Robert Middleton | |
---|---|
Born |
Cincinnati, Ohio, US |
March 13, 1911
Died | June 14, 1977 Encino, California, US |
(aged 66)
Cause of death | Congestive heart failure |
Alma mater |
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Carnegie Institute of Technology |
Occupation | Film and television actor |
Years active | 1951–1977 |
Spouse(s) | Roberta Middleton (1951-1956) (divorced), two children |
Robert Middleton, (born Samuel G. Messer, May 13, 1911 – June 14, 1977), was an American film and television actor known for his large size and beetle-like brow. With a deep, booming voice (for which he was known as "Big Bob Middleton"), Middleton trained for a musical career at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked steadily as a radio announcer and actor.
One of his early works was as the narrator of the educational film "Duck and Cover". After appearing on the Broadway stage and live television, Middleton began appearing in films in 1954. He is also remembered on television as the boss Mr. Marshall on CBS's The Jackie Gleason Show and in film opposite Humphrey Bogart in The Desperate Hours (1955), Danny Kaye in The Court Jester (1955), Gary Cooper in Friendly Persuasion (1956), Richard Egan and Elvis Presley in Love Me Tender (1956), Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack in The Tarnished Angels (1958), Robert Taylor and Richard Widmark in The Law and Jake Wade (1958), and Dean Martin in Career (1959).