Jay Robinson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 specialising in character roles

Character actor

A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...

. He was born 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 began his acting career in summer stock theatre

Summer stock theatre

Summer stock theatre is any theatre that presents stage productions only in the summer within the United States. The name combines both the seasonal time of year with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes...

 and repertory companies, and eventually made his way to the 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...

 stage, where he appeared in Shakespeare's

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 As You Like It

As You Like It

As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...

and Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....

. His first film role was as the insane Emperor Caligula

Caligula

Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

 in The Robe

The Robe (film)

The Robe is a 1953 American Biblical epic film that tells the story of a Roman military tribune who commands the unit that crucifies Jesus. The film was made by 20th Century Fox and is notable for being the first film released in the widescreen process CinemaScope.It was directed by Henry Koster...

(1953), which he reprised in Demetrius and the Gladiators

Demetrius and the Gladiators

Demetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 sword and sandal drama film and a sequel to The Robe. It was made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C...

(1954).

This was followed by roles in The Virgin Queen

The Virgin Queen (film)

The Virgin Queen is a 1955 historical drama film starring Bette Davis, Richard Todd, Joan Collins, Herbert Marshall and Dan O'Herlihy. It focuses on the relationship between Elizabeth I of England and Sir Walter Raleigh....

(1955) starring Bette Davis

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...

, My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey is a 1936 American screwball comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava. The screenplay was written by Morrie Ryskind, with uncredited contributions by La Cava, based on "1101 Park Avenue", a short story by Eric Hatch. The story concerns a socialite who hires a derelict to be her...

(1957) with David Niven

David Niven

James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...

 and June Allyson

June Allyson

June Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...

 and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), the Woody Allen

Woody Allen

Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...

 comedy and Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dracula is a 1992 American Gothic horror-romance film directed and co-produced by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker...

. He was also featured on two Folkways

Folkways Records

Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...

 albums of Shakespeare: Othello: William Shakespeare and William Shakespeare: King Richard III, which were both released in 1964.

Robinson was the host and narrator for the Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

 special (and later series) Beyond Bizarre, his many television guest spots include Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

("Elaan of Troyius"), the soap opera Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives

Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...

(Monty, the homeless drunk), Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes (TV series)

Planet of the Apes was a short-lived American science fiction television series that aired on Friday evenings at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central on CBS in 1974. The series starred Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, and James Naughton, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman...

and the late 1970s title role in Sid & Marty Krofft's Dr. Shrinker

Dr. Shrinker

Dr. Shrinker was a segment during the first season of the ABC network's The Krofft Supershow in 1976.-Plot:Dr. Shrinker is a mad scientist who creates a shrink ray that can miniaturize anything. Three young adults named Brad Fulton , B.J. Masterson and her brother Gordie Masterson , crash land...

, prominently featured on The Krofft Supershow

The Krofft Supershow

The Krofft Supershow is a Saturday morning children's variety show, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. It aired for two seasons from September 11, 1976 to September 2, 1978 on ABC.-Background:...

. He also guest-starred as Cassius Thorne in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series)

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired....

episode "Planet of the Amazon Women". He appeared in two episodes of the situation comedy Bewitched

Bewitched

Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...

and on an episode of Tales of the Gold Monkey

Tales of the Gold Monkey

Tales of the Gold Monkey is a 1982 television show broadcast by ABC. Most critics saw it as the network's attempt to capitalize on the fame of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark the previous year, in the same vein as Bring 'Em Back Alive on CBS...

as the Governor in "Last Chance Louie".

He appeared in Born Again the film adaptation of the book of the same title, about Watergate figure, Charles W. Colson. Robinson played Colson's attorney and Dean Jones starred as Colson.

Personal life

In 1958, Robinson was arrested on a narcotics violation and served 15 months in prison. Robinson credits letters of encouragement from friend Bette Davis with helping him find the strength to overcome his problem. She helped him get his first film role in 13 years, in 1971's Bunny O'Hare. Robinson married twice: to Pauline Flowers from 1960 until her death in 2002, and to Gloria Casas since 2004.

External links

• Internet Accuracy Project profile
• Robinson Discography at Smithsonian Folkways
  Smithsonian Folkways
  Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1987 after the family of Moses Asch, founder of Folkways...