64 Facts About Cliff Robertson

Clifford Parker Robertson III was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades.

On television, Robertson portrayed retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the 1976 TV film adaptation of Aldrin's autobiographic Return to Earth, played a fictional character based on Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms in the 1977 miniseries Washington: Behind Closed Doors, and portrayed Henry Ford in Ford: The Man and the Machine.

Cliff Robertson's Texas-born father was described as "the idle heir to a tidy sum of ranching money".

Cliff Robertson married four or five times, and between marriages he'd pop in to see me.

Cliff Robertson was a great raconteur, and he was always surrounded by sycophants who let him pick up the tab.

Cliff Robertson's parents divorced when he was one, and his mother died of peritonitis a year later in El Paso, Texas, at the age of 21.

Cliff Robertson was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Eleanor "Eleanora" Willingham, in California, and rarely saw his father.

Cliff Robertson graduated in 1941 from La Jolla High School, where he was known as "The Walking Phoenix".

Cliff Robertson served as a third mate in the US Merchant Marine during World War II, before attending Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and dropping out to work for a short time as a journalist.

Cliff Robertson studied at the Actors Studio, becoming a life member.

Cliff Robertson appeared in Broadway in Late Love and The Wisteria Trees, the latter written by Joshua Logan.

Cliff Robertson made his film debut in Picnic, directed by Logan.

Logan's wife recommended Cliff Robertson after seeing him in a revival of The Wisteria Trees and the director remembered him from a Chicago production of Mister Roberts and so Cliff Robertson was cast.

The film was a box office success and Cliff Robertson was promoted to Joan Crawford's co star in Autumn Leaves, at Columbia Pictures, playing her mentally unstable younger lover.

Cliff Robertson received superb reviews for Days of Wine and Roses on TV with Piper Laurie.

Cliff Robertson was in Columbia's Gidget appearing opposite Sandra Dee as the Big Kahuna.

Cliff Robertson had better luck on TV, appearing in "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim" and "The Dummy" for The Twilight Zone.

Cliff Robertson was the third lead in Paramount's All in a Night's Work and starred in Samuel Fuller's Underworld USA at Columbia.

Cliff Robertson had his first film hit since Gidget with Columbia's The Interns.

Cliff Robertson appeared in a popular war film 633 Squadron then supported Lana Turner in a melodrama, Love Has Many Faces.

In 1961 Cliff Robertson had played the lead role in a United States Steel Hour television production titled "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon", based on the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

Frustrated at the progress of his career, Cliff Robertson optioned the rights to the teleplay and hired William Goldman to write a script.

Cliff Robertson then made a war film, Up from the Beach for Fox and guest-starred on that studio's TV show, Batman.

Cliff Robertson co-starred with Harrison in The Honey Pot for Joseph L Mankiewicz then appeared in another war film, The Devil's Brigade with William Holden.

Cliff Robertson disliked Goldman's Algernon script and replaced the writer with Stirling Silliphant for what became Charly.

The film was another box office success and Cliff Robertson won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a mentally-challenged man.

Charly was made by ABC Pictures, which insisted that Robert Aldrich use Cliff Robertson in Too Late the Hero, a war film with Michael Caine that was a disappointment at the box office.

Cliff Robertson turned down roles in The Anderson Tapes, Straw Dogs, and Dirty Harry.

Cliff Robertson played Cole Younger in The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid and a pilot in Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies.

Cliff Robertson appeared in the 1974 thriller Man on a Swing and the 1975 British drama Out of Season.

Cliff Robertson returned to supporting parts in Three Days of the Condor, which was a big hit.

Cliff Robertson played the lead in Obsession, a popular thriller from Brian De Palma and Paul Schrader, and in the Canadian drama, Shoot.

Cliff Robertson was one of several stars in Midway.

Cliff Robertson turned to television for Washington: Behind Closed Doors, then had the lead in a thriller, Dominique.

Cliff Robertson returned to directing for The Pilot, playing the title role, an alcoholic flyer.

Cliff Robertson attempted to make Charly II in 1980 but it did not happen.

Cliff Robertson played villains in Class and Brainstorm.

Cliff Robertson did have the lead in Shaker Run in New Zealand, and Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story on TV.

Cliff Robertson appeared as Uncle Ben Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, as well as in the sequels Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3.

Cliff Robertson appeared as a special guest star on Wagon Train for one episode, portraying an Irish immigrant.

In 1958, Cliff Robertson portrayed Joe Clay in the first broadcast of Playhouse 90's Days of Wine and Roses.

Cliff Robertson guest-starred on such television series as The Greatest Show on Earth, Breaking Point and ABC Stage 67.

Cliff Robertson had starring roles in episodes of both the 1960s and 1990s versions of The Outer Limits.

Cliff Robertson was awarded an Emmy for his leading role in a 1965 episode, "The Game" of Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre.

Cliff Robertson appeared twice as a guest-villain on ABC's Batman as the gunfighter "Shame", the second time with his wife, Dina Merrill, as "Calamity Jan".

In 1977, Cliff Robertson discovered that his signature had been forged on a $10,000 check payable to him, although it was for work he had not performed.

Cliff Robertson learned that the forgery had been carried out by then-Columbia Pictures head David Begelman, and on reporting it he inadvertently triggered one of the biggest Hollywood scandals of the 1970s.

Cliff Robertson finally returned to studio film five years later, starring in Brainstorm.

In 1957, Cliff Robertson married actress Cynthia Stone, the former wife of actor Jack Lemmon.

Cliff Robertson met Paul Mantz, Art Scholl, and Charles Lindbergh while flying at local California airports.

Cliff Robertson's piloting skills helped him get the part as the squadron leader in the British war film 633 Squadron.

Cliff Robertson entered balloon races, including one in 1964 from the mainland to Catalina Island that ended with him being rescued from the Pacific Ocean.

Cliff Robertson was a glider pilot and owned a Grobe Astir.

In 1969, during the civil war conflict in Nigeria, Cliff Robertson helped organize an effort to fly food and medical supplies into the area.

Cliff Robertson organized flights of supplies to the ravaged country of Ethiopia when it experienced famine in 1978.

Cliff Robertson was flying a private Beechcraft Baron over New York City on the morning of September 11,2001, two days after his 78th birthday.

Cliff Robertson was directly above the World Trade Center climbing through 7,500 feet when the first Boeing 767 struck.

Cliff Robertson was instructed by air traffic control to land immediately at the nearest airport after a nationwide order to ground all civilian and commercial aircraft following the attacks.

Cliff Robertson was a longtime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association, working his way through the ranks in prominence and eventually co-founding the Young Eagles Program with EAA president Tom Poberezny.

On September 10,2011, one day after his 88th birthday, Cliff Robertson died of natural causes in Stony Brook, New York.

Cliff Robertson's body was cremated, and a private funeral was held at St Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton, New York and was interred at the Cedar Lawn Cemetery.

Cliff Robertson was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006.

Cliff Robertson received the Rebecca Rice Alumni Award from Antioch College in 2007.

Cliff Robertson was awarded the 2008 Ambassador of Good Will Aviation Award by the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association in Alexandria, Virginia, for his leadership in and promotion of general aviation.