Robert Rockwell
Encyclopedia
Robert Rockwell was an American
actor best known for playing the handsome, but awkward biology teacher Philip Boynton in the radio and television situation comedy
Our Miss Brooks
opposite Eve Arden
.
A native of Chicago
, Robert Rockwell almost became typecast through performing Mr. Boynton, particularly dramatic ones often eluded him. Nonetheless, after beginning his career as a contract player for Republic Studios he appeared, in the course of a fifty-year acting career, in over 350 television shows and, on stage, opposite José Ferrer
in the 1946 Broadway
production of Cyrano de Bergerac
, and with Ginger Rogers
during the 1960s in a San Diego production of Whitfield Cook's play A More Perfect Union.
Rockwell married Elizabeth Weiss on September 26, 1942 and had five children—two daughters, Susan and Alison and three sons, Robert Jr., Jeffrey and Gregory. His granddaughter, Taylor Rockwell, the daughter of actress Alison Rockwell, is a visual effects coordinator. Robert Rockwell studied at the Pasadena Playhouse
where he received a masters degree.
Rockwell was a founding member of the California Artists Radio Theatre. He played standard leads in a couple of MCCarthyite
-era features, including Republic's The Red Menace
(1949) wherein he played a war veteran who is duped by Communists
. In the very first episode of The Adventures of Superman
, he played Superman
's father Jor-El
. He was also seen a number of times on the television anthology series The Loretta Young Show (1958), playing Loretta Young's husband. Later in his career he appeared on episodes of Growing Pains
(1988–90) and Beverly Hills, 90210
(1993). His appearances in commercials and voiceovers totaled more than 200, most notably as the armchair grandfather treating his grandson to a piece of candy in the 1995 version of the Werthers Original
candy spot.
Robert Rockwell died in Malibu, California at the age of 82.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor best known for playing the handsome, but awkward biology teacher Philip Boynton in the radio and television situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks
Our Miss Brooks is an American situation comedy starring Eve Arden as a sardonic high school English teacher. It began as a radio show broadcast on CBS from 1948 to 1957. When the show was adapted to television , it became one of the medium's earliest hits...
opposite Eve Arden
Eve Arden
Eve Arden was an American actress. Her almost 60-year career crossed most media frontiers with supporting and leading roles, but she may be best-remembered for playing the sardonic but engaging title character, a high school teacher, on Our Miss Brooks, and as the Rydell High School principal in...
.
A native of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Robert Rockwell almost became typecast through performing Mr. Boynton, particularly dramatic ones often eluded him. Nonetheless, after beginning his career as a contract player for Republic Studios he appeared, in the course of a fifty-year acting career, in over 350 television shows and, on stage, opposite José Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
in the 1946 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...
production of Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac (play)
Cyrano de Bergerac is a play written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand. Although there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, the play bears very scant resemblance to his life....
, and with Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
during the 1960s in a San Diego production of Whitfield Cook's play A More Perfect Union.
Rockwell married Elizabeth Weiss on September 26, 1942 and had five children—two daughters, Susan and Alison and three sons, Robert Jr., Jeffrey and Gregory. His granddaughter, Taylor Rockwell, the daughter of actress Alison Rockwell, is a visual effects coordinator. Robert Rockwell studied at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
where he received a masters degree.
Rockwell was a founding member of the California Artists Radio Theatre. He played standard leads in a couple of MCCarthyite
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
-era features, including Republic's The Red Menace
The Red Menace (film)
The Red Menace is a 1949 anti-communist and anti-Soviet propaganda film released by Republic Pictures.An ex-GI named Bill Jones , who becomes involved with the Communist Party. While in training, Jones falls in love with one of his instructors...
(1949) wherein he played a war veteran who is duped by Communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. In the very first episode of The Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
, he played Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's father Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....
. He was also seen a number of times on the television anthology series The Loretta Young Show (1958), playing Loretta Young's husband. Later in his career he appeared on episodes of Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
(1988–90) and Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
(1993). His appearances in commercials and voiceovers totaled more than 200, most notably as the armchair grandfather treating his grandson to a piece of candy in the 1995 version of the Werthers Original
Werther's Original
Werther's Original is a brand of caramel flavored sweets owned by the German company August Storck KG, based in Berlin, Germany.- History :...
candy spot.
Robert Rockwell died in Malibu, California at the age of 82.