The Ottawa Citizen (20/May/1989) - Prolific character actor Robert Webber dies at 64
Details
- article: Prolific character actor Robert Webber dies at 64
- newspaper: The Ottawa Citizen (20/May/1989)
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV), Henry Fonda, Robert Webber, Universal Studios
Article
Prolific character actor Robert Webber dies at 64
Robert Webber, a prolific character actor whose face was as recognizable as his name was unknown, has died from Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 64 and had been ill since last fall.
Featured in hundreds of television episodes and dozens of feature films, Webber most recently played roles including Cybill Shepherd's father in Moonlighting and the prosecutor in the 1987 Barbara Streisand film Nuts.
He died Wednesday at his home, his agent, Mary Oreck, said Friday. The sharp-featured, silver-haired actor often played tainted businessmen and elegant crooks. He said he had appeared in more than 400 television roles when he stopped counting them in the early 1960s.
Webber was a well-known presence in television shows such as The Rockford Files, Cannon, Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco, McCloud, Barnaby Jones, Quincy and Mannix.
His film credits included Twelve Angry Men, Harper, The Dirty Dozen, Revenge of the Pink Panther, 10, Private Benjamin and S.O.B.
Born in Santa Ana, Calif., Webber was the son of a merchant seaman and made his first stage appearance in a school play in 1941. After serving in the marine corps during the Second World War, he was given a screen test by Universal, but a studio executive advised him to continue his theatre work.
Following 21/2 years in summer stock, Webber made his debut on Broadway with a nine-line part in Two Blind Mice in 1948.
His first film appearance came in 1951 as a gangster in Highway 301.
He co-starred as the glib Juror No. 12 with Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Jack Klugman in 1957's Twelve Angry Men, and then appeared in the television shows Rifleman, Maverick, The Dick Powell Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Route 66, The Defenders, Naked City, Ben Casey, The Fugitive and The Outer Limits.
Webber is survived by his wife, Del, and father, Robert.
