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Robert Middleton is a Actor American born on 13 may 1911 at Cincinnati (USA)

Robert Middleton

Robert Middleton
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Nationality USA
Birth 13 may 1911 at Cincinnati (USA)
Death 14 june 1977 (at 66 years) at Encino, Los Angeles (USA)

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, 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).

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Middleton appeared in many television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure. He played a dishonest candidate for the United States House of Representatives in an episode of ABC's The Real McCoys, starring Walter Brennan and Richard Crenna. In the story line, Middleton falsely claimed to have previously been a farmer in a bid for the farm vote. Middleton was cast as "The Tichborne Claimant" in the NBC anthology series The Joseph Cotten Show. He was cast as Arthur Sutro in the 1961 episode "The Road to Jericho" of the ABC western series, The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

In 1958, Middleton was cast in the episode "Ambush in Laredo" as Frank Davis, who attempts in Laredo, Texas, to merge five outlaw gangs into one, in the ABC Walt Disney miniseries Texas John Slaughter, with Tom Tryon in the title role.

Middleton was cast in ten episodes of the ABC family western drama, The Monroes, with costars Michael Anderson, Jr., and Barbara Hershey. In 1963 he portrayed Josh Green in the episode "Incident of the Mountain Man" on CBS's Rawhide.

Among his several appearances in the long-running Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he portrayed a gangster in high places, Mr. Koster, in the 1956 episode "The Better Bargain". In 1958, he played the villain in the first episode of NBC's Bat Masterson western series, starring Gene Barry in the title role. In 1961, he appeared in the episode "Accidental Tourist" on the James Whitmore ABC legal drama The Law and Mr. Jones. That same year, he portrayed the highly sympathetic but fiercely dedicated state executioner in an episode of Thriller (U.S. TV series) entitled "Guillotine". He also appeared in at least one episode of Bonanza (1964). Robert Middleton appeared as defendant "Judge Daniel Redmond" in the 1963 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Witless Witness." In the early 1950s, Middleton appeared on Broadway in Ondine. Other significant film roles include The Court Jester (1956) as a grim and determined knight who jousts with Danny Kaye in the famous "pellet with the poison" sequence, and as Edwin M. Stanton in The Lincoln Conspiracy (1977). Betwixt and between were an array of brutish mountain daddies, corrupt, cigar-chomping town bosses and lynch mob leaders. Occasionally he showed a bit of levity, as in his recurring role as Jackie Gleason's boss on The Honeymooners (1955) sketches. Mr. Middleton guest starred on Get Smart as the KAOS villain "The Whip", intent on hypnotizing Agent 86 in the 1970 series finale "I Am Curiously Yellow."

Middleton died of congestive heart failure in Encino, California at the age of sixty-six.

Best films

Friendly Persuasion (1956)
(Actor)

Usually with

Whit Bissell
Whit Bissell
(5 films)
Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira
(5 films)
Bud Westmore
Bud Westmore
(4 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Robert Middleton (28 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

The Mark of Zorro, 1h18
Directed by Don McDougall
Origin USA
Genres Swashbuckler, Action, Adventure, Western
Themes Medical-themed films, Superhero films, Films about disabilities, Personne sourde ou muette, Zorro
Actors Frank Langella, Ricardo Montalbán, Gilbert Roland, Louise Sorel, Anne Archer, Yvonne De Carlo
Roles Don Luis Quintero
Rating58% 2.90392.90392.90392.90392.9039
The plot follows the 1940 version almost scene-for-scene. In the 1840s, the foppish Don Diego Dela Vega returns from Spain to his family in California to find that his father has been replaced as ruler of the area by the cruel ruler Don Luis Quintero. Despite being a skilled swordsman, Diego downplays his skills in front of the evil Captain Esteban and shows himself to be rather a clown in front of his family. However, Diego secretly picks up the sword of justice as Zorro and fights to return justice to the region and his people.
The Harrad Experiment, 1h37
Directed by Ted Post, Steven Hilliard Stern
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Erotic, Romance
Themes Films about education
Actors James Whitmore, Tippi Hedren, Don Johnson, Bruno Kirby, Laurie Walters, Robert Middleton
Roles Sid Bower
Rating46% 2.3095652.3095652.3095652.3095652.309565
À l'université mixte de Harrad les étudiants éprouvent une politique d'université de la liberté sexuelle. On enseigne les étudiants des classes sur le soumis...
Even Angels Eat Beans, 1h58
Directed by Enzo Barboni, Bernard Farrel
Origin Italie
Genres Comedy, Action, Crime
Themes Mafia films, Buddy films, Gangster films
Actors Giuliano Gemma, Bud Spencer, Robert Middleton, Franca Scagnetti, Luigi Bonos, Giovanni Cianfriglia
Roles Angelo
Rating62% 3.105253.105253.105253.105253.10525
Charlie and Sonny are two bungling friends, but they can not be so smart. Charlie is too gruff, while Sonny is too narcissistic and womanizer. One day the two accidentally hit a US Senator, mistaking him for a gambler. Senator but does not make them incarcerated; indeed he recommends them to a boxwood mobster who sends the two friends to ask for protection money to workers of little Italy. Charlie and Sonny perform the work, however, will turn against their master and against his henchmen with blows and punches.
The Cheyenne Social Club, 1h43
Directed by Gene Kelly
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Western
Themes Films about sexuality, Erotic films, Films about prostitution
Actors James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley Jones, Sue Ane Langdon, Robert Middleton, Elaine Devry
Roles Barkeeper - Great Plains Saloon
Rating67% 3.3961353.3961353.3961353.3961353.396135
In 1867, John O'Hanlan (Stewart) and Harley Sullivan (Fonda) are aging cowboys working on open cattle ranges in Texas. O'Hanlan gets a letter from an attorney in Cheyenne, Wyoming, that his disreputable and now deceased brother, DJ, left him something called The Cheyenne Social Club in his will.
Which Way to the Front?, 1h32
Directed by Jerry Lewis
Origin USA
Genres War, Comedy
Themes Military humor in film
Actors Jerry Lewis, Jan Murray, Joe Besser, Kathleen Freeman, Kaye Ballard, John Wood
Roles Colonico
Rating46% 2.3112252.3112252.3112252.3112252.311225
Brendan Byers III (Jerry Lewis) is a rich playboy who enlists to fight in the war against the Axis powers, but is classified 4-F. He really wants to fight, so he enlists other 4-Fs and some loyal volunteers from his own service staff and forms his own army. He finances their training and equipment. Once completed, they travel to the front in Italy, with Byers impersonating a Nazi general named Eric Kesselring.
A Big Hand for the Little Lady, 1h35
Directed by Fielder Cook
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Western
Themes Jeu, Poker
Actors Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Paul Ford, Jason Robards, Burgess Meredith, Charles Bickford
Roles Dennis Wilcox
Rating72% 3.6463253.6463253.6463253.6463253.646325
The five richest men in the territory gather in Laredo for their annual high-stakes poker game. The high rollers let nothing get in the way of their yearly showdown. When undertaker Tropp (Charles Bickford) calls for them in his horse-drawn hearse, cattleman Henry Drummond (Jason Robards) forces a postponement of his daughter's wedding, while lawyer Otto Habershaw (Kevin McCarthy) abandons his closing arguments in a trial, with his client's life hanging in the balance. They are joined by Wilcox (Robert Middleton) and Buford (John Qualen) in the back room of Sam's saloon, while the curious gather outside for occasional reports.
For Those Who Think Young, 1h36
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Romance
Actors James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Paul Lynde, Tina Louise, Bob Denver, Robert Middleton
Roles Burford Sanford Cronin
Rating52% 2.610822.610822.610822.610822.61082
Rich kid and party animal Gardner Pruitt III (James Darren), known as “Ding” to his friends, is on the prowl for a new conquest in the form of teenager Sandy Palmer (Pamela Tiffin). In the meantime, Ding’s influential grandfather, B.S. Cronin (Robert Middleton) wants to curtail the romance and shut down a popular local college teen hangout.
Cattle King, 1h28
Directed by Tay Garnett
Origin USA
Genres Western
Actors Robert Taylor, Joan Caulfield, Robert Loggia, William Windom, Robert Middleton, Malcolm Atterbury
Roles Clay Mathews
Rating58% 2.904352.904352.904352.904352.90435
A range war is building in Wyoming. Caught on opposite sides are Sam Brassfield, who builds fences to protect his grass land, and Clay Mathews, a cattle baron determined to keep an open range.
Gold of the Seven Saints, 1h28
Directed by Gordon Douglas
Origin USA
Genres Adventure, Western
Actors Clint Walker, Roger Moore, Letícia Román, Robert Middleton, Chill Wills, Gene Evans
Roles Amos Gondora
Rating63% 3.199223.199223.199223.199223.19922
Two fur traders, Jim Rainbolt (Clint Walker) and Shaun Garrett (Roger Moore), stumble across a big gold strike. With the ruthless bandit McCracken (Gene Evans) and his men in relentless pursuit, they hide the gold behind a giant boulder. Shaun is wounded, but Doc Gates (Chill Wills) shows up out of nowhere and patches him up and is made a full partner. They take refuge at the ranch of Amos Gondora, an old friend of Jim's. There they are introduced to Gondora's so-called "ward," an Indian maiden called Tita (Leticia Roman). That night some of McCracken's men stage a stampede and draw Jim and Gondora away. While they are gone, McCracken and some men ride up and takes Shaun and Doc captive. He kills Doc because he is unable to tell the hiding place of the gold.
Hell Bent for Leather, 1h22
Directed by George Sherman
Origin USA
Genres Action, Western
Actors Audie Murphy, Stephen McNally, Felicia Farr, John Qualen, Robert Middleton, Jan Merlin
Roles Ambrose
Rating65% 3.2928753.2928753.2928753.2928753.292875
Clay Santell (Audie Murphy) has his horse stolen and stops in the town of Sutterville. He is mistaken by townspeople for a murderer named Travers (Jan Merlin), so hand him over to sheriff Harry Deckett (Stephen McNally). Deckett knows the truth but decides to kill Clay and pass him off as the real Travers to collect the reward money. Clay escapes and takes a woman (Felicia Farr) hostage until he can prove his innocence.
The Great Impostor, 1h53
Directed by Robert Mulligan
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Comedy
Actors Tony Curtis, Frank Gorshin, Gary Merrill, Edmond O'Brien, Arthur O'Connell, Karl Malden
Roles R.C. Brown
Rating68% 3.4460353.4460353.4460353.4460353.446035
As he is arrested by the Coast Guard on an island in New England, a man born as Ferdinand Waldo Demara but known by many other identities recalls the events that brought him to this point.
Career
Career (1959)
, 1h45
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Théâtre, Films based on plays
Actors Dean Martin, Anthony Franciosa, Shirley MacLaine, Carolyn Jones, Joan Blackman, Robert Middleton
Roles Robert Kensington
Rating67% 3.3916753.3916753.3916753.3916753.391675
Actor-director Maurice "Maury" Novak (Dean Martin) works with actor Sam Lawson (Tony Franciosa) in an early grassroots theatrical group later targeted as "subversive" for its liberal views. Novak leaves the theater to become a well known Hollywood director until he is brought down by the blacklist himself.
Don't Give Up the Ship, 1h25
Directed by Norman Taurog
Origin USA
Genres Comedy
Themes Military humor in film, Seafaring films, Transport films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Jerry Lewis, Dina Merrill, Claude Akins, Robert Middleton, Gale Gordon, Mickey Shaughnessy
Roles Vice Adm. Philo Tecumseh Bludde
Rating62% 3.147913.147913.147913.147913.14791
Following World War II, an entire destroyer escort, the U.S.S. Kornblatt, has mysteriously gone missing. Lieutenant John Paul Steckler VII (Jerry Lewis), the last of a long line of good-natured but goofing-up US Navy officers, was tasked with guiding the Kornblatt to its decommission, but somehow the ship disappeared on its home journey without a trace. Now, with a $4 billion appropriation at stake, Congressman Mandeville (Gale Gordon) refuses to approve the funds until the Kornblatt is recovered; and Steckler's former superior, Vice Admiral Bludde (Robert Middleton), who has been trying to sugarcoat this embarrassing incidence, has no other choice but to comply.
The Law and Jake Wade, 1h26
Directed by John Sturges
Origin USA
Genres Action, Western
Themes L'Or
Actors Robert Taylor, Richard Widmark, Patricia Owens, Robert Middleton, Henry Silva, DeForest Kelley
Roles Ortero
Rating67% 3.39613.39613.39613.39613.3961
Former Confederate soldier and highwayman-turned-marshal Jake Wade (Robert Taylor) breaks his former partner, Clint Hollister (Richard Widmark), out of jail in the small western town of Morganville. The men have not seen each other for over a year, since the bank robbery and murder that resulted in Jake's arrest. At that time, Clint rescued Jake and the men separated with an agreement to reunite later. Instead, Jake buried the $20,000 from the robbery in the desert and decided to go straight. Believing that he has now repaid Clint by freeing him from jail, Jake refuses to tell Clint where the money is buried and advises him to leave the territory. Disgruntled and disturbed by what he considers Jake's betrayal, Clint vows vengeance. Carefully covering his trail, Jake returns to Cold Stream, where he serves as marshal. That evening, Jake dines at the home of his fiancée Peggy (Patricia Owens), and asks if she would consider relocating after their upcoming marriage. Startled, Peggy asks for an explanation, but when Jake hesitates, then flatly refuses to explain, Peggy angrily sends him home. Returning to his office, Jake is confronted and knocked out by a stranger, Rennie (Henry Silva). Upon reviving, Jake discovers Clint and the rest of his old gang and army comrades, Ortero (Robert Middleton), Wexler (DeForest Kelley), Burke (Eddie Firestone) and newcomer, the hot-headed Rennie. When Jake expresses amazement that Clint was able to track him, Clint reveals that he set loose the horse Jake had brought for him and followed it to Cold Stream. Clint then demands that Jake take him to the buried money and when he refuses, Clint has Burke and Rennie bring in Peggy, whom they have abducted.