Editing Cliff Robertson (section)

==Career==
Robertson studied at the [[Actors Studio]], becoming a life member.<ref>{{cite book|first=David |last=Garfield|title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf|chapter-url-access=registration|year=1980|publisher=MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-02-542650-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/278 278]|chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980}}</ref>  In the early 1950s he worked steadily in television, including a stint as the lead of ''[[Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers]]'' (1953–1954). He appeared in Broadway in ''Late Love'' (1953–1954) and ''The Wisteria Trees'' (1955), the latter written by [[Joshua Logan]].

===Columbia===
Robertson made his film debut in ''[[Picnic (1955 film)|Picnic]]'' (1955), directed by Logan. Robertson played the role of [[William Holden]]'s best friend – a part originated on stage by [[Paul Newman]]. Newman was under contract to Warner Bros. when the film was being made and was then considered too big a star to reprise his stage performance. Logan's wife recommended Robertson after seeing him in a revival of ''The Wisteria Trees'', and the director remembered him from a Chicago production of ''Mister Roberts''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/00josh/page/5/mode/1up?q=picnic+|first=Joshua|last=Logan|year=1978|pages=7–8|title=Movie stars, real people and me|publisher=Bantam Doubleday Dell |isbn=9780440062585 }}</ref>

The film was a box office success and Robertson was promoted to [[Joan Crawford]]'s co-star in ''[[Autumn Leaves (film)|Autumn Leaves]]'' (1956), also at [[Columbia Pictures]], playing her mentally unstable younger lover. This meant he had to pass up the chance to replace [[Ben Gazzara]] on Broadway in ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Schallert, E.|title=Cliff Robertson wins plum Crawford lead; Lance Fuller starred.|date=August 18, 1955|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|166816412}}}}</ref> However he did return to Broadway to appear in ''[[Orpheus Descending]]'' by [[Tennessee Williams]], which only had a short run.

[[File:Jane-powell-cliff-robertson-girl-most-likely-1958-.jpg|thumb|right|Robertson, [[Jane Powell]], and [[Keith Andes]] in the 1958 film, ''[[The Girl Most Likely]]'']]
Robertson went to [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] to make two films: ''[[The Naked and the Dead (film)|The Naked and the Dead]]'' (1958), an adaptation of the famous novel, co-starring [[Aldo Ray]]; and ''[[The Girl Most Likely]]'' (1958), a musical – the last film made by RKO Studios.  Robertson received superb reviews for ''[[Days of Wine and Roses (Playhouse 90)|Days of Wine and Roses]]'' on TV with [[Piper Laurie]].

He was in Columbia's ''[[Gidget (film)|Gidget]]'' (1959), appearing opposite [[Sandra Dee]] as the Big [[Kahuna]]. It was popular and led to two sequels, neither of which Robertson appeared in. Less successful was a war film at Columbia, ''[[Battle of the Coral Sea (film)|Battle of the Coral Sea]]'' (1959).

In 1961, he was the third lead in Paramount's ''[[All in a Night's Work (film)|All in a Night's Work]]'', starred in [[Samuel Fuller]]'s ''[[Underworld U.S.A.]]'' at Columbia, and supported [[Esther Williams]] in ''[[The Big Show (1961 film)|The Big Show]]''. He had his first film hit since ''Gidget'' with Columbia's ''[[The Interns (film)|The Interns]]'' (1962). After supporting [[Debbie Reynolds]] in ''[[My Six Loves]]'' (1963), Robertson was President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s personal choice to play him in 1963's ''[[PT 109 (film)|PT 109]]''.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hoberman, J. |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0335,hoberman,46558,1.html |title=Lights, Camera, Exploitation |work=Village Voice |date=August 26, 2003 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630070747/http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0335%2Choberman%2C46558%2C1.html |archive-date=June 30, 2008 }}</ref> The film was not a success at the box office.

More popular was ''[[Sunday in New York]]'' (1963), where Robertson supported [[Rod Taylor]] and [[Jane Fonda]], and ''[[The Best Man (1964 film)|The Best Man]]'' where he was a ruthless presidential candidate.

Robertson appeared in a popular war film ''[[633 Squadron]]'' (1964) then supported [[Lana Turner]] in a melodrama, ''[[Love Has Many Faces]]'' (1965). In 1965 he said his contract with Columbia was for one film a year.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Hopper, H.|title=Cliff Robertson: Career that's flying high.|date=August 8, 1965|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|155264948}}}}</ref>

===''Charly''===
In 1961 Robertson played the lead role in a ''[[The United States Steel Hour|United States Steel Hour]]'' television production titled "[[Flowers for Algernon#Adaptations|The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon]]", based on the novel ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]'' by [[Daniel Keyes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DfrzQ2Z8vY|title=U.S. Steel Hour: "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon" (2/22/1961)|date=18 April 2018 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=November 16, 2019|archive-date=January 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116161213/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DfrzQ2Z8vY|url-status=live}}</ref> Frustrated at the progress of his career, Robertson optioned the rights to the teleplay and hired [[William Goldman]] to write a script. Before Goldman completed his work, Robertson arranged for Goldman to be hired to Americanize the dialogue for ''[[Masquerade (1965 film)|Masquerade]]'' (1965), a spy spoof which Robertson starred in, replacing [[Rex Harrison]]. 

Robertson then made a war film, ''[[Up from the Beach]]'' (1965) for Fox and guest-starred on that studio's TV show, ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' (1966). He co-starred with Harrison in ''[[The Honey Pot]]'' (1967) for [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]] then appeared in another war film, ''[[The Devil's Brigade (film)|The Devil's Brigade]]'' (1968) with [[William Holden]].

Robertson disliked Goldman's ''Algernon'' script and replaced the writer with [[Stirling Silliphant]] for what became ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'' (1968). The film was another box office success and Robertson won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor#1960s|1968 Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his portrayal of a mentally-challenged man.

===Stardom===
''Charly'' was made by ABC Pictures, which insisted that [[Robert Aldrich]] use Robertson in ''[[Too Late the Hero (film)|Too Late the Hero]]'' (1970), a war film with [[Michael Caine]] that was a disappointment at the box office.

Robertson turned down roles in ''[[The Anderson Tapes]]'', ''[[Straw Dogs (1971 film)|Straw Dogs]]'' (before Peckinpah was involved), and ''[[Dirty Harry]]''.<ref name="coop"/> Instead Robertson co-wrote, starred in, and directed ''[[J. W. Coop]]'' (1972), another commercial disappointment despite excellent reviews.

[[File:Lynn Garrison SV4.C Stampe painted for Cliff Robertson film project, Weston, Ireland, 1969.jpg|thumb|[[Lynn Garrison]]'s [[Stampe-Vertongen SV.4]] painted for a Robertson film project, Weston, Ireland, 1969]]

Looking back on his career, Robertson said: "nobody made more mediocre movies than I did. Nobody ever did such a wide variety of mediocrity".<ref name="coop">{{cite news|author=A. H.|date=July 16, 1972|title=Cliff Robertson flies the 'coop' to glory|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|id={{ProQuest|119540258}}}}</ref>

In 1969, immediately after winning the Academy Award for ''Charly'', Robertson, a lifelong aviation enthusiast, attempted to produce and direct an aviation film, ''[[I Shot Down the Red Baron, I Think]]'', featuring World War I aerial combat, using [[Lynn Garrison]]'s Irish aviation facility. The comedic storyline portrayed the Red Baron as gay. The aircraft featured garish paint schemes. The film was never completed or released.

Robertson played [[Cole Younger]] in ''[[The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid]]'' (1972) and a pilot in ''[[Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies]]'' (1973). He appeared in the 1974 thriller ''[[Man on a Swing]]'' and the 1975 British drama ''[[Out of Season (1975 film)|Out of Season]]''.

===Later career===
Robertson returned to supporting parts in ''[[Three Days of the Condor]]'' (1975), which was a big hit. He played the lead in ''[[Obsession (1976 film)|Obsession]]'' (1976), a popular thriller from [[Brian De Palma]] and [[Paul Schrader]], and in the Canadian drama ''[[Shoot (film)|Shoot]]'' (1976). He was also one of several stars in ''[[Midway (1976 film)|Midway]]'' (1976).

Robertson turned to television for ''[[Washington: Behind Closed Doors]]'' (1977), then had the lead in a thriller, ''[[Dominique (1978 film)|Dominique]]'' (1978). He returned to directing for ''[[The Pilot (film)|The Pilot]]'' (1980), also playing the title role, an alcoholic flyer. Robertson played [[Hugh Hefner]] in ''[[Star 80]]'' (1983). He attempted to make ''Charly II'' in 1980 but it did not happen.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Bruce McCabe, G. S. |date=September 8, 1980|title=Cliff Robertson Bringing Charly Back to South Boston |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|id={{ProQuest|293973554}}}}</ref>

From the 1980s and 1990s onwards, Robertson was predominantly a character actor. He played villains in ''[[Class (film)|Class]]'' (1983) and ''[[Brainstorm (1983 film)|Brainstorm]]'' (1983). He did have the lead in ''[[Shaker Run]]'' (1985) in New Zealand, and ''[[Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story]]'' (1986) on TV.

In addition, he served as the company spokesperson for [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]] from 1983 to 1992 and appeared in various commercials for their long-distance service and consumer telephones.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=The Los Angeles Times | date=April 19, 1993 | page=56 | last=Horovitz | first=Bruce | title=AT&T Appears Eager to Call Up a New Image | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-robertson-att/133314379/}}</ref>

He was a villain in ''[[Malone (1987 film)|Malone]]'' (1987), did ''[[Dead Reckoning (1990 film)|Dead Reckoning]]'' (1990) on TV and supported in ''[[Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken]]'' (1991), ''[[Wind (1992 film)|Wind]]'' (1991), ''[[Renaissance Man (film)|Renaissance Man]]'' (1994) and John Carpenter's ''[[Escape from L.A.]]'' (1996).

Late in his life, Robertson's career had a resurgence. He appeared as [[Uncle Ben|Uncle Ben Parker]] in [[Sam Raimi]]'s ''[[Spider-Man (2002 film)|Spider-Man]]'' (2002), as well as in the sequels ''[[Spider-Man 2]]'' (2004) and ''[[Spider-Man 3]]'' (2007; his last acting role). He commented on his website: "Since ''Spider-Man 1'' and ''2'', I seem to have a whole new generation of fans. That in itself is a fine residual."<ref>[http://www.cliffrobertson.info/career.htm "Cliff Robertson's Career Achievements"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006110034/http://cliffrobertson.info/career.htm |date=October 6, 2011 }}. Retrieved November 14, 2007.</ref> He also starred in and wrote ''[[13th Child]]'' (2002) and appeared in ''[[Riding the Bullet (film)|Riding the Bullet]]'' (2004), both horror films.

In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the [[39th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web|url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/04_jury_1989/04_Jury_1989.html|title=Berlinale: 1989 Juries|access-date=March 9, 2011|work=berlinale.de|archive-date=February 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215115859/https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/04_jury_1989/04_Jury_1989.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Television===
[[File:Cliff Robertson Felicia Farr 1958.jpg|thumb|upright|Robertson and [[Felicia Farr]] in the ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' presentation of "Natchez"]]
Robertson's early television appearances included a starring role in the live [[space opera]] ''[[Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers]]'' (1953–1954), as well as recurring roles on ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'' (1952), ''[[Alcoa Theatre]]'' (1959), and ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' (1958, 1960), ''[[Outlaws (1960 TV series)|Outlaws]]'' (three episodes).  Robertson also appeared as a special guest star on ''Wagon Train'' for one episode, portraying an Irish immigrant.

In 1958, Robertson portrayed Joe Clay in the first broadcast of ''Playhouse 90'''s ''[[Days of Wine and Roses (1958 TV drama)|Days of Wine and Roses]]''. In 1960, he was cast as Martinus Van Der Brig, a con man, in the episode "End of a Dream" of ''[[Riverboat (TV series)|Riverboat]]''.

Other appearances included: "[[Wagon Train]]" (1958), ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episodes "[[A Hundred Yards Over the Rim]]" (1961) and "[[The Dummy]]" (1962), followed by ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' in the 1963 episode "The Man Who Came Home Late". He guest-starred on such television series as ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', ''[[Breaking Point (1963 TV series)|Breaking Point]]'' and ''[[ABC Stage 67]]''. He had starring roles in episodes of both the 1960s and 1990s versions of ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'', including "[[The Galaxy Being]]", the first episode of the original series. He was awarded an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] for his leading role in a 1965 episode, "The Game" of ''[[Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre]]''. He appeared as a villain on five episodes of ABC's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' series as the gunfighter "Shame" (1966 and 1968), the second time with his wife, [[Dina Merrill]], as "Calamity Jan".

In 1976, he portrayed a retired [[Buzz Aldrin]] in an adaptation of Aldrin's autobiography ''[[Return to Earth (film)|Return to Earth]]''. The next year, he portrayed a fictional [[Director of Central Intelligence]] (based on [[Richard Helms]]) in ''[[Washington: Behind Closed Doors]]'', an adaptation of [[John Ehrlichman]]'s [[roman à clef]] ''[[The Company (Ehrlichman novel)|The Company]]'', in turn based on the [[Watergate scandal]]. In 1987, he portrayed [[Henry Ford]] in ''Ford: The Man and The Machine''. From 1983 to 1984, he played Dr. Michael Ranson in ''[[Falcon Crest]]''.