Robert Fuller (actor) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Fuller
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Fuller in 1968
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| Born |
Leonard Leroy Lee
July 29, 1933 Troy, New York, U.S.
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| Other names | Robert Simpson Jr. |
| Education | Key West High School |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952–2003 |
| Known for |
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| Spouse(s) |
Patricia Lee Lyon
(m. 1962; div. 1984)Jennifer Savidge
(m. 2001) |
Robert Fuller (born Leonard Leroy Lee; July 29, 1933) is a retired American actor. He is well-known for his roles in popular Western TV shows like Laramie, where he played Jess Harper, and Wagon Train, where he was Cooper Smith. He also starred as Dr. Kelly Brackett in the medical drama Emergency! from 1972 to 1977.
Robert Fuller also appeared in several movies. These include The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), Teenage Thunder (1957), Return of the Seven (1966), Incident at Phantom Hill (1966), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), and The Hard Ride (1971).
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Robert Fuller was born Leonard Leroy Lee on July 29, 1933, in Troy, New York. He was the only child of Elizabeth Lee, who was a dance instructor. Later, his mother married Robert Simpson Sr., an officer in the United States Naval Academy.
In 1939, his family moved to Key West, Florida. There, he became known as "Buddy" and took the name Robert Simpson Jr. His parents owned a dancing school in Florida. The family also lived in Chicago for a year before returning to Florida.
Robert attended Miami Military School for a couple of years and Key West High School for ninth grade. He left school at age 14 because he didn't enjoy it. In 1950, when he was 16, he and his parents moved to Hollywood, California. His first job there was as a stunt man. He also worked at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, starting as a doorman and becoming an assistant manager by age 18. Friends encouraged him to join the Screen Actors Guild. He then changed his name to Robert Fuller and started his acting career.
Acting Career Highlights
Robert Fuller began his career as a teenager. He worked as a dancer, stuntman, and extra in movies.
First Roles and Military Service
Fuller's first small role was as an extra in the 1952 film Above and Beyond. He had other uncredited parts in movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (with Marilyn Monroe) and Calamity Jane (with Doris Day) in 1953.
His acting career paused when he served in the United States Army in Korea. He returned to the U.S. in 1955. After considering quitting acting, his friend Chuck Courtney suggested he take acting classes. Fuller then studied acting in New York City.
His first speaking role was in Friendly Persuasion in 1956. Even though his speaking part was cut, he can be seen in two different roles in the film. He also played a prisoner of war in Strange Intruder (1956). In 1957, Fuller got his first main film role in Teenage Thunder. He said this role helped him get many other parts, leading to his TV series roles.
Western TV Shows
Fuller became a very popular actor who appeared in many TV shows. He guest-starred in dozens of programs, including The Big Valley, The Lawless Years, and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin.
In 1959, he played a character accused of arson in the series Highway Patrol. He also appeared in The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and Mike Hammer.
Fuller was chosen for the role of Jess Harper on Laramie, which ran from 1959 to 1963. He starred alongside his good friend John Smith. Laramie became very popular and was shown in over 70 countries.
After Laramie ended in 1963, Fuller joined another Western show, Wagon Train. He acted with John McIntire, Frank McGrath, and Terry Wilson. He joined the cast for the show's last two seasons.
Even as Westerns became less popular in the late 1960s, Fuller appeared in a few more. He starred in Incident at Phantom Hill (1966) and was in Return of the Seven (1966), which was a sequel to The Magnificent Seven. He also appeared in the 1969 thriller What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? and the 1976 Western Mustang Country.
Starring in Emergency!
After producer Jack Webb saw Fuller in the 1971 movie The Hard Ride, he wanted Fuller to star in his new medical drama, Emergency!. Webb had already cast singer and actress Julie London, who was a close friend of Fuller's, as Dixie McCall, the Chief Nurse.
Fuller was not sure about playing a doctor in a modern city setting. But Webb convinced him to take the role of Dr. Kelly Brackett, the Chief of Emergency Medicine at the fictional Rampart General Hospital. Fuller later shared that he had politely turned down the role twice. Webb then reminded him that Western shows were being canceled, and the genre was fading.
In the last season of Emergency!, Fuller's appearances were reduced. The show changed its focus, and Fuller wanted to find more Western roles and go fishing. The series then focused more on the characters played by Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe.
Later Career in the 1980s and 1990s
In 1980, Fuller starred in the pilot episode of a CBS Western series called Jake's Way, but the show was not picked up.
As the 1990s arrived, he guest-starred in more than 20 TV shows. These included The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, JAG, and Diagnosis: Murder. He had a recurring role as Wade Harper, a retired Texas Ranger and a descendant of his Laramie character, Jess Harper, on Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris.
His last film roles included playing Dr. Hackett, a character based on his Emergency! role, in the comedy film Repossessed (1990). He also had a small role as a poker player with other old Western stars in Maverick (1994).
Personal Life
Robert Fuller also tried singing. He performed with a rock group at events in California. In 1967, he recorded an album in Munich, Germany. Most of the songs were in German.
Fuller married Patricia Lee Lyon on December 20, 1962. They had three children. They divorced in 1984. Patricia passed away in 1994.
By the 1990s, Fuller had mostly retired from acting. His last acting credit was in 2001. He married actress Jennifer Savidge on May 19, 2001.
Fuller reunited with the surviving cast of Emergency! at a convention in 1998. All the main actors attended except for Julie London, who had health issues. Fuller and the cast shared stories and answered fan questions.
On March 10, 2010, Fuller presented James Drury with an award at the Festival of the West. He also honored his late co-star John Smith, sharing many details about their friendship and working together on Laramie.
In 2004, Fuller and his wife Jennifer Savidge moved from Los Angeles to a ranch in north Texas. His neighbor and long-time friend Alex Cord had encouraged him to move there.
On July 29, 2013, Fuller celebrated his 80th birthday with his fans and wife while on vacation in Libby, Montana.
Awards and Recognition
Robert Fuller has received many awards for his work:
- In 1961, he won the Best Actor Award in Japan and the Japanese Golden Order of Merit, presented by the Empress of Japan. He was the first American to receive this award.
- In 1970, he won five Ottos, which are like the Emmy Awards in Germany. That same year, he won the Buffalo Bill award for Outstanding Western Entertainment.
- On April 16, 1974, he received the Outstanding Service Award from the Huntsville (Alabama) Fire Department.
- For his contributions to television, Robert Fuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.
- In 1989, he won the Golden Boot Award.
- On March 18, 2006, a bronze sculpture of Jess Harper on Traveller was given to him by his fans and the National Festival of the West.
- On October 12, 2007, he won the Silver Spur Award.
- On April 12, 2008, Fuller was inducted into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
- On October 12, 2013, Fuller was the first person to receive the Spirit of the Cowboy Lonestar Legacy Award.
- On October 27, 2018, Fuller was inducted into the Texas Trail Of Fame.
- On April 11, 2019, Fuller was inducted into the Newhall Walk of Western Stars.
Filmography
- 1971 : The Virginian (TV) season 9 episode 19 (Flight from Memory) : Carl Ellis
- 1989 : Paradise (TV) season 2 episode 3 (Home Again) : Sam Clanton
- 2001 : JAG (TV) season 6 episode 16 (Retreat, Hell) : Marine Corps General
See also
In Spanish: Robert Fuller para niños
