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Dale Robertson
Actor
Died February 27, 2013 (89 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923 – February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the long-running NBC/ABC hit television series Tales of Wells Fargo, and Ben Calhoun, the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse. He was often presented as a deceptively thoughtful but modest Western hero. From 1968 to 1970, Robertson was the fourth and final host of the syndicated Death Valley Days anthology series.
For most of his career, Robertson played in western films and television shows—well over sixty titles in all. His best-remembered series, Tales of Wells Fargo aired on NBC from 1957 to 1961, when it moved to ABC and expanded to an hour-long program for its final season in 1961-1962. The show was originally produced by Nat Holt whom Robertson felt he owed his career to for giving him his first leading roles.[10] Robertson also did the narration for Tales of Wells Fargo through which he often presented his own commentary on matters of law, morality, and common sense. He was unique among his television contemporaries, stating that he hated the gun he was forced to carry, but saw it as a necessary evil, a "tool of the trade", and kept practicing.[citation needed] In its March 30, 1959, cover story on television westerns, Time reported Robertson was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and measured 42-34-34. He sometimes made use of his physique in "beefcake" scenes, such as one in 1952's Return of the Texan where he is seen bare-chested and sweaty, repairing a fence.
In 1960, Robertson guest-starred as himself in NBC's The Ford Show, starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.[12] In 1962, he similarly appeared on a short-lived western comedy and variety series, ABC's The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show. In 1963, after Tales of Wells Fargo ended its five-year run, he played the lead role in the first of A.C. Lyles' second feature westerns, Law of the Lawless.
Filmography
| 1993 | Harts of the West (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1992 | Legends of the West · as Actor in 'Sitting Bull' |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Colonel Lee Goddard (uncredited) |
| 1981 | Dynasty (TV Series) · as Walter Lankershim |
| 1979 | The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang · as Judge Isaac Parker |
| 1978 | Dallas (TV Series) · as Frank Crutcher |
| 1977 | Fantasy Island (TV Series) · as Peter Rawlings |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Mason Fleers |
| 1974 | Melvin Purvis G-MAN · as Melvin Purvis |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man (TV Series) · as Dale Robertson |
| 1970 | Aru heishi no kake · as Major Clark J. Allen |
| 1967 | The One Eyed Soldiers · as Richard Owen |
| 1966 | Scalplock · as Benjamin Calhoun |
| 1966 | The Iron Horse (TV Series) · as Ben Calhoun |
| 1965 | The Man from Button Willow · as Justin Eagle |
| 1965 | Coast of Skeletons · as A.J. Magnus |
| 1964 | Law of the Lawless · as Judge Clem Rogers |
| 1964 | Blood on the Arrow · as Wade Cooper |
| 1964 | The Hollywood Palace (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1961 | Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon · as Jim Hardie |
| 1958 | Fast and Sexy · as Raffaele |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series) · as Jim Hardie |
| 1956 | Dakota Incident · as John Banner |
| 1956 | A Day of Fury · as Jagade |
| 1955 | Son of Sinbad · as Sinbad |
| 1954 | Sitting Bull · as Bob Parrish |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Nicky Jordan |
| 1953 | Devil's Canyon · as Billy Reynolds |
| 1953 | The Silver Whip · as Race Crim |
| 1952 | O. Henry's Full House · as Barney Woods (segment "The Clarion Call") |
| 1952 | Lure of the Wilderness · as Opening off-screen Narrator |
| 1951 | The Red Skelton Show (TV Series) · as Robinson Crusoe |
| 1950 | Two Flags West · as Lem |
| 1950 | The Cariboo Trail · as Will Gray |
| 1949 | Flamingo Road · as Tunis Simms (uncredited) |
| 1949 | The Girl from Jones Beach · as Lifeguard |
| 1948 | The Boy with Green Hair · as Policeman (uncredited) |