43 Facts About Robert Stack

1.

Robert Stack was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Written on the Wind.

2.

Later in his career, Stack was known for his deadpan comedy roles that lampooned his dramatic on-screen persona, most notably as Capt.

3.

Robert Stack was born Charles Langford Modini Stack in Los Angeles, California, but his first name, selected by his mother, was changed to Robert by his father.

4.

Robert Stack spent his early childhood in Adria and Rome, becoming fluent in French and Italian at an early age, and did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles when he was seven.

5.

Robert Stack's parents divorced when he was a year old, and he was raised by his mother, Mary Elizabeth.

6.

Robert Stack always spoke of his mother with the greatest respect and love.

7.

Robert Stack took some drama courses at the University of Southern California, where he played on the polo team.

8.

Robert Stack set two world records in skeet shooting and became national champion.

9.

In 1962, Robert Stack received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

10.

Robert Stack took drama courses at Bridgewater State University, a mid-sized liberal-arts school located 25 miles southeast of Boston.

11.

When Robert Stack visited the lot of Universal Studios at age 20, producer Joe Pasternak offered him an opportunity to enter the business.

12.

Robert Stack played a young man who joins the Nazi party.

13.

Back at Universal, Robert Stack was in Pasternak's A Little Bit of Heaven, starring Gloria Jean, who was that studio's back-up for Deanna Durbin.

14.

Robert Stack then starred in a Western, Badlands of Dakota, co-starring Richard Dix and Frances Farmer.

15.

Robert Stack admitted he was terrified going into this role, but he credited Lombard, whom he had known personally for several years, with giving him many tips on acting and with being his mentor.

16.

Robert Stack played another pilot in Eagle Squadron, a huge hit.

17.

Robert Stack worked as an aerial gunnery instructor and rose to the rank of lieutenant.

18.

Robert Stack resumed his career after the war with roles in such films as Fighter Squadron at Warner Bros.

19.

Robert Stack was in two films at Paramount: Miss Tatlock's Millions and Mr Music.

20.

Robert Stack had an excellent role in Bullfighter and the Lady, a passion project of Budd Boetticher for John Wayne's company.

21.

Robert Stack later said this was the first time he liked himself on screen.

22.

Robert Stack supported Mickey Rooney in My Outlaw Brother and had the lead in the adventure epic Bwana Devil, considered the first color, American 3-D feature film.

23.

Robert Stack continued making similar low-budget action fare: Conquest of Cochise for Sam Katzman; Sabre Jet, playing another pilot, this time in the Korean War; The Iron Glove, a swashbuckler where Stack played Charles Wogan, for Katzman.

24.

Robert Stack was back in "A" pictures when he appeared opposite John Wayne in The High and the Mighty, playing the pilot of an airliner who comes apart under stress after the airliner encounters engine trouble.

25.

The film was a hit, and Robert Stack received good reviews.

26.

Robert Stack supported Jennifer Jones in Good Morning, Miss Dove, at Fox, and starred in Great Day in the Morning at RKO, directed by Jacques Tourneur.

27.

Robert Stack was then given a role in Written on the Wind, directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Albert Zugsmith.

28.

Robert Stack played another pilot, the son of a rich man who marries Lauren Bacall, who in turn falls for his best friend, played by Rock Hudson.

29.

The movie was a massive success and Robert Stack was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Dorothy Malone, who played Robert Stack's sister, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

30.

Robert Stack felt that the primary reason he lost to Quinn was that 20th Century Fox, which had lent him to Universal-International, organized block voting against him to prevent one of their contract players from winning an Academy Award while working at another studio.

31.

Robert Stack was reunited with Hudson, Malone, Zugsmith, and Sirk on The Tarnished Angels, once more playing a pilot.

32.

Robert Stack then was given a real star role, playing the title part in John Farrow's biopic, John Paul Jones.

33.

Robert Stack portrayed the crimefighting Eliot Ness in the ABC television drama series The Untouchables produced by Desilu Productions, in association with Robert Stack's Langford Productions.

34.

Robert Stack starred in a new drama series, rotating the lead with Tony Franciosa and Gene Barry in the lavish The Name of the Game.

35.

Robert Stack played a former federal agent turned true-crime journalist, evoking memories of his role as Ness.

36.

Robert Stack played a pilot in the TV movie Murder on Flight 502 and was the lead in the series Most Wanted, playing a tough, incorruptible police captain commanding an elite squad of special investigators, evoking the Ness role.

37.

Robert Stack later did a similar part in the series Strike Force.

38.

Robert Stack parodied his own persona in the comedy 1941.

39.

Robert Stack provided the voice for the character Ultra Magnus in The Transformers: The Movie.

40.

Robert Stack thought very highly of the interactive nature of the show, saying that it created a "symbiotic" relationship between viewer and program, and that the hotline was a great crime-solving tool.

41.

Robert Stack served as the show's host during its entire original series run.

42.

Robert Stack was married to actress Rosemarie Bowe from 1956 until his death.

43.

Robert Stack underwent radiation therapy for prostate cancer in October 2002, and died of heart failure at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, on May 14,2003, at the age of 84.