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Robert Middleton
Actor
Died June 14, 1977 (66 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Middleton, born Samuel G. Messer (May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977), was an American film and television actor known for his large size and beetle-like brow. With a deep, booming voice, Middleton trained for a musical career at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked steadily as a radio announcer and actor.
One of his early works was as the narrator of the educational film "Duck and Cover". After appearing on the Broadway stage and live television, Middleton began appearing in films in 1954. He's also remembered on television as the boss Mr. Marshall on The Jackie Gleason Show and in film opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Desperate Hours (1955), Gary Cooper in Friendly Persuasion (1956), Richard Egan and Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender (1956), Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack in The Tarnished Angels (1958), and Dean Martin in Career (1959).
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Middleton appeared in many television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure. He was cast as "The Tichborne Claimant" in the NBC anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show. He appeared in ten episodes of ABC's family Western The Monroes, with costars Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey. Among his several appearances in the long-running Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he portrayed a gangster in high places, Mr. Koster, in the 1956 episode "The Better Bargain". In 1958, he played the villain in the first episode of Bat Masterson. In 1961, he appeared in the episode "Accidental Tourist" on the James Whitmore ABC legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones. That same year, he portrayed the highly sympathetic but fiercely dedicated state executioner in an episode of Thriller (U.S. TV series) entitled "Guillotine". He also appeared in at least one episode of Bonanza (1964).
In the early 1950s, Middleton appeared on Broadway in Ondine. Other significant film roles include The Court Jester (1956) as a grim and determined knight who jousts with Danny Kaye in the famous "pellet with the poison" sequence, and as a sinister politician in The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). Betwixt and between were an array of brutish mountain daddies, corrupt, cigar-chomping town bosses and lynch mob leaders. Occasionally he showed a bit of levity, as in his recurring role as Jackie Gleason's boss on The Honeymooners (1955) sketches.
Middleton died of congestive heart failure in Hollywood at the age of sixty-six.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Middleton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Robert Middleton, born Samuel G. Messer (May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977), was an American film and television actor known for his large size and beetle-like brow. With a deep, booming voice, Middleton trained for a musical career at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked steadily as a radio announcer and actor.
One of his early works was as the narrator of the educational film "Duck and Cover". After appearing on the Broadway stage and live television, Middleton began appearing in films in 1954. He's also remembered on television as the boss Mr. Marshall on The Jackie Gleason Show and in film opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Desperate Hours (1955), Gary Cooper in Friendly Persuasion (1956), Richard Egan and Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender (1956), Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack in The Tarnished Angels (1958), and Dean Martin in Career (1959).
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Middleton appeared in many television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure. He was cast as "The Tichborne Claimant" in the NBC anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show. He appeared in ten episodes of ABC's family Western The Monroes, with costars Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey. Among his several appearances in the long-running Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he portrayed a gangster in high places, Mr. Koster, in the 1956 episode "The Better Bargain". In 1958, he played the villain in the first episode of Bat Masterson. In 1961, he appeared in the episode "Accidental Tourist" on the James Whitmore ABC legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones. That same year, he portrayed the highly sympathetic but fiercely dedicated state executioner in an episode of Thriller (U.S. TV series) entitled "Guillotine". He also appeared in at least one episode of Bonanza (1964).
In the early 1950s, Middleton appeared on Broadway in Ondine. Other significant film roles include The Court Jester (1956) as a grim and determined knight who jousts with Danny Kaye in the famous "pellet with the poison" sequence, and as a sinister politician in The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). Betwixt and between were an array of brutish mountain daddies, corrupt, cigar-chomping town bosses and lynch mob leaders. Occasionally he showed a bit of levity, as in his recurring role as Jackie Gleason's boss on The Honeymooners (1955) sketches.
Middleton died of congestive heart failure in Hollywood at the age of sixty-six.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Middleton, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| 1977 | The Lincoln Conspiracy · as Edwin M. Stanton |
| 1976 | Hunter (1977) (TV Series) |
| 1974 | The Mark of Zorro · as Don Luis Quintero |
| 1974 | Remember When · as Kraus, The Butcher |
| 1973 | The Harrad Experiment · as Sid Bower |
| 1973 | Even Angels Eat Beans · as Angelo |
| 1972 | Kung Fu (TV Series) · as Marshal Ford |
| 1971 | Columbo (TV Series) · as Victor Norris |
| 1971 | Fairplay · as Jova Purvis |
| 1971 | Alias Smith and Jones (TV Series) |
| 1970 | Company of Killers · as Owen Brady |
| 1970 | Which Way to the Front? · as Colonico |
| 1970 | The Cheyenne Social Club · as Barkeeper - Great Plains Saloon |
| 1970 | McCloud (TV Series) |
| 1967 | Mannix (TV Series) · as Jake Coryell |
| 1966 | Mission: Impossible (TV Series) · as Clavering |
| 1966 | The Monroes (TV Series) |
| 1966 | A Big Hand for the Little Lady · as Dennis Wilcox |
| 1965 | Get Smart (TV Series) · as The Whip |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West (TV Series) · as Emir El Emid |
| 1965 | The Big Valley (TV Series) · as Sidney Glover |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as Simon Brasher |
| 1964 | The Rogues (TV Series) · as Mayor Ed Bramlette |
| 1964 | For Those Who Think Young · as Burford Sanford Cronin |
| 1964 | The Glass Cage · as Business Man |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side (TV Series) · as Frank D'angelo |
| 1963 | Burke's Law (TV Series) · as Jed Hawkes |
| 1963 | Vacation Playhouse (TV Series) · as Homer Ferguson |
| 1963 | Cattle King · as Clay Mathews |
| 1962 | The Eleventh Hour (TV Series) · as Ed Franchi |
| 1961 | The New Breed (TV Series) · as Stanley Mannis |
| 1961 | Target: The Corruptors (TV Series) |
| 1961 | Kraft Mystery Theatre (TV Series) · as Duncan Maclain |
| 1961 | Gold of the Seven Saints · as Amos Gondora |
| 1961 | The Americans (TV Series) |
| 1961 | Witchcraft · as Martin Plomb |
| 1960 | The Great Impostor · as R.c. Brown |
| 1960 | The Law and Mr. Jones (TV Series) · as Gus Kelso |
| 1960 | Thriller (TV Series) · as Ohrback |
| 1960 | The Tall Man (TV Series) · as Paul Mason |
| 1960 | Hell Bent for Leather · as Ambrose |
| 1959 | The Detectives (1959) (TV Series) · as 'big Jim' |
| 1959 | Career · as Robert Kensington |
| 1959 | Adventures in Paradise (TV Series) · as Howard Bailey |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | Wichita Town (TV Series) |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | Don't Give Up the Ship · as Vice Adm. Philo Tecumseh Bludde |
| 1959 | The Untouchables (TV Series) · as Mayor Anton J. Cermak |
| 1959 | Rawhide (TV Series) · as Josh Green |
| 1958 | The Law and Jake Wade · as Ortero |
| 1958 | Pursuit (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1958 | U.S. Marshal (TV Series) · as Constable Matt Charles |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson (TV Series) · as Big Keel Roberts |
| 1958 | No Place to Land · as Buck Lavonne |
| 1958 | Day of the Bad Man · as Charlie Hayes |
| 1957 | The Tarnished Angels · as Matt Ord |
| 1957 | The Real McCoys (TV Series) · as Jim Slade |
| 1957 | Suspicion (TV Series) · as Jim Adams |
| 1957 | Perry Mason (TV Series) · as Judge Daniel Redmond |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Nat Burkett |
| 1957 | The Lonely Man · as Ben Ryerson |
| 1957 | Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series) · as Bodie Seaton |
| 1956 | Friendly Persuasion · as Sam Jordan |
| 1956 | Love Me Tender · as Mr. Siringo |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Whitney 'whit' Gaynor |
| 1956 | Playhouse 90 (TV Series) · as Luke Crocker |
| 1956 | The Proud Ones · as Honest John Barrett |
| 1956 | Telephone Time (TV Series) |
| 1956 | Red Sundown · as Rufus Henshaw |
| 1955 | The Court Jester · as Sir Griswold |
| 1955 | Matinee Theater (TV Series) |
| 1955 | The Desperate Hours · as Sam Kobish |
| 1955 | Trial · as A.a. "fats" Sanders |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Sam Klinker |
| 1955 | The Joseph Cotten Show: On Trial (TV Series) · as Armstrong |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Jake Worth |
| 1955 | The Jane Wyman Show (TV Series) · as Maggio |
| 1955 | The Big Combo · as Police Capt. Peterson |
| 1954 | The Silver Chalice · as Idbash |
| 1954 | Disneyland (TV Series) · as Frank Davis |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Sheriff |
| 1954 | Studio 57 (TV Series) · as Doyle |
| 1953 | The Man Behind the Badge (TV Series) · as Deputy Warden Lorenz C. Schmuhl |
| 1953 | The Loretta Young Show (TV Series) · as Henry Tremaine |
| 1953 | You Are There (TV Series) · as Francesco Niccolini |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Innkeeper |
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America (TV Series) · as William Harper |
| 1952 | The Jackie Gleason Show (TV Series) · as J. J. Marshall |
| 1952 | Duck and Cover · as Narrator |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) · as Sheriff Ed Mullen |
| 1951 | Tales of Tomorrow (TV Series) · as Dr. John Borrow |
| 1950 | The Adventures of Ellery Queen (TV Series) · as Tim Hadden |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Titus Semple |
| 1950 | Treasury Men in Action (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1950 | The Web (1950) (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1950 | Rocky King, Detective (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1949 | Man Against Crime (TV Series) · as Joseph Merko |
| 1949 | The Big Story (TV Series) · as The Cat |
| 1949 | Fireside Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1949 | Suspense (TV Series) · as Bill West |
| 1948 | Studio One (TV Series) · as The Manager |
| 1947 | Kraft Television Theatre (TV Series) · as Primo |