R.I.P. Cliff Robertson

Another fine actor has left us...

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

In 1968, he won an Academy Award for his 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.

Robertson had created a string of impressive performances in television and on Broadway, but [was overshadowed] 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.

In the mid 1980's I had the pleasure of running camera during a weeklong taping of a series he hosted for our local TV station in Washington, D.C. He was friendly and gracious with "the hired help" and all of us who worked on the project appreciated his kindness and professionalism. That taping is, obviously, one of my favorite memories of my early days in television.

Cheers!

I saw him in person when "Charlie" was being filmed in South Boston up on G Street Hill. Lots of floodlights and interesting movie things.

He was also in one of my most favorite movies, "Three Days of the Condor".

He'll be missed.

Beaglemom3 said:

He was also in one of my most favorite movies, "Three Days of the Condor."

Click to expand...

Thanks for reminding me of that! He was great as "Higgins."
But again, he was overshadowed by Robert Redford & Faye Dunaway.

Quote:
Higgins: Hey, Turner! How do you know they'll print it?
You can take a walk. But how far, if they don't print it?

Joe Turner (Redford): They'll print it.
Higgins: How do you know?

Is that Stony Brook, Long Island?