Cliff Robertson
Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film PT 109, and won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film Charly.
Cliff Robertson
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 (1987). His last well-known film appearances were as Uncle Ben in the 2002–2007 Spider-Man film trilogy.
Robertson was an accomplished aviator who served as the founding chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles Program at its inception in the early 1990s. It became the most successful aviation youth advocacy program in history.
Early life and education[edit]
Robertson was born in La Jolla, California,[1][2][3] the son of Clifford Parker Robertson Jr. (1902–1968), and his first wife, Audrey Olga Robertson (née Willingham; 1903–1925).[a][5] His Texas-born father was described as "the idle heir to a tidy sum of ranching money".[6] Robertson once said, "[My father] was a very romantic figure – tall, handsome. He married four or five times, and between marriages he'd pop in to see me. He was a great raconteur, and he was always surrounded by sycophants who let him pick up the tab. During the Great Depression, he tapped the trust for $500,000, and six months later he was back for more."[4]
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.[1][4][7] He was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Eleanor "Eleanora" Willingham (née Sawyer, 1875–1957), in California, and rarely saw his father.[1][4][8] He graduated in 1941 from La Jolla High School, where he was known as "The Walking Phoenix".[9]
He served as a third mate in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II,[1][10] before attending Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and dropping out to work for a short time as a journalist.[11]
Columbia Pictures scandal[edit]
In 1977, 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. He also 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.[23] Begelman was charged with embezzlement, convicted, and later fired from Columbia. Despite pressure to remain quiet, Robertson and his wife Dina Merrill spoke to the press. As a result, Hollywood producers blacklisted him.[24]
He finally returned to studio film five years later, starring in Brainstorm (1983).[11][25] The story of the scandal is told in David McClintick's 1982 bestseller Indecent Exposure.
Death[edit]
On September 10, 2011, one day after his 88th birthday, Robertson died of natural causes in Stony Brook, New York.[35][36] His 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.
Awards[edit]
Robertson was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2006. He received the Rebecca Rice Alumni Award from Antioch College in 2007. In addition to his Oscar and Emmy and several lifetime achievement awards from various film festivals,[37] Robertson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. He was also awarded the 2008 Ambassador of Good Will Aviation Award by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Bar Association in Alexandria, Virginia, for his leadership in and promotion of general aviation. In 2009, Robertson was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum,[38] and was part of the Living Legends of Aviation.