JASON ROBARDS
Information from IMDb
Date of Birth
26 July 1922,
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of Death
26 December 2000,
Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA (metastasized lung cancer)
Birth Name
Jason Nelson Robards Jr.
Height
5' 9½" (1.77 m)
Spouse
Lois O'Connor (14 February 1970 - 26 December 2000) (his death) 2 children
Lauren Bacall (4 July 1961 - 10 September 1969) (divorced) 1 child
Rachel Taylor (26 April 1959 - 22 May 1961) (divorced)
Eleanor Pittman (7 May 1948 - 1958) (divorced) 3 children
Trade Mark
Gravelly but commanding voice
Long, pointed face
Characters with a bizarre or uncoventional personal code or ethos
Sardonic deadpan
Trivia
Recipient of 22nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contribution to arts and culture, presented by President Bill Clinton in Washington, DC, Dec. 5, 1999.
Father of actor Jason Robards III.
Father, with actress Lauren Bacall, of actor Sam Robards.
He has three children with Eleanor Pittman. He has two children with Lois O'Connor. He won an Emmy in 1988 for Inherit the Wind (1988) (TV).
Was a Civil War buff in real life. He played President U.S. Grant in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), and was the voice of Gen. Grant in the PBS mini-series "The American Civil War" (1990).
Preferred working in the theater, and said once that he performed in Hollywood films so that he could "grab the money and go back to Broadway as fast as I can."
In 1972, he was in a horrifying accident on a winding California road. He drove his car into the side of a mountain and nearly died. His acute drinking problem contributed to the accident. He slowly recovered after extensive surgery and facial reconstruction.
On April 22, 2002, the first Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre was awarded to Christopher Plummer by the Roundabout Theatre.
Jennifer Jason Leigh added the Jason to her stage name in tribute to Robards, a long-time family friend. She said, "I like the way it sounds between Jennifer and Leigh.".
In one of his last roles, in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), he portrayed a man dying from lung cancer to excellent effect. Two years later he himself died from the same disease.
Attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, CA, and played on the football, baseball, basketball, and track teams, at one time entertaining the idea of becoming a professional athlete.
Avoided films until age 37 because he felt his acting father, Jason Robards Sr., had sold out and tarnished his own reputation by "going Hollywood".
First lead role was in the 1953 off-Broadway production of "American Gothic" directed by José Quintero.
Two daughters and four sons: Sarah Louise, Shannon Robards, Jason Robards III, Sam Robards, David and Jake Robards.
Received all of his Oscar nominations for playing real-life people: Benjamin C. Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Dashiell Hammett in Julia (1977), and Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980).
In 1988, he became the 11th performer to win the Triple Crown of acting: Oscar, Tony, Emmy. Two Oscars: Best Supporting Actor, All the President's Men (1976), and Best Supporting Actor, Julia (1977). Tony: Best Actor, Play, "The Disenchanted" (1959). Emmy: Best Actor, Miniseries/Special: Inherit the Wind (1988) (TV).
Won Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as best actor (dramatic) for The Disenchanted. He was nominated seven other times: as best supporting or featured actor (dramatic) in 1957 for Long Day's Journey into Night; as best actor (dramatic) in 1960 for Toys in the Attic, in 1964 for After The Fall, in 1965 for Hughie, in 1972 for The Country Girl and in 1974 for A Moon for the Misbegotten; and as best actor (play) in 1978 for A Touch of the Poet. With eight nominations, he holds the record for being the actor nominated the most times for the Tony Award, although he only won once.
Was the first winner of a Best Actor Obie Award, which recognize achievement in the off-Broadway theater, for playing Hickey in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh during the 1955-1956 season. He tied for the best actor award with George Voskovec, who was cited for Uncle Vanya.
He and Leonardo DiCaprio both received Oscar-nominations for portraying Howard Hughes. Robards was nominated for Melvin and Howard (1980) and DiCaprio for The Aviator (2004).
As of 2013, he is the only actor to win consecutive best supporting actor Oscars (for All the President's Men (1976) and Julia (1977)).
Played Hickey in three different productions of Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh -- off-Broadway in 1955, on television in 1960, and on Broadway in 1955. Also played Hickey in production of Iceman Cometh 1985/86 in NYC (Lunt-Fontane) and LA (James Doolittle Theater).
He is more closely associated with the works of Eugene O'Neill than any other actor.
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1997 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC.
Shares the role of Howard Hughes with Leonardo DiCaprio. In the television series ("Parenthood" (1990)_) based on _Parenthood_ (1989)_, DiCaprio took over the role that Joaquin Phoenix had played in the film--opposite Robards as his grandfather.
He won an Oscar for playing Benjamin Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), making him one of 12 actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2007). The other ten actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Jeremy Irons for playing Claus Von Bullow in Reversal of Fortune (1990) (1990), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001/I) and most recently Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006).
In 1978 he became the second actor to receive an Oscar, Emmy and Tony nomination in the same calendar year (for Julia (1977), "Washington: Behind Closed Doors" (1977) and "A Touch of the Poet," respectively).
Katharine Hepburn was the godmother of his son Sam Robards.
Was a trustee at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
He was nominated for a 1976 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Guest Artist in a play, Hughie, at the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
Has portrayed President Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (1992), The Perfect Tribute (1991) and Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1964), President Ulysess S. Grant in The Civil War (1990) and The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), President Franklin D. Roosevelt in F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980) and fictional President Richard Monckton (A Richard Nixon-type) in Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977).
Served as a radioman aboard the U.S.S. Northampton, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in the Battle of Tassafaronga.
He studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
His and Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar nominations for playing Howard Hughes makes them only the second pair to both lose. Robards lost to Timothy Hutton, while DiCaprio lost to Jamie Foxx. Prior to that, only Fredric March and James Mason both lost Oscars for playing Norman Maine in the 1937 and 1954 versions of "A Star is Born". Subsequently, the only pair of actors to both lose an Oscar for playing the same part were Anthony Hopkins and Frank Langella for playing Richard Nixon. Previously, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both won for playing Vito Corleone. José Ferrer won while Gérard Depardieu was only nominated for playing Cyrano de Bergerac; and John Wayne won while Jeff Bridges was only nominated for playing Rooster Cogburn. Richard Burton and Robert Shaw also lost Oscars for playing Henry VIII, but Charles Laughton won the award for the role.
Is one of 9 actors to have won the Triple Crown of Acting (an Oscar, Emmy and Tony); the others in chronological order are Thomas Mitchell, Melvyn Douglas, Paul Scofield, Jack Albertson, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino, Geoffrey Rush and Christopher Plummer.
Mini Biography
Powerful and highly respected American star character actor. Son of stage and film star Jason Robards Sr., he was born in Chicago, but raised mostly in Los Angeles. A star athlete at Hollywood High School, he served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, where he saw combat as a radioman (though he is not listed in official rolls of Navy Cross winners, despite the claims some -- not he -- have made. Neither was he at Pearl Harbor during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack, his ship being at sea at the time.) Returning to civilian life, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and struggled as a small-part actor in local New York theatre, TV and radio before shooting to fame on the New York stage in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" as Hickey. He followed that with another masterful O'Neill portrayal, as the alcoholic Jamie Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" on Broadway. He entered feature films in The Journey (1959) and rose rapidly to even greater fame as a film star. Robards won consecutive Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for All the President's Men (1976) and Julia (1977), in each case playing real-life people. He continued to work on the stage, winning continued acclaim in such O'Neill works as "Moon For the Misbegotten" and "Hughie." Robards died of lung cancer in 2000.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver
Personal Quotes
An actor doesn't change thought, theme, or mood unless the character does, and the character only does it within the words of the play.
I've always played disintegrated characters.
Once you're on [stage], nobody can say, "Cut it". You're out there on your own, and there's always that thrill of a real live audience.
All I know is, I don't do a lot of analysis. I know those words have to move me. I rely on the author. I don't want actors reasoning with me about "motivation" and all that bull. All I want 'em to do is learn the goddamn lines and don't bump into each other.
The theatre has kept me alive, and it's allowed me to work at my craft.
[about Arthur Miller's semi-autobiographical play 'After the Fall'] They should have called it "After the Money"!
Sometimes you do junk just to keep alive. You know it's junk when you go in. You just hope you will do the best you can, and that the film will be entertaining. Many times, it isn't, but you just do those things to pay the bills.
I would much rather be on the stage. I do films, but I've really been on stage most of my life. It's not only more of an emotional experience, but it's also a communication. It's the satisfaction of saying something about the human condition through the author, with the actors acting as the instrument, and then hearing the audience response.
Filmography
2000 Going Home (TV movie)...Charles Barton
1999 Magnolia...Earl Partridge
1998 Enemy of the State...Congressman Phillip Hammersley (uncredited)
1998 Beloved...Mr. Bodwin
1998 The Real Macaw...Grandpa Girdis
1998 Heartwood...Logan Reeser
1996-1997 The American Experience (TV series documentary)
– Truman: Part I (1997) … Narrator
– T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (Part I) (1996) … Narrator
1997 A Thousand Acres...Larry Cook
1995 Journey (TV movie)...Marcus
1995 Crimson Tide...Rear Admiral Anderson, Board of Inquiry President (uncredited)
1995 My Antonia (TV movie)...Josea Burden
1994 Little Big League...Thomas Heywood
1994 The Paper...Graham Keighley
1994 The Enemy Within (TV movie)...General R. Pendleton Lloyd
1993 Philadelphia...Charles Wheeler
1993 Heidi (TV movie)...Grandfather
1993 The Trial...Doctor Huld
1993 The Adventures of Huck Finn...The King
1992 Lincoln (TV movie)...President Abraham Lincoln (voice)
1992 Storyville...Clifford Fowler
1992 Rabbit Ears: Jonah and the Whale (video short)...Narrator
1992 Deceptions...Clay
1991 Mark Twain and Me (TV movie)...Mark Twain
1991 American Masters (TV series documentary)
– Helen Hayes: First Lady of the American Theatre (1991) … Narrator
1991 An Inconvenient Woman (TV movie)...Jules Mendelson
1991 Chernobyl: The Final Warning (TV movie)...Dr. Armand Hammer
1991 The Perfect Tribute (TV movie)...President Abraham Lincoln
1990 The American Civil War (TV mini-series documentary)
– The Better Angels of Our Nature (1865) (1990) … Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
– War Is All Hell (1865) (1990) … Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
– Most Hallowed Ground (1864) (1990) … Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
– Valley of the Shadow of Death (1864) (1990) … Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
– Simply Murder (1863) (1990) … Ulysses S. Grant (voice)
In all 9 episodes
1990 Quick Change...Chief Rotzinger
1989 Black Rainbow...Walter Travis
1989 Parenthood...Frank Buckman
1989 Metallica: 2 of One (video)...Joe's Father (uncredited)
1989 Reunion...Henry Strauss
1989 Dream a Little Dream...Coleman Ettinger
1989 Metallica: One (TV short)...Joe's Father
1988 The Christmas Wife (TV movie)...John Tanner
1988 The Good Mother...Muth
1988 Bright Lights, Big City...Drunken Writer -- Mr. Hardy (uncredited)
1988 Inherit the Wind (TV movie)...Henry Drummond
1988 Thomas Hart Benton (TV movie)...Narrator
1987 Breaking Home Ties (TV movie)...Lloyd
1987 Laguna Heat (TV movie)...Wade Shephard
1987 Square Dance...Dillard
1986 The Last Frontier (TV movie)...Ed Stenning
1986 Johnny Bull (TV movie)...Stephan Kovacs
1985 The Long Hot Summer (TV movie)...Will Varner
1985 The Atlanta Child Murders (TV mini-series)...Alvin Binder
1984 Great Performances (TV series)– You Can't Take It with You (1984) … Grandpa Martin Vanderhof
1984 Sakharov (TV movie)...Andrei Sakharov
1984 American Playhouse (TV series)– Hughie (1984) … Erie Smith
1983 The Day After (TV movie)...Dr. Russell Oakes
1983 Something Wicked This Way Comes...Charles Halloway
1983 Max Dugan Returns...Max Dugan
1981 Broadway on Showtime (TV series)– Hughie (1981) … Erie Smith
1981 The Legend of the Lone Ranger...President Ulysses S. Grant
1980 Melvin and Howard...Howard Hughes
1980 Raise the Titanic...Admiral James Sandecker
1980 Haywire (TV movie)...Leland Hayward
1980 F.D.R.: The Last Year (TV movie)...President Franklin D. Roosevelt
1980 Cabo Blanco...Gunther Beckdorff
1979 Hurricane...Capt. Bruckner
1978 A Christmas to Remember (TV movie)...Daniel Larson
1978 Comes a Horseman...Jacob 'J.W.' Ewing
1977 Julia...Hammett
1977 Washington: Behind Closed Doors (TV mini-series)
– Part 6 (1977) … President Richard Monckton
– Part 5 (1977) … President Richard Monckton
– Part 4 (1977) … President Richard Monckton
– Part 3 (1977) … President Richard Monckton
– Part 2 (1977) … President Richard Monckton
In all 6 episodes
1976 The Execution...Inspector Barkan
1976 All the President's Men...Ben Bradlee
1976 Addie and the King of Hearts (TV movie)...Jamie Mills
1975 Mr. Sycamore...John Gwilt
1975 A Moon for the Misbegotten (TV movie)...James Tyrone Jr.
1975 A Boy and His Dog...Lou Craddock
1975 The Easter Promise (TV movie)...Jamie
1974 The Country Girl (TV movie)...Frank Elgin
1973 The Thanksgiving Treasure (TV movie)...James Mills
1973 Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid...Governor Wallace
1972 The House Without a Christmas Tree (TV movie)...Jamie Mills
1972 Ghost Story (TV series)– The Dead We Leave Behind (1972) … Elliot Brent
1972 The War Between Men and Women...Stephen Kozlenko
1971 Murders in the Rue Morgue...Cesar Charron
1971 Johnny Got His Gun...Joe's Father
1971 Savage Soldier
1970 Fools...Matthew South
1970 Tora! Tora! Tora!...Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short
1970 Julius Caesar...Marcus Brutus
1970 The Ballad of Cable Hogue...Cable Hogue
1970 Rosolino Paternò, soldato...Sam Armstrong
1969 Spoon River (TV movie)...Reader
1968 Isadora...Singer
1968 The Night They Raided Minsky's...Raymond Paine
1968 Once Upon a Time in the West...Cheyenne
1967 Hour of the Gun...Doc Holliday
1967 The Bell Telephone Hour (TV series)– The Many Faces of Romeo and Juliet (1967)
1967 The St. Valentine's Day Massacre...Al Capone
1967 Divorce American Style...Nelson Downes
1966 ABC Stage 67 (TV series)– Noon Wine (1966) … Royal Earle Thompson
1966 Bachelor Girl Apartment...John Cleves
1963-1966 Theatre of Stars (TV series)
Irish LaFontain / Ivan Denisovich
– Shipwrecked (1966) … Irish LaFontain
– One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1963) … Ivan Denisovich (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1966 Big Deal at Dodge City...Henry Drummond
1965 A Thousand Clowns...Murray
1964 Mr. Broadway (TV series)
– Take a Walk Through a Cemetery (1964)
1964 Abe Lincoln in Illinois (TV movie)...Abraham Lincoln
1963 Act One...George S. Kaufman... 1962 Long Day's Journey Into Night
Jamie Tyrone (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1962 Westinghouse Presents: That's Where the Town Is Going (TV movie)...Hobart Cramm (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1962 Tender Is the Night...Dr. Richard 'Dick' Diver (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1961 By Love Possessed...Julius Penrose (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1961 The Case of the Dangerous Robin (TV series)– The Deadly Impersonation (1961) (as Jason Robards Sr.)
1960 Play of the Week (TV series)
– The Iceman Cometh: Part 2 (1960) … Theodore 'Hickey' Hickman
– The Iceman Cometh: Part 1 (1960) … Theodore 'Hickey' Hickman
1960 The Iceman Cometh (TV movie)...Theodore 'Hickey' Hickman
1960 Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (TV series)– The Bat (1960) … Detective Anderson (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1959 A Doll's House (TV movie)...Dr. Rank (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1959 Sunday Showcase (TV series)– People Kill People Sometimes (1959) … Alex Reed (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1959 Playhouse 90 (TV series)
– For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 2 (1959) … Robert Jordan (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– For Whom the Bell Tolls: Part 1 (1959) … Robert Jordan (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1959 The Journey...Paul Kedes (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1958 Omnibus (TV series)– Moment of Truth (1958) … Prime Minister
1955-1957 Studio One (TV series)
Cameron / Leonard O'Brien / Prisoner
– Twenty-Four Hours (1957) … Prisoner (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– The Incredible World of Horace Ford (1955) … Leonard O'Brien (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– A Picture in the Paper (1955) … Cameron (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1957 The Seven Lively Arts (TV series)– The Changing Ways of Love (1957) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1956-1957 The Alcoa Hour (TV series)
Bert Palmer / Bridger / Jayson
– Night (1957) … Jayson (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– The Big Build-Up (1957) … Bert Palmer (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– Even the Weariest River (1956) … Bridger (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1956-1957 Goodyear Television Playhouse (TV series)
– Nobody's Town (1957) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– Proud Passage (1956) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1955-1956 Star Tonight (TV series)
– Boy Crazy (1956) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– Flame and Ice (1955) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1955-1956 Justice (TV series)
– Pattern of Lies (1956) … Karder (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– Decision by Panic (1955) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1955-1956 Appointment with Adventure (TV series)
– A Thief There Was (1956)
– Destination Freedom (1955)
1955-1956 Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV series)
Paul Foster / Reinhardt Schmidt
– Man in Shadow (1956) … Paul Foster
– Lost $2 Billion: The Story of Hurricane Diane (1955) … Reinhardt Schmidt (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1955 The Philco Television Playhouse (TV series)
Joe Grant / Mason
– The Outsiders (1955) … Mason (as Jason Robards Jr.)
– The Death of Billy the Kid (1955) … Joe Grant (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1955 Windows (TV series)– A Domestic Dilemma (1955) (as Jason Robards Jr.)
1954 The Big Story (TV series)– Arthur Mielke of the Washington Times Herald (1954) … Mr. Simms
1954 The Man Behind the Badge (TV series)– The Case of the Last Escape (1954)
1947 Follow That Music (short)
1943 Swingtime Johnny
1938 The Nurse from Brooklyn...Surgeon (uncredited)
