael Sloan, who had worked with Lansing on the series “The Equalizer” in the 1980s although Lansing had already been diagnosed with cancer. Despite continuing health problems, Lansing performed in 24 episodes in the first and second season. In the final episode of season 2, titled “Retribution”, Lansing’s character of Blaisdell was written out, with the possibility of the character returning if the actor’s health improved. Unfortunately, the final episode filmed in February 1994, was Lansing’s final acting performance. The episode aired on November 28, 1994,[13] a month after the actor died, and was dedicated to his memory.[14]

Personal life

Lansing had craggy good looks, a stentorian voice, commanding presence, and characteristic bushy eyebrows.[1][15]

Lansing had a son, Robert Frederick Orin Lansing (1957–2009), with his first wife, actress Emily McLaughlin; the couple eventually divorced. About a year and a half later, he married Gari Hardy, but this marriage also ended in divorce. The couple had a daughter, Alice Lucille Lansing. His last wife was Anne Pivar, with whom he remained until his death.[4][14]

From 1991 to 1993, he was president of The Players Club, a theatrical fraternal organization founded by Edwin Booth in 1888.[6]

Lansing was a heavy smoker and died from cancer in 1994 at age 66,[16] one year into his last regular series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. He was buried at Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.[17]

Film roles

Stage roles

TV movie roles

Television series

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Robert Lansing; Starred in Hit 1960s TV Series". The Los Angeles Times. October 26, 1994. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Finishing Touches: Who's Who in the Cast". Playbill. p. 32. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 Duffin, Allan T.; Matheis, Paul (Sep 30, 2005). The 12 O'Clock High Logbook: The Unofficial History of the Novel, Motion Picture, and TV Series. BearManor Media. p. 104.
  4. 1 2 "Robert Lansing (I) (1928–1994)". IMDb. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Stalag 17". Playbill. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Robert Lansing: Biography". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Robert Lansing". Playbill.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Film, "Namu: My Best Friend" (a.k.a. Namu the Killer Whale) at imdb.com
  9. ↑ "Bonanza (Season 2 Ep 26):Cutthroat Junction". IMDb. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "The Complete Assignment:Earth". Assignmentearth.ca. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Equalizer (1985–1989)". IMDb. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "Memories of Manon (1988)". IMDb. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993–1997): Retribution". IMDb.com. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Robert Lansing Biographical Info". Bob's B-17 Page. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Robert Lansing". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  16. ↑ Schemo, Diana Jean (October 25, 1994). "Robert Lansing, 66, an Actor On Stage, Screen and Television". New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "Robert Howell Lansing". Find A Grave. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
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