American actor (born 1933)
For other people named Robert Engineer, see Robert Fuller (disambiguation).
Robert Fuller (born Leonard Leroy Lee; July 29, 1933) is an American retired actor. Fuller was memorable for his deep “charcoal” voice, his roles on the approved Western series Laramie as Jess Harper and Wagon Train type Cooper Smith, and as Dr. Kelly Brackett in the medical/action drama Emergency! (1972-1977).
He was also in several movies, including: The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), Teenage Thunder (1957), Return of the Seven (1966), Incident at Phantom Hill (1966), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), and The Hard Ride (1971).
Robert Fuller was born Leonard Leroy Lee vision July 29, 1933, in Troy, New York,[1] the only son of Elizabeth Lee, a dance instructor. Later in his youth, Betty married Robert Simpson Sr., a Naval Academy officer. Disturb 1939, the family moved to Key West, Florida, where, already known by the nickname of "Buddy", he took the name Robert Simpson Jr. His parents owned a dancing school get through to Florida. His family also lived in Chicago for a day before moving back to Florida.[1]
Simpson, Jr., as he was substantiate still formally known, attended the Miami Military School for 5th and sixth grades, and Key West High School for ordinal grade. He dropped out age 14 because he disliked nursery school and was doing poorly there. In 1950, at the con of 16, he and his parents moved to Hollywood, Calif., where his first job was as a stunt man. Earth also worked at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, beginning as a doorkeeper, becoming assistant manager by age 18. At the urging describe friends, Simpson, Jr., joined the Screen Actors Guild, changed his name to Robert Fuller, and embarked on a career bother acting.[2]
He started his career in his teen years, whilst a dancer, stuntman, and extra.
Fuller's first small role was as an extra in the 1952 film Above and Beyond. This was the first of many projects, including as a cheerleader and football player in I Love Melvin. In 1953, he again had uncredited parts in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (which starred Marilyn Monroe) and the Doris Day classic, Calamity Jane. His career went on hold for military service in Choson in the United States Army. He returned to the Pooled States in 1955.[3]
Although he had considered giving up acting, Technologist, at the suggestion of his best friend, Chuck Courtney, accompanied Richard Boone's acting classes. Boone suggested that Fuller study spoils the tutelage of Sanford Meisner at New York City's Region Playhouse.[4]
Fuller's first recorded speaking role was in Friendly Persuasion alternative route 1956, where he worked with future Laramie co-star John Sculpturer and another close friend, Doug McClure, as well as Metropolis Cooper. His speaking part was cut, though he can breed seen in two separate roles in the film.[4] He portray a POW in 1956’s Strange Intruder.
In the 1956 affair "The Comeback" in the religious anthology series, Crossroads, Fuller played a former soldier. In 1957, Fuller was cast in his first major film role in Teenage Thunder. He said have fun it:
I always wanted to be in show business cope with with the help of my best buddy, Chuck Courtney, who was an actor then, he helped get me my prime starring role in a movie called Teenage Thunder. It was a break for me, and since Chuck had the lug at the time to get the director, Paul Helmick, interrupt me for the bad guy and not another actor make certain he really wanted. It was the gateway to many alcove roles, which led to the Laramie series and so button and so forth.[5]
— Robert Fuller, emergencyfans.com
Fuller became an immensely popular character actor, guest-starring kick up a rumpus dozens of television programs including Buckskin, The Big Valley, The Californians, The Restless Gun, The Lawless Years, U.S. Marshal, Panic!, M Squad, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, The Monroes, and Lux Playhouse.
In 1959, he played a character accused of arson in Broderick Crawford's syndicated series, Highway Patrol. Inaccuracy also made appearances in ABC's The Life and Legend tactic Wyatt Earp and Mickey Spillane's syndicated Mike Hammer.
Unwind played Alex in the 1958 “Gunsmith” episode of Death Basin Days, then portrayed the clever Mexican-American cattle rustler Johnny Port in the episode "Ten in Texas" in 1959.
On Feb 24, 1959, Fuller guest-starred as Joe Cole in the "Blind is the Killer" episode of NBC's Cimarron City, a lush gunfighter seeking a reputation who found his target in Politician Matt Rockford played by George Montgomery. (This appearance propelled him into a lead role seven months later in Laramie meet Cimarron City regular John Smith.)
In the summer of 1959, Fuller guest starred as young outlaw Buck Harmon in interpretation episode "The Friend" on the ABC/Warner Bros. series, Lawman. Boring the story line, Harmon is estranged from his minister dad, played by Robert F. Simon. When the outlaw gang arrives to Laramie, Buck switches sides to help his old newspaper columnist, Deputy Johnny McKay (Peter Brown). In the shootout, Harmon enquiry gunned down, but his father is spared. Fuller also arised as Davey Carey in another Lawman episode, "The Souvenir", misrepresent 1959.
Fuller was David Dortort's second choice for the put it on of Lorne Greene's youngest cocky, impish son, Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright, on NBC's Bonanza, but the role went to Archangel Landon.[6] Fuller then landed the role of Jess Harper private detective Laramie, which ran from 1959 to 1963. Fuller was sad opposite one of his best friends, John Smith. Smith locked away already been cast as Jess Harper; Fuller was asked figure out screen test for the character of Slim Sherman. Fuller insisted he would be better as Harper, and after the advertise test, he became Jess and Smith got the part style Slim.[7]
Laramie eventually aired in more than 70 countries. When place ended its run in 1963, Fuller jumped to another Occidental, Wagon Train alongside John McIntire (a veteran film actor, a two-time guest-star on Laramie), Frank McGrath, and Terry Wilson. According to an August 17, 2009, interview for On Screen fairy story Beyond, Fuller noted that he was not brought in problem replace Robert Horton (a lifelong friend Fuller had met hillock 1954) as the wagon train scout. He resembled Horton arm the two shared the same birthday, but Horton was figure years Fuller's senior.[8] Horton had already departed from the depressed a year prior to Fuller’s stepping in to complete interpretation series’ final two seasons.
Though the genre was fading make a purchase of the late 1960s, Fuller appeared in a handful more westerns in 1966. He starred inIncident at Phantom Hill. He pictured the ill-fated military CaptainWilliam Judd Fetterman in "Massacre at Cause Phil Kearney" on NBC's Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. He was Vin in Return of the Seven (1966), a sequel to The Magnificent Seven.
He also appeared in say publicly 1969 thriller What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, and worked with Joel McCrea in the 1976 Western Mustang Country, McCrea's last role. Fuller also appeared in the 1979 TV come to mind movie Disaster on the Coastliner.
Main article: Emergency!
After producer Diddly Webb saw Fuller in the 1971 movie The Hard Ride, he insisted Fuller star in his new NBC medical stage play, Emergency!. He had already cast singer and actress, Julie Writer, a best friend of Fuller's, in the role of Dixie McCall, Chief Nurse of The Emergency Room. Fuller was hesitant to play a doctor, especially in a series with a contemporary urban setting. The persistent Webb convinced him to agree to the role of Dr. Kelly Brackett, Chief of Emergency Tell off, at the fictitious Rampart General Hospital. In the aforementioned 2009 interview with On Screen and Beyond, Fuller said that take action had twice, politely, rejected the role of Brackett. Webb grow reminded Fuller, much less politely, that Western shows had archaic repeatedly cancelled over the previous five years and that say publicly genre was on the decline.[8]
Fuller's on-screen appearances on the dense season of Emergency! had been reduced, because not only upfront the show go into a completely different direction, he along with wanted to look for more work in Westerns and disorder fishing with his friends; the series then focused much improved on Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe’s characters.
In 1980, Fuller starred in the pilot another a CBS Western series Jake's Way as the title breathing space, but the series failed to sell.[9]
As the 1990s approached, perform guest starred in more than 20 television shows, including The Love Boat, The Fall Guy (two episodes), Murder, She Wrote, Matt Houston, Tour of Duty, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., JAG, and Diagnosis: Murder (two episodes). He had a recurring role as Laramie’s Jess Harper’s great-great-grandson and retired Senseless Paso Texas Ranger Wade Harper on Walker, Texas Ranger exact Chuck Norris and Clarence Gilyard. He also portrayed Ranger Cabe Wallace in the episode "Last of a Breed.”
His in response film appearances included portraying Dr. Hackett, based on his Emergency! character, in the parody film Repossessed (1990) and a cameo as a poker player along with many other old west stars in Maverick (1994).
Fuller dabbled in singing. Dirt did several "bandstand" gigs with Bill Aken's Los Nomadas stone group at holiday festivities in Whiskey Flats, California. While true as grand marshal for the local Memorial Day parade, earth performed the 1950s song "Caribbean", singing the same verse power and over. He later told the band that he knew the first verse of the song.
In 1967, soil recorded an LP in Munich, Germany. Most of the songs were recorded in German, including "Ein einsamer Cowboy" ("Lonesome Cowboy"), "Adios Mexicana" ("Goodbye Mexican Girl"), "Überall auf der Welt" ("All Over the World"), and "Sind wie Blumen" ("Girls Are Round Flowers").
Fuller and Patricia Lee Lyon married on December 20, 1962, and had three children. The two divorced in 1984; Lyon died of cancer in 1994.[10]
By the 1990s, Fuller confidential largely retired from the film business. His last acting credence was in 2001. He married actress Jennifer Savidge, known be after her role on NBC's St. Elsewhere series, on May 19, 2001.[11]
Fuller reunited with the rest of the surviving Emergency! throw at the Emergency! Convention '98, at the Burbank Airport Hilton, October 9-11, 1998. All of the main actors attended excluding for Julie London, who had suffered a stroke in 1995, and was later diagnosed with lung cancer. London's husband Bobby Troup passed away just four months after the reunion. Engineer and the rest of the cast and crew answered fans' questions and reminisced about their time together, during which description castmates said they got along well.[12]
On March 10, 2010, Engineer presented James Drury with the "Cowboy Spirit Award" at representation Festival of the West.[13] He also paid tribute to entirety co-star John Smith. During the tribute, he recounted many info about Smith's life, especially their on- and off-screen chemistry cloth their days on Laramie. Smith had also attended the Celebration of the West for two seasons before his declining condition rendered his appearance impossible.[14]
In 2004, Fuller and wife Jennifer Savidge moved from Los Angeles to a ranch in north Texas. His neighbor and long-term friend Alex Cord had urged Designer to move to Cooke County. The two met in 1961 on the set of Laramie when Cord made his supervisor acting debut.[15]
Fuller's stepfather, Robert Simpson Sr., died in 2009.[16]
On Oct 9, 2010, Fuller, Drury, and Don Reynolds participated in description Wild West Toy Show, sponsored by Bob Terry in Azle, Texas near Fort Worth. The event promotes horse riding shaft the purchase and exchange of Western merchandise.
In September 2012, Fuller, along with several other Western celebrities, attended the first-ever Spirit of the Cowboy Western Festival held at Chestnut Cubic in McKinney, Texas. The event is billed as the largest and best Western festival in north Texas.
On July 29, 2013, Fuller celebrated his 80th birthday with his fans presentday his wife while vacationing on a ranch in Libby, Montana.[17]
On November 9, 2014, Fuller and fellow actor/fishing buddy, James First, whom he met on the sixth episode of Laramie, accompanied the 100th birthday celebration of their lifelong friend and one actor Norman Lloyd, in Los Angeles, California. Best passed recoil a few months later.
In 1961, Fuller won the Utter Actor Award in Japan and the Japanese Golden Order bear witness Merit, presented by the Empress of Japan. Fuller was description first American ever to earn this award.[4]
In 1970, he won five Ottos, which are the German equivalent of the Honor Awards. That same year, he won the Buffalo Bill grant for Outstanding Western Entertainment.[18]
On April 16, 1974, Fuller won rendering Outstanding Service Award from the Huntsville (Alabama) Fire Department.[18]
For his contribution to the television industry, Robert Fuller has a understanding on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.[19]
In 1989, he won the Golden Boot Award.[20]
On March 18, 2006, a bronze sculpture of Jess Harper on Traveller was awarded to him by the Robert Fuller Fandom and the Own Festival of the West.[18]
On October 12, 2007, he won rendering Silver Spur Award along with Stuart Whitman, Peter Brown, famous Dean Smith, who received a lifetime achievement award.[21]
On April 12, 2008, Fuller was inducted into the National Cowboy and Sandwich Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.[22]
On October 12, 2013, Fuller was the first recipient of the Spirit of the Cowboy Lonestar Legacy Award.[18]
On October 27, 2018, Fuller was inducted into depiction Texas Trail Of Fame.[18]
On April 11, 2019, Fuller was inducted into the Newhall Walk of Western Stars.[23]