Robert Phillips (actor)
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April 10, 1925
Robert Phillips | |
|---|---|
.webp) Phillips in Dusty's Trail, 1973 | |
| Born | Robert R. Phillips[1] April 10, 1925 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 5, 2018 (aged 93) |
| Occupations | Film and television actor |
| Years active | 1950s–1997 |
Robert R. Phillips (April 10, 1925 – November 5, 2018) was an American film and television actor.
Phillips was born in Chicago, Illinois.[2] He was a self-defense instructor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II[3] and later played football for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins.[2] Phillips was also a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and Illinois State Police.[3] He was a personal bodyguard for the 31st Governor of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson II.[3][4][5]
Phillips began his film and television career in the 1950s,[2] when a film producer suggested he should become an actor, and gave him a role in a film,[3] and the TV series Tightrope! was based on aspects of his life.[5]
Phillips retired as a police officer after being injured while working undercover,[5] and attended acting school in the early 1950s.[3] Phillips was hired by studios as a minder for Lee Marvin, to prevent him getting into fights after hours.[4][5] He appeared in two films with actor Richard Jaeckel: The Gun Runners (1958) and The Dirty Dozen (1967).[5]
His other film roles included appearances in The Killers (1964) and Cat Ballou (1965), Dimension 5 (1966), Hour of the Gun (1967), Mackenna's Gold (1969), Slaughter (1972), The Slams (1973), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Dion Brothers (1974), Capone (1975, as Bugs Moran), Mitchell (1975), Mean Johnny Barrows (1975), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977).
Phillips also guest-starred in numerous television programs including Star Trek: The Original Series (in the episode "The Cage"), Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Bonanza, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Wild Wild West, Rawhide, Mission: Impossible, The High Chaparral, Mannix, The Fall Guy and Planet of the Apes.[2] His last credit was for the western television series Bordertown.[2]
