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| caption = Robertson as Jim Hardie, 1958
| caption = Robertson as Jim Hardie, 1958
| name = Dale Robertson
| name = Dale Robertson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|07|14}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|7|14}}
| birth_place = [[Harrah, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Harrah, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|02|27|1923|7|14}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|2|27|1923|7|14}}
| death_place = [[La Jolla, California]], U.S.
| death_place = [[La Jolla, California]], U.S.
| occupation = Actor
| occupation = Actor
| birth_name = Dayle Lymoine Robertson
| birth_name = Dayle Lymoine Robertson
| yearsactive = 1948–1994
| yearsactive = 1948–1994
|spouse = Frederica Jacqueline Wilson (1951–1956; divorced); 1 daughter<br />[[Mary Murphy (actress)|Mary Murphy]] (1956–1956; annulled)<br />Lula Mae Robertson (m. 1959–1977); two daughters {{Citation needed |date=December 2020}}<br/>

⚫
Susan Robbins Robertson (married 1980–2013; his death)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19591111&id=e8FHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T4AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4270,2123176&hl=en|title=Dale Robertson to Wed Victorian |work=[[The Victoria Advocate]]|date=November 11, 1959 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>
Dales first wife or spouse was Margret Shooter. Records can be found in the Robeson County Courthouse in Lumberton NC! He married her while stationed at Fort Bragg NC where he was stationed. They had no children. They were divorced after one year due to the fact that he wanted to move out west to pursue an acting career and she did not want to leave North Carolina! In the divorce decree, she asked that her name never be mentioned while living, and being true to his word Dale and a man of integrity, Dale never mentioned her name.

⚫
2nd spouse = Frederica Jacqueline Wilson (1951–1956) (divorced) (1 daughter)<br />[[Mary Murphy (actress)|Mary Murphy]] (1956–1958)<br />Lula Mae (m. 1959–1977, two daughters){{Citation needed |date=December 2020}}<br />Susan Robbins Robertson (married 1980–2013, his death)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19591111&id=e8FHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T4AMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4270,2123176&hl=en|title=Dale Robertson to Wed Victorian |work=[[The Victoria Advocate]]|date=November 11, 1959 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>
| children = 3
| children = 3
}}
}}

'''Dayle Lymoine Robertson''' (July 14, 1923{{spaced ndash}}February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' and railroad owner Ben Calhoun in ''[[Iron Horse (TV series)|Iron Horse]]''. He often was presented as a deceptively thoughtful but modest [[Western (genre)|Western]] hero. From 1968 to 1970, Robertson was the fourth and final host of the [[anthology series]] ''[[Death Valley Days]]''. Described by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1959 as "probably the best horseman on television",{{r|sixgungalahad}} for most of his career, Robertson played in western films and television shows—well over 60 titles in all.
'''Dayle Lymoine Robertson''' (July 14, 1923 – February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' and railroad owner Ben Calhoun in ''[[Iron Horse (TV series)|Iron Horse]]''. He often was presented as a deceptively thoughtful but modest [[Western (genre)|Western]] hero. From 1968 to 1970, Robertson was the fourth and final host of the [[anthology series]] ''[[Death Valley Days]]''. Described by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1959 as "probably the best horseman on television",{{r|sixgungalahad}} for most of his career, Robertson played in Western films and television shows—well over 60 titles in all.


==Early life==
==Early life==
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===World War II===
===World War II===
During World War II, he was commissioned through [[Officer Candidate School]], and served in the [[United States Army]] 322nd [[Combat engineer|Combat Engineer Battalion]] of the [[97th Infantry Division]] in Europe. He was wounded twice and was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze]] and [[Silver Star]] medals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chuckhawks.com/combat_vet.htm |title=Dale Robertson: Actor & Wounded Combat Veteran |work=chuckhawks.com |last=Van Harl| first=Major|access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>
During [[World War II]], he was commissioned through [[Officer Candidate School]], and served in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s 322nd [[Combat engineer|Combat Engineer Battalion]] of the [[97th Infantry Division]] in Europe. He was wounded twice and was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze]] and [[Silver Star]] medals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chuckhawks.com/combat_vet.htm |title=Dale Robertson: Actor & Wounded Combat Veteran |work=chuckhawks.com |last=Van Harl| first=Major|access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==

===Early roles===
===Early roles===
Robertson began his acting career by chance when he was in the United States Army. When he was stationed at [[San Luis Obispo, California]], Robertson's mother asked him to have a portrait taken for her because she didn't have one; so he and several other soldiers went to Hollywood to find a photographer. A large copy of his photo was displayed in his mother's living room window.<ref name="drob">Paregien Sr., Stan, [http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/bailey/16/dalerob-01.html Dale Robertson profile at www.fortunecity.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013023149/http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/bailey/16/dalerob-01.html |date=October 13, 2008 }} (accessed May 26, 2010)</ref> He found himself receiving letters from film agents who wished to represent him. After the war, Robertson's war wounds prevented him from resuming his boxing career. He stayed in California to try his hand at acting. Hollywood actor [[Will Rogers Jr.]], gave him this advice: "Don't ever take a dramatic lesson. They will try to put your voice in a dinner jacket, and people like their hominy and grits in everyday clothes." Robertson thereafter avoided formal acting lessons.<ref name="drob"/>
Robertson began his acting career by chance when he was in the army. When he was stationed at [[San Luis Obispo, California]], Robertson's mother asked him to have a portrait taken for her because she didn't have one; so he and several other soldiers went to Hollywood to find a photographer. A large copy of his photo was displayed in his mother's living room window.<ref name="drob">Paregien Sr., Stan, [http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/bailey/16/dalerob-01.html Dale Robertson profile at www.fortunecity.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013023149/http://www.fortunecity.com/roswell/bailey/16/dalerob-01.html |date=October 13, 2008 }} (accessed May 26, 2010)</ref> He found himself receiving letters from film agents who wished to represent him. After the war, Robertson's war wounds prevented him from resuming his boxing career. He stayed in California to try his hand at acting. Hollywood actor [[Will Rogers Jr.]], gave him this advice: "Don't ever take a dramatic lesson. They will try to put your voice in a dinner jacket, and people like their hominy and grits in everyday clothes." Robertson thereafter avoided formal acting lessons.<ref name="drob"/>

Robertson made his film debut in an uncredited role as a policeman in ''[[The Boy with Green Hair]]'' (1948). Two other uncredited appearances led to featured roles in two [[Randolph Scott]] Westerns: ''[[Fighting Man of the Plains]]'' (1949), where he played [[Jesse James]], and ''[[The Cariboo Trail]]'' (1950).


Robertson made his film debut in an uncredited role as a policeman in ''[[The Boy with Green Hair]]'' (1948). Two other uncredited appearances led to featured roles in two [[Randolph Scott]] Westerns: ''[[Fighting Man of the Plains]]'' (1949), where he played [[Jesse James]], and ''[[The Cariboo Trail]]'' (1950). Popular acclaim to Robertson's brief roles led him to be signed to a seven-year contract to [[20th Century Fox]]. Robertson's first role for Fox was a support part in a Western, ''[[Two Flags West]]'' (1951). He had a support part in the musical ''[[Call Me Mister (film)|Call Me Mister]]'' (1951). He soon advanced to leading roles in films such as ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]'' (1951), where he played [[Jeanne Crain]]'s love interest, and ''[[Golden Girl (1951 film)|Golden Girl]]'' (1951), where he supported [[Mitzi Gaynor]].
Popular acclaim to Robertson's brief roles led him to be signed to a seven-year contract to [[20th Century Fox]]. Robertson's first role for Fox was a support part in a Western, ''[[Two Flags West]]'' (1951). He had a support part in the musical ''[[Call Me Mister (film)|Call Me Mister]]'' (1951). He soon advanced to leading roles in films such as ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]'' (1951), where he played [[Jeanne Crain]]'s love interest, and ''[[Golden Girl (1951 film)|Golden Girl]]'' (1951), where he supported [[Mitzi Gaynor]].


===Stardom===
===Stardom===
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===Television===
===Television===
⚫
[[File:Dale Robertson 1959.JPG|thumb|{{center|Dale Robertson 1959}}]]
''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'', his best-remembered series, aired on NBC from 1957 to 1961, when it moved to ABC and expanded to an hour-long program for its final season in 1961–1962. The show originally was produced by Nat Holt whom Robertson felt he owed his career to for giving him his first leading roles.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.westernclippings.com/remember/talesofwellsfargo_doyouremember.shtml |title=Tales of Wells Fargo |work=westernclippings.com |last=Magers |first=Boyd |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>Robertson used his own horse, Jubilee, throughout the run of the series.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'', his best-remembered series, aired on NBC from 1957 to 1961, when it moved to ABC and expanded to an hour-long program for its final season in 1961–1962. The show originally was produced by Nat Holt whom Robertson felt he owed his career to for giving him his first leading roles.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.westernclippings.com/remember/talesofwellsfargo_doyouremember.shtml |title=Tales of Wells Fargo |work=westernclippings.com |last=Magers |first=Boyd |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref> Robertson used his own horse, Jubilee, throughout the run of the series.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mullins |first=Jesse, Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kOoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 |title=Good Guys Finish First |date=August 2002 |publisher=Active Interest Media, Inc. |pages=54–57 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3wSSDwAAQBAJ&newbks=0 |title=Bucking Hollywood |date=2019-04-12 |publisher=Page Publishing Inc |isbn=978-1-64424-801-0 |language=en}}</ref>


Robertson also did the narration for ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' through which he often presented his own commentary on matters of law, morality, and common sense. He was unique among his television contemporaries, stating that he hated the gun he was forced to carry, but saw it as a necessary evil, a "tool of the trade", and kept practicing.
Robertson also did the narration for ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' through which he often presented his own commentary on matters of law, morality, and common sense. He was unique among his television contemporaries, stating that he hated the gun he was forced to carry, but saw it as a necessary evil, a "tool of the trade", and kept practicing.


In its cover story on television westerns, published March 30, 1959, ''Time'' reported Robertson was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and measured 42–34–34. He sometimes made use of his physique in "[[beefcake]]" scenes, such as one in 1952's ''[[Return of the Texan]]'' where he is seen bare-chested and sweaty, repairing a fence.<ref name="sixgungalahad">{{Cite magazine |date=March 30, 1959 |title=The Six-Gun Galahad |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892441,00.html?internalid=ACA |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214134022/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892441,00.html |archive-date=February 14, 2008}}</ref>
In its cover story on television Westerns, published March 30, 1959, ''Time'' reported Robertson was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and measured 42–34–34. He sometimes made use of his physique in "[[beefcake]]" scenes, such as one in 1952's ''[[Return of the Texan]]'' where he is seen bare-chested and sweaty, repairing a fence.<ref name="sixgungalahad">{{Cite magazine |date=March 30, 1959 |title=The Six-Gun Galahad |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892441,00.html?internalid=ACA |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214134022/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,892441,00.html |archive-date=February 14, 2008}}</ref>


In 1960, Robertson guest-starred as himself in NBC's ''[[The Ford Show]]'', starring [[Tennessee Ernie Ford]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ernieford.com/season-four|title=Show # 140 March 3, 1960|work=ernieford.com |access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> In 1962, he similarly appeared and sang a perfect rendition of "High Noon" on the short-lived western comedy and variety series ''[[The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TY2A-GQdC4 |title=Dale Robertson - "High Noon" (1962)|work=[[YouTube]] |date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> In 1963, after ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' ended its five-year run, he played the lead role in the first of [[A.C. Lyles]]' ''[[Law of the Lawless (1963 film)|Law of the Lawless]]''.
In 1960, Robertson guest-starred as himself in NBC's ''[[The Ford Show]]'', starring [[Tennessee Ernie Ford]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.ernieford.com/season-four|title=Show # 140 March 3, 1960|work=ernieford.com |access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> In 1962, he similarly appeared and sang a perfect rendition of "High Noon" on the short-lived Western comedy and variety series ''[[The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TY2A-GQdC4 |title=Dale Robertson - "High Noon" (1962)|work=[[YouTube]] |date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=October 28, 2022}}</ref>
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[[File:Dale Robertson 1959.JPG|thumb|{{center|Dale Robertson 1959}}]]


===1960s work===
⚫
Robertson created United Screen Arts in 1965<ref>p.34 ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' August 21, 1965</ref> which released two of his films, ''[[The Man from Button Willow]]'' (1965, animated) and ''[[The One Eyed Soldiers]]'' (1966). Robertson filmed a television pilot about [[Diamond Jim Brady]] that was not picked up as a series.
In 1963, after ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' ended its five-year run, he played the lead role in the first of [[A. C. Lyles]]' ''[[Law of the Lawless (1963 film)|Law of the Lawless]]''. The film was initially set to star [[Rory Calhoun]], but Calhoun came down with pneumonia the night before the production was set to start filming. Dale Robertson, star of the television series, ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]],'' stepped in at six hours' notice.<ref>p. 41: ''Dale Subsititues'' in ''The Pittsburgh Press'' - July 7, 1963.</ref> Lyles had acquired the friendship and respect of a galaxy of experienced actors who offered their services to his production.


Robertson filmed a television pilot; about [[Diamond Jim Brady]] that was not picked up as a series.
⚫
In the 1966–67 season, Robertson starred in ''Scalplock'' another television pilot released as a movie that became ''[[Iron Horse (TV series)|Iron Horse]]'', in which his character wins an incomplete railroad line in a poker game and then decides to manage the company.<ref name="drob"/> In 1968, he succeeded [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] as the host of ''Death Valley Days'', a role formerly held by [[Stanley Andrews]] and future [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]]. The series would come to its end, after 19 years on the air, with Robertson's 26 episodes as host. In rebroadcasts, ''Death Valley Days'' (often known as ''Trails West'' at the time), featured [[Ray Milland]] in the role of revised host.


⚫
Robertson created United Screen Arts in 1965<ref>p. 34: ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', August 21, 1965.</ref> which released two of his films, ''[[The Man from Button Willow]]'' (1965, animated) that he did the voice for and ''[[The One Eyed Soldiers]]'' (1966) which he starred in.
⚫
Robertson guest-starred on the November 17, 1969, episode of ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]''.


In the 1966–67 season, Robertson starred in ''Scalplock'' another television pilot released as a movie that became ''[[Iron Horse (TV series)|Iron Horse]]'', in which his character wins an incomplete railroad line in a poker game and then decides to manage the company.<ref name="drob"/>
⚫
Robertson also guest-starred as himself in the episode "Little Orphan Airplane" of ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]'' in 1974.

⚫
In 1968, he succeeded [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] as the host of ''Death Valley Days'', a role formerly held by [[Stanley Andrews]] and future [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. The series would come to its end, after 19 years on the air, with Robertson's 26 episodes as host. In rebroadcasts, ''Death Valley Days'' (often known as ''Trails West'' at the time), featured [[Ray Milland]] in the role of revised host.

⚫
Robertson guest-starred on the November 17, 1969, episode of ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]''.


===Later career===
===Later career===
In 1970 he had the lead playing a US Army Major in the Japanese film ''Aru heishi no kake''.

⚫
Robertson guest-starred as himself in the episode "Little Orphan Airplane" of ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]'' in 1974.

He portrayed legendary FBI agent [[Melvin Purvis]] in two made-for-television movies ''[[Melvin Purvis: G-Man]]'' (1974) and ''[[The Kansas City Massacre]]'' (1975).
He portrayed legendary FBI agent [[Melvin Purvis]] in two made-for-television movies ''[[Melvin Purvis: G-Man]]'' (1974) and ''[[The Kansas City Massacre]]'' (1975).


In 1981, Robertson was in the original starring cast of ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', playing [[Walter Lankershim]], a character who disappeared after the first season.
In 1981, Robertson was in the original starring cast of ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'', playing [[Walter Lankershim]], a character who disappeared after the first season.


In 1983, Robertson made ''Big John'', another television pilot, where he played a Georgia sheriff who becomes a New York Police Department detective.<ref>p.30 Terrace, Vincent ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012'' McFarland, February 26, 2013</ref> In 1987, he starred as the title character on ''[[J.J. Starbuck]]''. Robertson also played Frank Crutcher in five episodes of the TV series ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'' during the 1982–83 season. In December 1993 and January 1994, Robertson appeared in two episodes of ''[[Harts of the West]]'' in the role of Zeke Terrell.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106022/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast Full cast and crew of ''Harts of the West''] at the [[IMDb]]</ref> During an appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', Robertson said he was of [[Cherokee]] ancestry. He joked, "I am the tribe's West Coast distributor."
In 1983, Robertson made ''Big John'', another television pilot, where he played a Georgia sheriff who becomes a New York Police Department detective.<ref>p. 30: Terrace, Vincent. ''Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012'', McFarland, February 26, 2013.</ref> In 1987, he starred as the title character on ''[[J.J. Starbuck]]''. Robertson also played Frank Crutcher in five episodes of the TV series ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'' during the 1982–83 season.
In December 1993 and January 1994, Robertson appeared in two episodes of ''[[Harts of the West]]'' in the role of Zeke Terrell.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106022/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm#cast Full cast and crew of ''Harts of the West''] at the [[IMDb]]</ref> During an appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', Robertson said he was of [[Cherokee]] ancestry. He joked, "I am the tribe's West Coast distributor."


Robertson played a central part in two episodes of ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' with [[Angela Lansbury]] but he was not credited in either appearance.
Robertson played a central part in two episodes of ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' with [[Angela Lansbury]] but he was not credited in either appearance.
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==Death==
==Death==
In his later years, Robertson and his wife, the former Susan Robbins, whom he married in 1980, had lived on his ranch in [[Yukon, Oklahoma]], where it was reported he owned 235 horses at one time, with five mares foaling grand champions. Due to his declining health, he relocated to the [[San Diego]] area in what would be his final months, passing away at [[Scripps Health|Scripps Memorial Hospital]] in [[La Jolla, California]], on February 27, 2013, from [[lung cancer]] and [[pneumonia]].<ref name=Dale>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/arts/television/dale-robertson-actor-dies-at-89.html?_r=0 |title=Dale Robertson, a Horse-Savvy Actor in Westerns, Is Dead at 89 |work=The New York Times |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=February 27, 2013 |access-date=July 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/27/5223471/actor-dale-robertson-dies-in-california.html |title=Actor Dale Robertson dies in California hospital |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]] |date=February 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302135918/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/27/5223471/actor-dale-robertson-dies-in-california.html |archive-date=March 2, 2013 }}</ref>
In his later years, Robertson and his wife, Susan Robbins, who married in 1980, lived on his ranch in [[Yukon, Oklahoma]], where it was reported he owned 235 horses at one time, with five mares foaling grand champions. Due to his declining health, he relocated to the [[San Diego]] area in what would be his final months, passing away at [[Scripps Health|Scripps Memorial Hospital]] in [[La Jolla, California]], on February 27, 2013, from [[lung cancer]] and [[pneumonia]].<ref name=Dale>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/arts/television/dale-robertson-actor-dies-at-89.html?_r=0 |title=Dale Robertson, a Horse-Savvy Actor in Westerns, Is Dead at 89 |work=The New York Times |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=February 27, 2013 |access-date=June 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/27/5223471/actor-dale-robertson-dies-in-california.html |title=Actor Dale Robertson cries in California hospital |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]] |date=February 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302135918/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/27/5223471/actor-dale-robertson-lies-in-california.html |archive-date=March 2, 2013 }}</ref>


==TV & Filmography==
==TV and filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[The Boy with Green Hair]]'' (1948) – Cop (uncredited)
* ''[[The Boy with Green Hair]]'' (1948) – Cop (uncredited)
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* ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]'' (1951) – Joe Blake
* ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]'' (1951) – Joe Blake
* ''[[The Secret of Convict Lake]]'' (1951) – Narrator (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[The Secret of Convict Lake]]'' (1951) – Narrator (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[Golden Girl (1951 film)|Golden Girl]]'' (1951) – Tom Richmond
* ''[[Golden Girl (film)|Golden Girl]]'' (1951) – Tom Richmond
* ''[[Return of the Texan]]'' (1952) – Sam Crockett
* ''[[Return of the Texan]]'' (1952) – Sam Crockett
* ''[[The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952 film)|The Outcasts of Poker Flat]]'' (1952) – John Oakhurst
* ''[[The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952 film)|The Outcasts of Poker Flat]]'' (1952) – John Oakhurst
* ''[[Lydia Bailey]]'' (1952) – Albion Hamlin
* ''[[Lydia Bailey]]'' (1952) – Albion Hamlin
* ''[[Lure of the Wilderness]]'' (1952) – Opening off-screen Narrator (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[Lure of the Wilderness]]'' (1952) – Opening off-screen narrator (voice, uncredited)
* ''[[O. Henry's Full House]]'' (1952) – Barney Woods (segment "The Clarion Call")
* ''[[O. Henry's Full House]]'' (1952) – Barney Woods (segment "The Clarion Call")
* ''[[The Silver Whip]]'' (1953) – Race Crim
* ''[[The Silver Whip]]'' (1953) – Race Crim
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* ''[[Devil's Canyon (1953 film)|Devil's Canyon]]'' (1953) – Billy Reynolds
* ''[[Devil's Canyon (1953 film)|Devil's Canyon]]'' (1953) – Billy Reynolds
* ''[[City of Bad Men]]'' (1953) – Brett Stanton
* ''[[City of Bad Men]]'' (1953) – Brett Stanton
* ''[[The Gambler From Natchez]]'' (1954) – Capt. Vance Colby
* ''[[The Gambler from Natchez]]'' (1954) – Capt. Vance Colby
* ''[[Sitting Bull (film)|Sitting Bull]]'' (1954) – Major Robert 'Bob' Parrish
* ''[[Sitting Bull (film)|Sitting Bull]]'' (1954) – Major Robert 'Bob' Parrish
* ''[[Top of the World (1955 film)|Top of the World]]'' (1955) – Maj. Lee Gannon
* ''[[Top of the World (1955 film)|Top of the World]]'' (1955) – Maj. Lee Gannon
* ''[[Son of Sinbad]]'' (1955) – Sinbad
* ''[[Son of Sinbad]]'' (1955) – Sinbad
* ''[[Ford Theatre|The Ford Television Theatre]]'' (1956) - Donny Weaver (1 episode, "The Face")
* ''[[Ford Theatre|The Ford Television Theatre]]'' (1956) – Donny Weaver (1 episode, "The Face")
* ''[[A Day of Fury]]'' (1956) – Jagade
* ''[[A Day of Fury]]'' (1956) – Jagade
* ''[[Dakota Incident]]'' (1956) – John Banner
* ''[[Dakota Incident]]'' (1956) – John Banner
* ''[[High Terrace]]'' (1956) – Bill Lang
* ''[[High Terrace]]'' (1956) – Bill Lang
* ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' (1956) - Jim Hardie (1 episode, ''A Tale of Wells Fargo'')
* ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' (1956) – Jim Hardie (1 episode, ''A Tale of Wells Fargo'')
* ''A Tall Trouble'' (1957) – Sheriff Caleb Wells
* ''A Tall Trouble'' (1957) – Sheriff Caleb Wells
* ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' (1957-1962) - Jim Hardie (all 201 episodes)
* ''[[Tales of Wells Fargo]]'' (1957–1962) – Jim Hardie (all 201 episodes)
* ''[[Anna of Brooklyn]]'' (1958) – Raffaele
* ''[[Anna of Brooklyn]]'' (1958) – Raffaele
* ''Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon'' (1961, TV movie) – Jim Hardie
* ''Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon'' (1961, TV movie) – Jim Hardie
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* ''[[The Man from Button Willow]]'' (1965) – Justin Eagle (voice)
* ''[[The Man from Button Willow]]'' (1965) – Justin Eagle (voice)
* ''[[Coast of Skeletons]]'' (1965) – A. J. Magnus
* ''[[Coast of Skeletons]]'' (1965) – A. J. Magnus
* ''[[Hollywood Squares|The Hollywood Squares]] (1966) - Himself (5 episodes)
* ''[[Hollywood Squares|The Hollywood Squares]] (1966) – himself (5 episodes)
* ''Scalplock'' (1966, TV movie) – Benjamin Calhoun (a repackaging of the series pilot of ''Iron Horse'')
* ''Scalplock'' (1966, TV movie) – Benjamin Calhoun (a repackaging of the series pilot of ''Iron Horse'')
* ''[[The One Eyed Soldiers]]'' (1966) – Richard Owen
* ''[[The One Eyed Soldiers]]'' (1966) – Richard Owen
* ''[[Iron Horse]]'' (1966-1968) - Benjamin Calhoun (all 48 episodes)
* ''[[Iron Horse (TV series)|Iron Horse]]'' (1966–1968) – Benjamin Calhoun (all 48 episodes)
* ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]'' (1969) - Himself (1 episode)
* ''[[The Dean Martin Show]]'' (1969) – himself (1 episode)
* ''[[Death Valley Days]]'' (1969-1970) - Host (26 episodes)
* ''[[Death Valley Days]]'' (1969–1970) – host (26 episodes)
* ''East Connection'' (1970)
* ''East Connection'' (1970)
* ''Aru heishi no kake'' (''The Walking Major'', 1970) – Major Clark J. Allen
* ''Aru heishi no kake'' (''The Walking Major'', 1970) – Major Clark J. Allen
* ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''(1974) - Himself (1 episode)
* ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''(1974) – himself (1 episode)
* ''[[Melvin Purvis: G-Man]]'' (1974, TV movie) - Melvin Purvis
* ''[[Melvin Purvis: G-Man]]'' (1974, TV movie) – Melvin Purvis
* ''[[The Kansas City Massacre]]'' (1975, TV movie) – Melvin Purvis
* ''[[The Kansas City Massacre]]'' (1975, TV movie) – Melvin Purvis
* ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' (1979) - Peter Dawlings (1 episode)
* ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' (1979) – Peter Dawlings (1 episode)
* ''[[The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang]]'' (1979, TV movie) - Judge [[Isaac Charles Parker]]
* ''[[The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang]]'' (1979, TV movie) – Judge [[Isaac C. Parker]]
* ''[[The Love Boat]]'' (1980) - Mason Fleers (1 episode)
* ''[[The Love Boat]]'' (1980) – Mason Fleers (1 episode)
* ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' (1981) - Walter Lankershim (9 episodes)
* ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]'' (1981) – Walter Lankershim (9 episodes)
* ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'' (1982) - Frank Crutcher (5 episodes)
* ''[[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]]'' (1982) – Frank Crutcher (5 episodes)
* ''[[Hollywood Squares|The New Hollywood Squares]]'' (1987) - Himself (1 episode)
* ''[[Hollywood Squares|The New Hollywood Squares]]'' (1987) – himself (1 episode)
* ''[[J.J. Starbuck]]'' (1987-1988) - J.J. Starbuck (all 16 episodes)
* ''[[J.J. Starbuck]]'' (1987–1988) – J.J. Starbuck (all 16 episodes)
* ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' (1988-1989) - Col. Lee Goddard (2 episodes, uncredited)
* ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' (1988–1989) – Col. Lee Goddard (2 episodes, uncredited)
* ''Wind in the Wire'' (1993, TV movie)
* ''Wind in the Wire'' (1993, TV movie)
* ''[[Harts of the West]]'' (1993-1994) - Zeke (3 episodes, final role)
* ''[[Harts of the West]]'' (1993–1994) – Zeke (3 episodes, final role)
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


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! Year !! Program !! Episode/source
! Year !! Program !! Episode/source
|-
|-
| 1952|| ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' || ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2547125/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=[[The Decatur Daily Review]]|date=February 3, 1952|page=40|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 3, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
| 1952|| ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' || ''[[Take Care of My Little Girl]]''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kirby|first1=Walter|title=Better Radio Programs for the Week|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2547125/the_decatur_daily_review/|agency=[[The Decatur Daily Review]]|date=February 3, 1952|page=40|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = June 3, 2015}} {{Open access}}</ref>
|}
|}


{{Portal|Biography|Oklahoma|California|Film|Television|World War II}}
{{Portal|Biography|Oklahoma|California|Film|Television}}


==References==
==References==
Line 177: Line 190:
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni]]
[[Category:Classen School of Advanced Studies alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:Male Western (genre) film actors]]
[[Category:Male Western (genre) film actors]]

Revision as of 22:04, 16 June 2024

Dale Robertson
Robertson as Jim Hardie, 1958
Born
Dayle Lymoine Robertson

(1923-07-14)July 14, 1923
Harrah, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedFebruary 27, 2013(2013-02-27) (aged 89)
La Jolla, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1948–1994
Spouse(s)Frederica Jacqueline Wilson (1951–1956; divorced); 1 daughter
Mary Murphy (1956–1956; annulled)
Lula Mae Robertson (m. 1959–1977); two daughters [citation needed]
Susan Robbins Robertson (married 1980–2013; his death)[1]
Children3

Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923 – February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series Tales of Wells Fargo and railroad owner Ben Calhoun in Iron Horse. He often was presented as a deceptively thoughtful but modest Western hero. From 1968 to 1970, Robertson was the fourth and final host of the anthology series Death Valley Days. Described by Time magazine in 1959 as "probably the best horseman on television",[2] for most of his career, Robertson played in Western films and television shows—well over 60 titles in all.

Early life

Born in 1923 to Melvin and Vervel Robertson in Harrah, Oklahoma, Robertson fought as a professional boxer while enrolled in the Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore.[3]

During this time Columbia Pictures offered to test Robertson for the lead in their film version of Golden Boy, but Robertson turned down the trip to Hollywood for a screen test. He didn't want to leave the ponies he was training, nor his home,[4] and the role went to William Holden.

World War II

During World War II, he was commissioned through Officer Candidate School, and served in the U.S. Army's 322nd Combat Engineer Battalion of the 97th Infantry Division in Europe. He was wounded twice and was awarded the Bronze and Silver Star medals.[5]

Career

Early roles

Robertson began his acting career by chance when he was in the army. When he was stationed at San Luis Obispo, California, Robertson's mother asked him to have a portrait taken for her because she didn't have one; so he and several other soldiers went to Hollywood to find a photographer. A large copy of his photo was displayed in his mother's living room window.[3] He found himself receiving letters from film agents who wished to represent him. After the war, Robertson's war wounds prevented him from resuming his boxing career. He stayed in California to try his hand at acting. Hollywood actor Will Rogers Jr., gave him this advice: "Don't ever take a dramatic lesson. They will try to put your voice in a dinner jacket, and people like their hominy and grits in everyday clothes." Robertson thereafter avoided formal acting lessons.[3]

Robertson made his film debut in an uncredited role as a policeman in The Boy with Green Hair (1948). Two other uncredited appearances led to featured roles in two Randolph Scott Westerns: Fighting Man of the Plains (1949), where he played Jesse James, and The Cariboo Trail (1950).

Popular acclaim to Robertson's brief roles led him to be signed to a seven-year contract to 20th Century Fox. Robertson's first role for Fox was a support part in a Western, Two Flags West (1951). He had a support part in the musical Call Me Mister (1951). He soon advanced to leading roles in films such as Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), where he played Jeanne Crain's love interest, and Golden Girl (1951), where he supported Mitzi Gaynor.

Stardom

Fox gave Robertson top billing in Return of the Texan (1952). He appeared opposite Anne Baxter in The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952), and starred in the historical adventure Lydia Bailey (1952).[6]

Robertson was never very cooperative with the press, even shunning the powerful columnist Louella Parsons.[7] As a result, he won the press' Sour Apple Award for three years running. But then, commented Robertson, "that dang Sinatra had to hit some photographer in the nose and stop me from getting my fourth."[6]

He was one of several Fox names in O. Henry's Full House (1952) and was Betty Grable's love interest in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1953).[8]

RKO borrowed him for Devil's Canyon (1953) with Virginia Mayo and Son of Sinbad, filmed in 1953 but not released for two more years.

He returned to Fox for City of Bad Men (1953) with Crain; The Silver Whip (1954) with Rory Calhoun and Robert Wagner; and The Gambler from Natchez (1954) with Debra Paget.

Freelancer

Robertson went over to United Artists to star in Sitting Bull (1954), and Top of the World (1955), an adventure film.

Robertson did A Day of Fury (1956) for Universal and Dakota Incident (1956) for Republic, then travelled to Britain for High Terrace (1956).

Television

Dale Robertson 1959

Tales of Wells Fargo, his best-remembered series, aired on NBC from 1957 to 1961, when it moved to ABC and expanded to an hour-long program for its final season in 1961–1962. The show originally was produced by Nat Holt whom Robertson felt he owed his career to for giving him his first leading roles.[9] Robertson used his own horse, Jubilee, throughout the run of the series.[10][11]

Robertson also did the narration for Tales of Wells Fargo through which he often presented his own commentary on matters of law, morality, and common sense. He was unique among his television contemporaries, stating that he hated the gun he was forced to carry, but saw it as a necessary evil, a "tool of the trade", and kept practicing.

In its cover story on television Westerns, published March 30, 1959, Time reported Robertson was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and measured 42–34–34. He sometimes made use of his physique in "beefcake" scenes, such as one in 1952's Return of the Texan where he is seen bare-chested and sweaty, repairing a fence.[2]

In 1960, Robertson guest-starred as himself in NBC's The Ford Show, starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.[12] In 1962, he similarly appeared and sang a perfect rendition of "High Noon" on the short-lived Western comedy and variety series The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show.[13]

1960s work

In 1963, after Tales of Wells Fargo ended its five-year run, he played the lead role in the first of A. C. Lyles' Law of the Lawless. The film was initially set to star Rory Calhoun, but Calhoun came down with pneumonia the night before the production was set to start filming. Dale Robertson, star of the television series, Tales of Wells Fargo, stepped in at six hours' notice.[14] Lyles had acquired the friendship and respect of a galaxy of experienced actors who offered their services to his production.

Robertson filmed a television pilot; about Diamond Jim Brady that was not picked up as a series.

Robertson created United Screen Arts in 1965[15] which released two of his films, The Man from Button Willow (1965, animated) that he did the voice for and The One Eyed Soldiers (1966) which he starred in.

In the 1966–67 season, Robertson starred in Scalplock another television pilot released as a movie that became Iron Horse, in which his character wins an incomplete railroad line in a poker game and then decides to manage the company.[3]

In 1968, he succeeded Robert Taylor as the host of Death Valley Days, a role formerly held by Stanley Andrews and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The series would come to its end, after 19 years on the air, with Robertson's 26 episodes as host. In rebroadcasts, Death Valley Days (often known as Trails West at the time), featured Ray Milland in the role of revised host.

Robertson guest-starred on the November 17, 1969, episode of The Dean Martin Show.

Later career

In 1970 he had the lead playing a US Army Major in the Japanese film Aru heishi no kake.

Robertson guest-starred as himself in the episode "Little Orphan Airplane" of The Six Million Dollar Man in 1974.

He portrayed legendary FBI agent Melvin Purvis in two made-for-television movies Melvin Purvis: G-Man (1974) and The Kansas City Massacre (1975).

In 1981, Robertson was in the original starring cast of Dynasty, playing Walter Lankershim, a character who disappeared after the first season.

In 1983, Robertson made Big John, another television pilot, where he played a Georgia sheriff who becomes a New York Police Department detective.[16] In 1987, he starred as the title character on J.J. Starbuck. Robertson also played Frank Crutcher in five episodes of the TV series Dallas during the 1982–83 season.

In December 1993 and January 1994, Robertson appeared in two episodes of Harts of the West in the role of Zeke Terrell.[17] During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Robertson said he was of Cherokee ancestry. He joked, "I am the tribe's West Coast distributor."

Robertson played a central part in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury but he was not credited in either appearance.

He received the Golden Boot Award in 1985, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is also in the Hall of Great Western Performers and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

In 1999, Robertson won the award for film and television from the American Cowboy Culture Association in Lubbock, Texas.[18]

In the last few years before his death, Robertson hosted a radio program called Little Known Facts, which was broadcast on 400 radio stations.

Death

In his later years, Robertson and his wife, Susan Robbins, who married in 1980, lived on his ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma, where it was reported he owned 235 horses at one time, with five mares foaling grand champions. Due to his declining health, he relocated to the San Diego area in what would be his final months, passing away at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, on February 27, 2013, from lung cancer and pneumonia.[19][20]

TV and filmography

Radio appearances

Year Program Episode/source
1952 Lux Radio Theatre Take Care of My Little Girl[22]

References

  1. ^ "Dale Robertson to Wed Victorian". The Victoria Advocate. November 11, 1959. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "The Six-Gun Galahad". Time. March 30, 1959. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d Paregien Sr., Stan, Dale Robertson profile at www.fortunecity.com Archived October 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (accessed May 26, 2010)
  4. ^ http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/Portals/0/PDF's/HOF%20bios/Robertson,%20Dale%20L..pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Van Harl, Major. "Dale Robertson: Actor & Wounded Combat Veteran". chuckhawks.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Dale Robertson obituary". The Guardian. February 28, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  7. ^ Marshall, Peter Backstage with the Original Hollywood Square Thomas Nelson Inc, July 17, 2002
  8. ^ Thomas M Pryor (March 31, 1952). "Guild Says Hughes Was Seeking Deal". The New York Times. ProQuest 112514411.
  9. ^ Magers, Boyd. "Tales of Wells Fargo". westernclippings.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  10. ^ Mullins, Jesse, Jr. (August 2002). Good Guys Finish First. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 54–57.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Robertson, Susan (April 12, 2019). Bucking Hollywood. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 978-1-64424-801-0.
  12. ^ "Show # 140 March 3, 1960". ernieford.com. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dale Robertson - "High Noon" (1962)". YouTube. July 18, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  14. ^ p. 41: Dale Subsititues in The Pittsburgh Press - July 7, 1963.
  15. ^ p. 34: Billboard, August 21, 1965.
  16. ^ p. 30: Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937–2012, McFarland, February 26, 2013.
  17. ^ Full cast and crew of Harts of the West at the IMDb
  18. ^ Young, Teresa Cox (September 10, 1999). "Cowboy life rides high at awards show; Symposium saddles up with tribute to heritage". lubbockonline.com. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  19. ^ Martin, Douglas (February 27, 2013). "Dale Robertson, a Horse-Savvy Actor in Westerns, Is Dead at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  20. ^ "Actor Dale Robertson cries in California hospital". The Sacramento Bee. February 27, 2013. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013.
  21. ^ "Law of the Lawless". IMDb. May 13, 1964. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  22. ^ Kirby, Walter (February 3, 1952). "Better Radio Programs for the Week". The Decatur Daily Review. The Decatur Daily Review. p. 40. Retrieved June 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dale Robertson.
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