Charles Knox Robinson III (April 13, 1932 – July 22, 2006) was an actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

Biography

He was born April 13, 1932, to Charles Knox Robinson II, playwright, and Geraldine O'Loughlin, painter in Orange, New Jersey

Orange, New Jersey

The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...

. Siblings include Judith Kirby Robinson, actress, and Toni Stuart Robinson Thalenberg, former actress/academic. Cousin of actor Gerald S. O'Loughlin. His theatrical family opened his acting career at age three on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

.

A graduate of Lawrenceville School, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 in 1958. He was an English major and had many campus activities, including serving as president of Triangle Club. After graduation, he served in the Army from 1958 to 1962 as an aide-de-camp

Aide-de-camp

An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...

 to a general in the Pentagon, translator

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

 and speech writer, attaining the rank of first lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

. He also served as a French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Russian language

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

 interpreter for the 1984 Olympics.

He married Joan Calistri on May 7, 1960, in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Career

Robinson appeared in nearly 50 films and TV shows during his career; his first film was Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass

Splendor in the Grass is a 1961 romantic drama film that tells a story of sexual repression, love, heartbreak, and manic-depression, which the character Deanie suffers from...

in the small uncredited role of Johnny Masterson. Some of Robinson's other film appearances include Take Her, She's Mine

Take Her, She's Mine

Take Her, She's Mine is a 1963 comedy film starring James Stewart and Sandra Dee. The film was written by Henry Ephron, Phoebe Ephron, and Nunnally Johnson, with Dee's character based on the then 22-year-old Nora Ephron, and directed by Henry Koster...

, Dear Brigitte

Dear Brigitte

Dear Brigitte is a 1965 American family-comedy starring James Stewart and directed by Henry Koster.-Plot:Stewart stars as an American college professor with a genius son, the precocious Erasmus . After using his skills for gambling at the horse track, Erasmus becomes infatuated with model and...

, Shenandoah

Shenandoah (film)

Shenandoah is a 1965 American Civil War film starring James Stewart, Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, and Katharine Ross. The picture was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Though set during the American Civil War, the film's strong antiwar and humanitarian themes resonated with audiences...

, and The Singing Nun

The Singing Nun (film)

The Singing Nun is a 1966 American semi-biographical film about the life of Jeanine Deckers, a nun who recorded the chart-topping hit song "Dominique". It starred Debbie Reynolds in the title role. It was Henry Koster's final directing job....

. Mr. Robinson's many TV credits include 77 Sunset Strip

77 Sunset Strip

77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....

, Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...

, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bachelor Father, Laramie

Laramie (TV series)

Laramie is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from 1959 to 1963. Laramie was a Revue Studios production which originally starred John Smith as Slim Sherman, Robert Fuller as Jess Harper, Hoagy Carmichael as Jonesy and Robert Crawford, Jr...

, Wagon Train

Wagon Train

Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...

, Ben Casey

Ben Casey

Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...

, The Munsters

The Munsters

The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...

, Mannix

Mannix

Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...

, The F.B.I., Emergency!

Emergency!

Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...

, Cannon

Cannon (TV series)

Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....

, Airwolf

Airwolf

Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme....

, Switch

Switch (TV series)

Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation...

and Simon & Simon

Simon & Simon

Simon & Simon is an American detective television series starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker.-History:The original 1978 pilot called Pirate's Key was set in Florida...

. On Broadway he performed in Tall Story, The Pleasure of His Company and The Good Soup. The first two plays would later become motion pictures (albeit without Mr. Robinson).

He was part of the great ensemble cast in Robert Wise

Robert Wise

Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...

's The Sand Pebbles

The Sand Pebbles (film)

The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....

. Robinson played Richard Crenna

Richard Crenna

Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...

's second in command Ensign Bordelles aboard the fictional Navy gunboat, USS San Pablo, stationed in China. Robinson had a standout scene in which he had to lead his troops under guard of Chinese Nationalist soldiers back to the ship. As the sailors march, they are pummeled by vegetables thrown by the throngs of Chinese citizens.

He appeared in the 2001 Palm Canyon Theatre Productions Arsenic and Old Lace

Arsenic and Old Lace (play)

Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the...

and The Man Who Came to Dinner

The Man Who Came to Dinner

The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City. It then enjoyed a number of New York and London revivals. The first London production was staged at The Savoy Theatre starring Robert...

. His life-long entertainment career included his talents as an award-winning playwright, singer, songwriter, musician, linguist and magician. He and his wife, Joan, established the Torchlight Project, which had as its purpose aiding, empowering, and enriching the lives of impoverished and abandoned children in many foreign countries. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...

, Screen Actors Guild

Screen Actors Guild

The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...

, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is a performers' union that represents a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, as well as radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists , promo and voice-over announcers and other...

, Actors' Equity Association

Actors' Equity Association

The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...

, Playwrights/Dramatists Guild

Dramatists Guild of America

The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market.Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Members are playwrights who have had at least one play...

 and the Academy of Magical Arts

Academy of Magical Arts

The Academy of Magical Arts is a California non profit mutual benefit corporation organized and devoted to the promotion and development of the art of magic.Although begun in 1952 as a loose association of magicians by William Larsen, Sr...

.

Death

Charles Knox Robinson III, 74, of Palm Springs died July 22, 2006, at home of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...

. He was interred at Ocean View Cemetery in Staten Island, N.Y.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan Calistri Robinson, in 2001.

External links