Robert Random
Encyclopedia
Robert Random usually billed as Bob Random, is a Canadian
-born character actor
, who appeared in both movies and television from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s.
tic roles, in venerable programs like Dr. Kildare
, Mr. Novak
, Ben Casey
, and Lassie
, or Western
shows like Gunsmoke
, The Virginian
, The Iron Horse
, and The Legend of Jesse James
(which starred Christopher Jones
). He did occasional comedies, including The Dick Van Dyke Show
and Gidget
(in a recurring role as Gidget's friend Mark).
His best-remembered movie role is as Rick, one of Beau Bridges
and Joy Harmon
's co-villains in the 1965 teen comedy Village of the Giants
. He also appeared in This Property Is Condemned
(1966) and ...tick...tick...tick...
(1970). Mosby's Marauders (1967), in which he played Private Lomax, was later repeated on The Wonderful World of Disney under the title Willie and the Yank.
His last appearances were in an episode of Get Christie Love, and as the biker
Reaper in the second and third The Danger Zone movies, taking over from Robert Canada, who played the character in the original.
Random played John Dale in Orson Welles
's unfinished film The Other Side of the Wind
, appearing alongside John Huston
, Peter Bogdanovich
and Dennis Hopper
. Filmed in 1972, cable network Showtime may finally release the film in 2011, provided the Welles estate agrees.
, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1988 for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration onRain Man
. Bob Random currently resides near Qualicum Beach, British Columbia
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
, who appeared in both movies and television from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s.
Television and film roles
Random's television work tended to be in dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic roles, in venerable programs like Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Dr. James Kildare is a fictional character, the primary character in a series of American theatrical films in the late 1930s and early 1940s, an early 1950s radio series, a 1960s television series of the same name and a comic book based on the TV show, and a short-lived 1970s television series...
, Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak
Mr. Novak is an American dramatic series starring James Franciscus in the title role, which aired on NBC for two seasons, from 1963 to 1965.-Overview:...
, Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
, and Lassie
Lassie (1954 TV series)
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
, or 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...
shows like Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, The Iron Horse
The Iron Horse
The Iron Horse is an American Western television series that appeared on ABC from 1966 to 1968. It featured Dale Robertson as fictional gambler-turned-railroad baron Ben Calhoun...
, and The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James
The Legend of Jesse James is a 1980 country music concept album by various artists singing songs by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James....
(which starred Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones (actor)
William "Billy" Frank Jones, better known as Christopher Jones, is an American character actor, born August 18, 1941 in Jackson, Tennessee....
). He did occasional comedies, including The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
and Gidget
Gidget (TV series)
Gidget is an American sitcom about a surfing, boy-crazy teenager called "Gidget" and her widowed father Russ Lawrence, a UCLA professor. Sally Field stars as Gidget with Don Porter as her father. The series was first broadcast on ABC from September 15, 1965 through April 21, 1966...
(in a recurring role as Gidget's friend Mark).
His best-remembered movie role is as Rick, one of Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
and Joy Harmon
Joy Harmon
Joy Patricia Harmon is a baker and former American actress.-Career:Harmon was born Patricia Joy Harmon in Flushing, New York...
's co-villains in the 1965 teen comedy Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants
Village of the Giants is a 1965 science-fiction/comedy movie with many elements of the beach party film genre. It was produced, directed and written by Bert I. Gordon, and based loosely on H.G. Wells's book The Food of the Gods...
. He also appeared in This Property Is Condemned
This Property is Condemned
This Property Is Condemned is a 1966 American drama film starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson and Mary Badham and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. The story was adapted from the 1946 one-act...
(1966) and ...tick...tick...tick...
...tick...tick...tick...
...tick...tick...tick... is an American movie made in 1970 directed by Ralph Nelson. Racially provocative for its time, it stars Jim Brown in the role of an African-American man elected as the sheriff of a rural county in the American South...
(1970). Mosby's Marauders (1967), in which he played Private Lomax, was later repeated on The Wonderful World of Disney under the title Willie and the Yank.
His last appearances were in an episode of Get Christie Love, and as the biker
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
Reaper in the second and third The Danger Zone movies, taking over from Robert Canada, who played the character in the original.
Random played John Dale in Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
's unfinished film The Other Side of the Wind
The Other Side of the Wind
The Other Side of the Wind is an unfinished film directed by Orson Welles, shot between 1969 and 1976, and starring John Huston, Bob Random, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg and Oja Kodar.-Summary:...
, appearing alongside John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
, Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
. Filmed in 1972, cable network Showtime may finally release the film in 2011, provided the Welles estate agrees.
Personal
Random was married to Ida Random61st Academy Awards
The 61st Academy Awards were presented on March 29, 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The date had been moved from its usual Monday telecast due to Easter, which was on March 26. For this show, there was no "official" host as the show opened with a stage-show featuring Merv Griffin, Snow...
, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1988 for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration onRain Man
Rain Man
Rain Man is a 1988 drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive and selfish yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son,...
. Bob Random currently resides near Qualicum Beach, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.