Robert Strauss (actor)
Encyclopedia
Robert Strauss was a gravel-voiced American
actor
.
and Macbeth
on Broadway
in 1930. He was known best as Stalag 17
's Stanislas "Animal" Kasava, a role he created in the original 1951 Broadway production and reprised in the 1953 film adaptation, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
. He was also in the 1955 comedy film The Seven Year Itch
and in the 1956 war film Attack
! with Jack Palance
, Eddie Albert
and Lee Marvin
. He also had an important supporting role in the acclaimed 1955 movie The Man with the Golden Arm
, starring Frank Sinatra
, Kim Novak
, and Eleanor Parker
.
Additional Broadway credits include Detective Story
, Twentieth century, and Portofino
. Following his appearance in the latter, a short-lived 1958 disaster, Strauss went on to character roles in The Bridges at Toko-Ri
, Romeo Scragg in the movie version of Li'l Abner
in 1959--108.202.125.32 (talk) 21:03, 9 November 2011 (UTC), a number of low-budget films for producers like Albert Zugsmith
, and became familiar to television
viewers for his appearances in The Beverly Hillbillies
, Bonanza
, The Monkees
and a recurring role on Bewitched
. He also appeared on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. His final film consisted of a solo tour de force performance in the experimental feature The Noah
.
Strauss was a familiar voice in not a few radio dramas from the 1930's to the 1950's. His recurring roles included "Pa Wiggs" in the soap opera Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1936-1938) and "Lively," a miner, in the 15-minute serial Our Gal Sunday that was broadcast on CBS from 1937 to 1959.
. He died from an additional stroke on February 20, 1975.
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...
.
Career
Strauss began his career as a classical actor, appearing in The TempestThe Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
and Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
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...
in 1930. He was known best as Stalag 17
Stalag 17
Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...
's Stanislas "Animal" Kasava, a role he created in the original 1951 Broadway production and reprised in the 1953 film adaptation, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
. He was also in the 1955 comedy film The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
and in the 1956 war film Attack
Attack (1956 film)
Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and starred Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck...
! with Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
, Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
and Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
. He also had an important supporting role in the acclaimed 1955 movie The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm
The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
, starring Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, and Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Parker
Eleanor Jean Parker is an American screen actress. Her versatility led to her being dubbed Woman of a Thousand Faces, the title of her biography by Doug McClelland.- Early life :...
.
Additional Broadway credits include Detective Story
Detective Story (play)
Detective Story is a 1949 play in three acts by American playwright Sidney Kingsley. The play opened on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre on March 23, 1949 where it played until the production moved to the Broadhurst Theatre on July 3, 1950. The production closed on August 12, 1950 after 581 ...
, Twentieth century, and Portofino
Portofino (musical)
Portofino is a musical with a book by Richard Ney, lyrics by Ney and Sheldon Harnick, and music by Louis Bellson and Will Irwin.Set in a piazza in the Italian resort town of Portofino, the convoluted plot involves auto-racing duke Nicky; his Texan rival Kitty; his granddaughter Angela, a practicing...
. Following his appearance in the latter, a short-lived 1958 disaster, Strauss went on to character roles in The Bridges at Toko-Ri
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
The Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1954 film based on a novel by James Michener about a naval aviator assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges during the Korean War. It was made into a motion picture by Paramount Pictures and won the Special Effects Oscar at the 28th Academy Awards...
, Romeo Scragg in the movie version of Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
in 1959--108.202.125.32 (talk) 21:03, 9 November 2011 (UTC), a number of low-budget films for producers like Albert Zugsmith
Albert Zugsmith
Albert Zugsmith was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s.-Career:...
, and became familiar to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
viewers for his appearances in The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
and a recurring role on 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...
. He also appeared on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. His final film consisted of a solo tour de force performance in the experimental feature The Noah
The Noah
The Noah is a complex and innovative feature film written and directed by Daniel Bourla, starring Robert Strauss in his final film performance. Noah , the sole survivor on our planet after a nuclear holocaust, finds himself unable to accept his unique predicament...
.
Strauss was a familiar voice in not a few radio dramas from the 1930's to the 1950's. His recurring roles included "Pa Wiggs" in the soap opera Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1936-1938) and "Lively," a miner, in the 15-minute serial Our Gal Sunday that was broadcast on CBS from 1937 to 1959.
Death
Strauss was incapacitated during the final years of his life from the effects of a paralyzing strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He died from an additional stroke on February 20, 1975.
Partial filmography
- Sailor Beware (1952)
- Jumping JacksJumping JacksJumping Jacks is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:Chick Allen is a paratrooper. He invites his former partner, Hap Smith , to help out with a show that he and the other soldiers are preparing...
(1952) - Stalag 17Stalag 17Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...
(1953) - Here Come the GirlsHere Come the Girls (1953 film)Here Come the Girls is a comedy film directed by Claude Binyon, filmed in Technicolor, produced by Hope's company Hope Productions Inc., and released by Paramount Pictures.-Storyline:...
(1953) - Act of LoveAct of Love (1953 film)Act of Love is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Kirk Douglas and Dany Robin. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II.-Plot:Robert Teller visits a seaport in...
(1953) - Money from HomeMoney From HomeMoney From Home is a 1953 film starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. The comedy was the first for the Martin and Lewis team to be shot in color and was their only film in 3-D. The picture was premiered as a special preview screening across the U.S...
(1953) - The Atomic KidThe Atomic KidThe Atomic Kid is a 1954 Black-and-white science fiction comedy film starring Mickey Rooney and directed by Leslie H. Martinson. While a Uranium prospector is in the desert he is accidentally exposed to radiation from an atomic bomb test...
(1954) - The Bridges at Toko-RiThe Bridges at Toko-RiThe Bridges at Toko-Ri is a 1954 film based on a novel by James Michener about a naval aviator assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges during the Korean War. It was made into a motion picture by Paramount Pictures and won the Special Effects Oscar at the 28th Academy Awards...
(1954) - The Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year ItchThe Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
(1955) - The Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
(1955) - AttackAttack (1956 film)Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film. It was directed by Robert Aldrich and starred Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck...
! (1956) - 4D Man4D Man4D Man is a 1959 American science fiction independent film, produced by Jack H. Harris from his own original screenplay and directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.-Plot:...
(1959) - Li'l Abner! (1959)
- Wake Me When It's OverWake Me When It's Over (film)Wake Me When It's Over is a 1960 comedy film starring Ernie Kovacs and Dick Shawn. A World War II veteran gets drafted again by mistake and sent to a dreary Pacific island...
(1960) - The Last Time I Saw ArchieThe Last Time I Saw ArchieThe Last Time I Saw Archie is a 1961 comedy film set in the waning days of World War II. Robert Mitchum stars as a lazy, scheming American soldier based on Arch Hall Sr. who is in an avaition school for pilots too old to fly aircraft but not too old to fly military gliders...
(1961) - Girls! Girls! Girls!Girls! Girls! Girls!Girls! Girls! Girls! is a 1962 musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaiian fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. "Return to Sender", which reached #2 on the Billboard pop singles chart, is featured in the movie...
(1962) - The Thrill of It AllThe Thrill of It AllThe Thrill of It All is a romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison starring Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, and ZaSu Pitts. The screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner...
(1963) - The Wheeler DealersThe Wheeler DealersThe Wheeler Dealers is a 1963 comedy film starring James Garner and Lee Remick and featuring Chill Wills and Jim Backus...
(1963) - HarlowHarlow (Magna film)Harlow is a 1965 biographical film about the life of film star Jean Harlow, with Carol Lynley in the title role. It was released shortly before Paramount Pictures own film on the same subject. This was Ginger Rogers' last film appearance.-Cast:...
(1965) - The Family JewelsThe Family Jewels (film)The Family Jewels is a 1965 American comedy film. It was filmed from January 18-April 2, 1965 and was released by Paramount Pictures on July 1, 1965. The film was co-written, directed, and produced by Jerry Lewis who also played seven roles in the film...
(1965) - That Funny FeelingThat Funny FeelingThat Funny Feeling is a 1965 American film starring Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, and Donald O'Connor. This was the second film with O'Connor and Kathleen Freeman together, the first being Singin' in the Rain.-Cast:...
(1965) - Frankie and JohnnyFrankie and Johnny (1966 film)Frankie and Johnny is a 1966 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a riverboat gambler. The role of "Frankie" was played by Donna Douglas from The Beverly Hillbillies TV series. The film reached #40 on the Variety weekly national box office list for 1966. The budget of the film was estimated at...
(1966) - The NoahThe NoahThe Noah is a complex and innovative feature film written and directed by Daniel Bourla, starring Robert Strauss in his final film performance. Noah , the sole survivor on our planet after a nuclear holocaust, finds himself unable to accept his unique predicament...
(1975)