Cliff Robertson

And although it is true that there will be few fans who are right to associate the name of Cliff Robertson with that cinematographic face, surely there are a good number of films that they will remember, starting with the first film in which he began to stand out, the unforgettableJoshua Logan ‘s picnic , when the actor was 22 years old.

Clifford Parker Robertson III was born on September 9, 1923 in Los Angeles, United States. His parents were wealthy and had a ranch. From very early on, in his school years, he signed up for theater classes, a hobby that he would become more and more established over the years. When the German attack on Pearl Harbor took place, Cliff was serving on a ship in the Pacific and his relatives received notice of his death, terrible news that later turned out to be a mistake. During World War II he would appear discredited in a movie, but after the war he would begin to give free rein to his acting abilities. He seems to have started out in a traveling troupe, but in 1952 he got a small part on Broadway, in a play directed by one Joshua Logan…Rock Brown of the Rocket Rangers (1953-1954). That’s when Logan called him to accompany the William Holden – Kim Novak couple inPicnic . It was what is called an entry into the cinema through the front door. In 1957 he married actress Cynthia Stone, with whom he had a son, but after three years they divorced, and later he married another actress, Dina Merrill . They were married 20 years and had a daughter. But unfortunately the union also ended in divorce.

The following year he accompanied Joan Crawford in the dramaAutumn Leaves , by Robert Aldrich , and two years later he got into the skin of Lieutenant Hearn inThe Naked and the Dead , Raoul Walsh ‘s adaptation of Norman Mailer ‘s. Later his name went on to join the cast of numerous television products, for example inThe untouchables , with more or less sporadic appearances. In 1960 he was about to sign with Alfred Hitchcock for his terrifyingPsycho , but the role ultimately went to John Gavin . There are also some superb films from that time, such as Underworld USA by the stupendous and extreme Samuel Fuller . He also headlined the following year in comedies like My Six Loves and medical dramas like Men Who Leave Their Marks . In 1963 he played the young President JF Kennedy inPatrol boat PT 109 , set in World War II. In 1964 she did one of the best jobs of his career, partnering with the great Henry Fonda in the filmThe Best Man , drama about the world of American politics directed by Franklin J. Schaffner . He also landed starring roles alongside Lana Turner in Love Has a Thousand Faces (1965) and in the stupendous crime comedyWomen in Venice (1967) by the wonderful Josep L. Mankiewicz. Before the end of the sixties, she participated in the interesting war filmThe Devil’s Brigade , together with William Holden, and, above all, in the dramaCharly (1968), where he played the protagonist: a man with mental retardation who undergoes treatment to cure him. The Hollywood Academy rewarded his work with nothing less than the Oscar for best actor.

Cliff Robertson continued to make movies continuously, although since then he has not had too many films as the lead, and the ones he starred in did not reach a higher level, such as Los aces del cielo (1973), Disparo (1976) orFascination , thriller by Brian De Palma (1976). He used to be at that time the second or third in contention. A solid base in the cast, but already as a supporting actor. He made memorable movies likeThe Three Days of the Condor (1975),The Battle of Midway (1976). From the 80s he continued to be very active, and stood out in the television seriesFalcon Crest , apart from being a supporting actor in films of a certain renown, such asThe force of the wind (1992),A poet among recruits (1994) or the move2013: Rescue in LA (1996), starring Kurt Russell . Her cinematic farewell was her endearing character as Peter Parker’s uncle inSpider-Man , a small but juicy job that he did remarkably. Robertson passed away on September 10, 2011.