Robert Stack
 

Tough-guy actor Robert Stack dead at 84
Thursday, May 15, 2003 Posted: 11:05 AM EDT (1505 GMT)


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Robert Stack, whose granite-eyed stare and menacing baritone spelled trouble for fictional criminals in TV's "The Untouchables" and real ones in "Unsolved Mysteries," died at his home. He was 84.

Stack's wife Rosemarie found him slumped over in the couple's Los Angeles home about 5 p.m. Wednesday. The actor underwent radiation treatment for prostate cancer in October, but his wife said he died of heart failure.

"He was feeling so good," she said Thursday. "He had a bout with a tumor but that was gone. It wasn't that, it was his heart. He was too weak. He wouldn't have lived through a bypass."

Although he had a lengthy film career beginning in 1939 with "First Love," Stack's greatest fame came with the 1959-63 TV drama "The Untouchables," in which he played Chicago crimebuster Eliot Ness and won a best actor Emmy.

That role, coupled with his job as host of the reality series "Unsolved Mysteries," created an enduring good-guy image.

"I think there's a definite carry-over from Eliot Ness," Stack said in a 1998 interview with The Associated Press. "Somebody once said, 'You really think you're Eliot Ness.' No, I don't think I'm Ness, but I sure as hell know I'm not Al Capone.' "

If Stack tended to appear stiffly humorless on screen -- an attribute that served him well in 1980's "Airplane!" -- in conversation he was relaxed and jovial, with deep Hollywood roots that gave him a wealth of star-studded anecdotes.

He recalled playing polo with mentor Spencer Tracy and receiving advice from Clark Gable.

"He brought a bottle of 21-year-old Scotch and put it between us," Stack told the AP. " 'There's a rumor going around that you're gonna try to be an actor.'

"I thought I'd give it a shot," Stack said he replied.

"Clark said, 'You're gonna be one thing: A pro. Show up on time, know your lines. ... And if you ever become a thing called a celebrity -- a word I hate -- if you ever do, and you use that power to push people around, I'm gonna kick you right in the (expletive).' "

Showbiz roots
Stack was born into a performing arts family in Los Angeles. His great-great-grandfather opened one of the city's first theaters, and his grandparents, uncle and mother were opera singers.

His father, however, "was the only Irishman in County Kerry who couldn't sing, and that's whose singing voice I got," Stack said in 1998.

But the young man had a resonant speaking voice and rugged good looks, enough to catch the eye of producer Joe Pasternak when Stack ventured onto the Universal lot at age 20.

"He said 'How'd you like to be in pictures? We'll make a test with Helen Parrish, a little love scene.' Helen Parrish was a beautiful girl. 'Gee, that sounds keen,' I told him. I got the part," Stack recalled.

He gave popular young actress Deanna Durbin her much-publicized first screen kiss in "First Love," and played a series of youthful romantic leads before leaving Hollywood to serve with the Navy as an aerial gunnery instructor in World War II.

His postwar career climbed in the 1950s with meatier roles and better projects, including "The High and the Mighty" starring John Wayne in 1954.

In 1957, Stack was nominated for a best supporting Oscar for "Written on the Wind," a domestic melodrama starring Lauren Bacall and Rock Hudson. When he lost the trophy (to Red Buttons, "Sayonara"), Jimmy Stewart reassured him he'd win next time.

"But Jimmy, what if I never get another part like this?" Stack said.

"Well, that's just too damn bad," Stewart replied.

That story was told with a chuckle by Stack, a man who clearly didn't take himself or life in Hollywood too seriously. "It's all malarky; even the wonderful part is malarky," he said.

Range of work
Stack made more than 40 films, including "The Iron Glove" (1954); "Good Morning Miss Dove" (1955) and "Is Paris Burning?" (1966). In later years he shifted to comedy, mocking his stalwart image in 1980's "Airplane!" and appearing in "1941" (1979), "Caddyshack II" (1988) and "Baseketball" (1998).

His role as Ness in "The Untouchables" brought him a best actor Emmy in 1960. The series, awash in Prohibition Era shoot-'em-ups between gangsters and federal agents, drew harsh criticism about its violence along with good ratings for ABC.

Stack found more series success with "The Name of the Game" (1968-71), a drama which rotated stars Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry and Stack. His short-lived shows included "Most Wanted" (1976-77) and "Strike Force" (1981-82).

"Unsolved Mysteries," true stories of crime and mysterious disappearances, brought Stack back to TV in 1988, and the popular show continued through the late '90s.

His autobiography, "Straight Shooting," was published in 1979.

Stack and his wife, Rosemarie, wed in 1956 and had two children, Elizabeth and Charles, both of Los Angeles. Mrs. Stack said the children were with her at the Stack home.

Thank you Amos, I hadn't heard that news. I always liked him but did not realize he was that old. Sounds like he lived a good life from the info you gave us. Glad I have some place to go and get the news of the day. Don't seem to have time anymore to watch T.V. to see what is going on.
pat

Thank you very much for this information Amos. But I couldn't remember him.May he rest in peace.
God Bless

in oneness

Actor - filmography
(2000s) (1990s) (1980s) (1970s) (1960s) (1950s) (1940s) (1930s)

"Butt-Ugly Martians" (2001) TV Series (voice) .... Stoat Muldoon
Killer Bud (2001) .... The Gooch
Recess: School's Out (2001) (voice) .... Superintendent
H.U.D. (2000) (TV) .... Deep Throat Man


Hercules: Zero to Hero (1999) (V) (voice) .... Narrator
Sealed with a Kiss (1999) (TV) .... Sumner Ethridge
... aka First Comes Love (1999) (TV) (UK)
"Hercules" (1998) TV Series (voice) .... Bob the Narrator
... aka "Disney's Hercules" (1998) (USA)
Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996) (voice) .... Agent Flemming
"Final Appeal: From the Files of Unsolved Mysteries" (1992) TV Series .... Host
Return of Eliot Ness, The (1991) (TV) .... Eliot Ness
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) .... Dr. Ellison


Dangerous Curves (1988) .... Louis Faciano
Plain Clothes (1988) .... Mr. Gardner
Caddyshack II (1988) .... Chandler Young
"Falcon Crest" (1981) TV Series .... Roland Saunders (1987)
"Unsolved Mysteries" (1987) TV Series .... Host
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit (1987) (TV) .... Jordan White
Transformers: The Movie, The (1986) (voice) .... Ultra Magnus
... aka Matrix Forever (1989) (Japan)
... aka Transformers the Movie: Mokushiroku Matrix yo eien ni (1989) (Japan: video title)
... aka Transformers, The (1986)
... aka Transformers: Matrix yo eien ni (1989) (Japan)
Big Trouble (1986) .... Winslow
"It's a Great Life" (1985) TV Series .... Co-host
Midas Valley (1985) (TV)
"Hollywood Wives" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... George Lancaster
"George Washington" (1984) (mini) TV Series .... Gen. John Stark
Uncommon Valor (1983/I) .... MacGregor
"Strike Force" (1981) TV Series .... Capt. Frank Murphy
Airplane! (1980) .... Capt. Rex Kramer
... aka Flying High (1980)


1941 (1979) .... Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Undercover with the KKK (1979) (TV) .... Narrator
... aka Freedom Riders, The (1979) (TV)
... aka My Undercover Years with the KKK (1979) (TV)
Un second souffle (1978) .... François Davis
... aka Second Wind (1978)
"Most Wanted" (1976) TV Series .... Captain Linc Evers
Most Wanted (1976) (TV) .... Lincoln Evers
Murder on Flight 502 (1975) (TV) .... Captain Larkin
Adventures of the Queen (1975) (TV) .... Captain James Morgan
Honorable Sam Houston, The (1975) (TV) .... Sam Houston
Strange and Deadly Occurrence, The (1974) (TV) .... Michael Rhodes
Storia di una donna (1970) .... David Frasier
... aka Story of a Woman (1970) (USA)


"Name of the Game, The" (1968) TV Series .... Dan Farrell
Laura (1968) (TV) .... Mark McPherson
Hölle von Macao, Die (1967) .... Cliff Wilder
... aka Corrompus, Les (1967) (France)
... aka Corrupt Ones, The (1967) (USA)
... aka Hell to Macao (1967)
... aka Peking Medallion, The (1967)
... aka Sigillo di Pechino, Il (1967) (Italy)
Soleil des voyous, Le (1966) .... Jim Beckley
... aka Action Man (1967) (USA)
... aka Leather and Nylon (1966)
... aka Più grande colpo del secolo, Il (1966) (Italy)
Paris brûle-t-il? (1966) .... Brig. General Wm L. Sibert
... aka Is Paris Burning? (1966) (USA)
Memorandum for a Spy (1965) (TV) .... James Andrew Congers
... aka Asylum for a Spy (1965) (TV)
Caretakers, The (1963) .... Dr. Donovan MacLeod
... aka Borderlines (1963) (UK)
Alcatraz Express (1962) (TV) .... Eliot Ness
... aka Big Train, The (1962) (TV) (USA)
Gun of Zangara, The (1960) .... Eliot Ness
Last Voyage, The (1960) .... Cliff Henderson


Scarface Mob, The (1959) (TV) .... Eliot Ness
... aka Untouchables: Scarface Mob, The (1959) (TV)
"Untouchables, The" (1959) TV Series .... Eliot Ness
John Paul Jones (1959) .... John Paul Jones
Gift of Love, The (1958) .... Bill Beck
Tarnished Angels, The (1958) .... Roger Shumann
Written on the Wind (1956) .... Kyle Hadley
Great Day in the Morning (1956) .... Owen Pentecost
Good Morning, Miss Dove (1955) .... Tom Baker
House of Bamboo (1955) .... Eddie Kenner/Spanier
High and the Mighty, The (1954) .... John Sullivan
Iron Glove, The (1954) .... Charles Wogan
Conquest of Cochise (1953) .... Major Tom Burke
Sabre Jet (1953) .... Col. Gil Manton
War Paint (1953) .... Lt. Billings
Bwana Devil (1952) .... Bob Hayward
My Outlaw Brother (1951) .... Patrick O'Moore (El Tigre)
... aka My Brother, the Outlaw (1951)
Bullfighter and the Lady (1951) .... Johnny Regan
... aka Torero (1951) (USA)
Mr. Music (1950) .... Jeff Blake


Fighter Squadron (1948) .... Capt. Stu Hamilton
Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948) .... Nickey Van Alen
Date with Judy, A (1948) .... Stephen Andrews
Men of Texas (1942) .... Barry Conovan
... aka Men of Destiny (1942) (UK)
Eagle Squadron (1942) .... Chuck Brewer
To Be or Not to Be (1942) .... Lt. Stanislav Sobinski
Badlands of Dakota (1941) .... Jim Holliday
Nice Girl? (1941) .... Don Webb
Little Bit of Heaven, A (1940) .... Bob
Mortal Storm, The (1940) .... Otto von Rohn


First Love (1939) .... Ted Drake

http://us.imdb.com/Name?Stack,+Robert

Thank you again Amos !!

in oneness

You're welcome

Wow, sad to lose him, what a filmography he had! I always liked unsolved mysteries, I find those crime shows interesting...

Very sad.. I liked Unsolved Mysteries too..I didn't know he did so many shows and movies.

Lord, what a sad day!!
God bless,
Mama san

Never heard of the swine... guess you had to be alive in the 60's, huh? :D

I need fu*king chocolate but have just had to make do with a sh*tey fu*king peach melba yogurt and I am now very cross.

Glimmer is suffering from NCA (No Chocolate Aggression), a phrase which he has coined and is similar, one would imagine, to the irritable behaviour of PMT sufferers.

Hey Gman you should have been around Phx after Easter-tons of chocolate on sale for 25 cents each-goes quick in 100 degree weather! hee hee

Thanks Amos,

He was one of my favourite actors.