Robert Donner
Encyclopedia
Robert Donner was an American
actor who made many appearances in television
series and film
s in a career spanning more than 40 years.
and Texas
, and after graduating from high school he spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy. He ended up in the Los Angeles
area, working odd jobs and attending college courses in the evening, until his neighbor Clint Eastwood
talked him into pursuing an acting career. He is survived by his wife Jill and two brothers.
Western
Rio Bravo
; he also appeared in the sequels (which formed a loose trilogy), El Dorado and Rio Lobo
. Although never reaching star status, he is a very recognizable character actor. His television appearances have included Rawhide, Bonanza
, Ironside
, The Young Pioneers
, The Incredible Hulk, Falcon Crest
, The A-Team
, MacGyver
, and others.
He is best remembered for his recurring roles as the ex-convict informant "T.J." on Adam-12
and as the oddball 'Exidor' on Mork and Mindy
. Mr. Donner is well remembered for his role as the eccentric Yancy Tucker on The Waltons
. Film credits include Cool Hand Luke
, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, High Plains Drifter
, Vanishing Point
, Damnation Alley
and Under the Rainbow
. He also was a celebrity guest on game shows like Match Game, Password Plus, Beat the Clock and Body Language.
He remained actively employed in television and film his entire life, completing his last feature film shortly before his death. Robert Donner married producer/writer Jill Sherman Donner in 1982. Donner died on June 8, 2006 of a cardiac arrhythmia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor who made many appearances in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s in a career spanning more than 40 years.
Early life and career
Donner was raised in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and after graduating from high school he spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy. He ended up in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area, working odd jobs and attending college courses in the evening, until his neighbor Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
talked him into pursuing an acting career. He is survived by his wife Jill and two brothers.
Film career
Donner's first role was an uncredited part in the 1959 John WayneJohn Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
Rio Bravo
Rio Bravo (1959 film)
Rio Bravo is a 1959 American Western film, directed by Howard Hawks. The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell...
; he also appeared in the sequels (which formed a loose trilogy), El Dorado and Rio Lobo
Rio Lobo
Rio Lobo is a 1970 Western movie starring John Wayne. The film was the last film directed by Howard Hawks, from a script by Leigh Brackett. The film was shot in Technicolor with a running time of 114 minutes...
. Although never reaching star status, he is a very recognizable character actor. His television appearances have included Rawhide, Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
, The Young Pioneers
The Young Pioneers (TV series)
The Young Pioneers is a three-episode ABC western television series starring Linda Purl and Roger Kern in the role of young newlyweds Molly and David Beaton, who settle in the Dakota Territory during the 1870s...
, The Incredible Hulk, Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...
, MacGyver
MacGyver
MacGyver is an American action-adventure television series created by Lee David Zlotoff. Henry Winkler and John Rich were the executive producers. The show ran for seven seasons on ABC in the United States and various other networks abroad from 1985 to 1992. The series was filmed in Los Angeles...
, and others.
He is best remembered for his recurring roles as the ex-convict informant "T.J." on Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
and as the oddball 'Exidor' on Mork and Mindy
Mork and Mindy
Mork & Mindy is an American science fiction sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC. The series starred Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate...
. Mr. Donner is well remembered for his role as the eccentric Yancy Tucker on The Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
. Film credits include Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing, High Plains Drifter
High Plains Drifter
High Plains Drifter is a 1973 American Western film, with a hint of the supernatural, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. Eastwood plays a mysterious gunfighter hired by the residents of a corrupt frontier mining town...
, Vanishing Point
Vanishing Point
Vanishing Point is a 1971 American action-road movie directed by Richard C. Sarafian; starring Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, and Dean Jagger....
, Damnation Alley
Damnation Alley
Damnation Alley is the title of a 1967 science fiction short story by Roger Zelazny, which he expanded into a novel in 1969. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 1977.-Plot introduction:...
and Under the Rainbow
Under the Rainbow
Under the Rainbow is a 1981 comedy film starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, and Billy Barty.The plot is loosely based on the gathering of little people in a Hollywood hotel, to audition for roles as Munchkins in the movie The Wizard of Oz...
. He also was a celebrity guest on game shows like Match Game, Password Plus, Beat the Clock and Body Language.
He remained actively employed in television and film his entire life, completing his last feature film shortly before his death. Robert Donner married producer/writer Jill Sherman Donner in 1982. Donner died on June 8, 2006 of a cardiac arrhythmia.