Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an
American actor on
stage and in
film and
television and a winner of the
Tony Award (theatre), the
Academy Award (film) and the
Emmy Award (television). He was also a
United States Navy combat veteran of
World War II.
He became famous playing works of
Eugene O'Neill, an
American playwright, and regularly performed in O'Neill's works throughout his career. Robards was cast in both
common-man roles and as well-known historical figures.
Early life and education
Robards was born in
Chicago,
Illinois, the son of Hope Maxine (
née Glanville) Robards and
Jason Robards, Sr.,
[Jason Robards genealogy.] an actor who regularly appeared on the stage and in such early films as
The Gamblers (1929) and was among the better-known actors of the first half of the twentieth century.
The family moved to
New York City,
New York, when Jason Jr. was still a toddler, and then moved to
Los Angeles,
California, when he was six years old. Later interviews with Robards suggested that the trauma of his parents' divorce, which occurred during his grade-school years, greatly affected his personality and worldview.
As a youth Robards also witnessed first-hand the decline of his father's acting career — the elder Robards had enjoyed considerable success during the era of
silent films, but he fell out of favor after the advent of "talkies" (
sound film), leaving the younger Robards soured on the Hollywood film industry.
The teenaged Robards excelled in athletics, running a 4:18 mile during his junior year at
Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. Although his prowess in sports attracted interest from several universities, upon his graduation in 1940 Robards decided to join the Navy.
Naval service in World War II
As a
radioman 3rd class in the Navy, Robards joined a
heavy cruiser warship, the
USS Northampton (CA-26) in 1941. On December 7, 1941 — the date of
Imperial Japanese Navy's
attack on Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, which brought the U.S. into World War II — he was aboard the
Northhampton in the
Pacific Ocean 100 miles at sea. Contrary to some stories, he witnessed the devastation of the attack only afterwards, when the
Northampton returned to
Pearl Harbor two days later.
[Bloomfield, Gary L.; Shain, Stacie L., with Davidson, Arlen C., (2004). Duty, Honor, Applause — America's Entertainers in World War II. p. 264. Lyon's Press, Guilford, Connecticut. ISBN 1592285503] The
Northampton was later directed into the
Guadalcanal campaign in
World War II's Pacific theater, where she participated in the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
During the
Battle of Tassafaronga on Guadalcanal on the night of November 30, 1942, the
Northampton was sunk by hits from two Japanese
torpedoes. Robards found himself treading water until near daybreak, when he was rescued by an American
destroyer warship. Although a 1979 column by
Hy Gardner[Gardner, Hy. Panorama magazine, Vol. II, No. 1, Sunday Daily Herald, January 7, 1979, p. 2] stated that Robards was awarded the U.S.
Navy Cross and "13 battle stars" (actually awarded to the ship, not the individual), Robards's name does not appear on any official or semi-official rolls of Navy Cross recipients.
[Sterner, C. Douglas. Index: Recipients of the Navy Cross, All Wars/All Periods, All Branches of Service. Pueblo CO, 2006]
Two years later, in November 1944, Robards was in another dramatic engagement — this time as a radioman on the
USS Nashville (CL-43) which was the flagship for the
invasion of Mindoro in the northern
Philippines. On December 13 she was struck by a
kamikaze aircraft off
Negros Island in the Philippines. The aircraft itself hit one of the port five-inch gun mounts while her two bombs set the midsection ablaze. There were 223 casualties and the
Nashville was forced to return to Pearl Harbor and then to the
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in
Bremerton,
Washington, for repairs.
It was on the
Nashville that Robards first found a copy of
Eugene O’Neill’s play
Strange Interlude in the ship’s library.
[The New York Times Magazine, January 20, 1974][Black, Steven A., et al. (editors) (2002). Jason Robards Remembered — Essays and Recollections. McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina. ISBN 978-0786413560.] It was also in the Navy that he first started thinking seriously about being an actor. He had
emceed for a Navy band in Pearl Harbor, gotten a few laughs and decided he liked it. His father suggested he enroll in the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in
New York City,
New York.
Career
Robards decided to get into acting after the war and his career started out slowly. He moved to New York City and found small parts — first in
radio and then on the
stage. His big break was landing the starring role in
José Quintero's 1956
off-Broadway-theatre production and the later 1960 television film of O'Neill's
The Iceman Cometh, portraying the philosophical salesman Hickey; he won an
Obie Award for his stage performance. He later portrayed Hickey again in a 1985
Broadway revival also staged by Quintero, who also directed Robards in Broadway productions of O'Neill's plays:
Long Day's Journey Into Night (1988), Hughie (1964), A Touch of the Poet (1977) and
A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973). He repeated his role in
Long Day's Journey Into Night in the
1962 film and televised his performances in
A Moon for the Misbegotten (1975) and
Hughie (1984).
Robards also appeared on stage in a revival of Neill's
Ah, Wilderness! (1988) directed by
Arvin Brown, as well as
Lillian Hellman's
Toys in the Attic (1960),
Arthur Miller's
After the Fall, (1964)
Clifford Odets's
The Country Girl (1972) and
Harold Pinter's
No Man's Land (1994).
He had made his film debut in the two-reel comedy
Follow That Music (1946), but after his Broadway success he was invited to make his feature debut in
The Journey (1959). He became a familiar face to movie audiences throughout the 1960s, notably for his performances in
A Thousand Clowns (1965) (repeating his stage performance),
The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), and
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).
Robards played three different
U.S. presidents in film - namely
Abraham Lincoln in
The Perfect Tribute (1991) (as well as a television production of
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1964));
Ulysses S. Grant in
The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) (a role he also voiced in the
PBS miniseries
The Civil War) (1990), and
Franklin D. Roosevelt in
FDR: The Final Years (1980). He also created a sensation as the fictional president Richard Monckton (based on
Richard Nixon) in the television miniseries
Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977). Additionally, he voiced a number of documentaries, including
Ken Burns's
Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio (1991).
Awards
Robards received eight Tony Award nominations,
["American Theatre Wing".] — more than any other male actor . He won the Tony for
Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his work in
The Disenchanted, (1959); this was also his only stage appearance with his father.
He received the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor in consecutive years for
All the President's Men (1976) for portraying
Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and
Julia (1977) for portraying
writer Dashiell Hammett (1977).
["Oscars data base of nominees and winners".] He was also nominated for another Academy Award for his role as
Howard Hughes in
Melvin and Howard (1980).
Robards received the
Primetime Emmy Award for
Outstanding Lead Actor – Miniseries or a Movie for
Inherit the Wind (1988).
["Emmy Awards Database of nominees and winners".]
In 1997, Robards received the U.S.
National Medal of Arts, the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Recipients are selected by the U.S.
National Endowment for the Arts and is awarded by the
U.S. President.
In 1999, he was among the recipients at the
Kennedy Center Honors, an annual honor given to those in the
performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to
American culture.
["Kennedy Center list of Honorees".]
Personal life
Robards had six children from his four marriages, including actor
Jason Robards III (born 1949) by his first wife, Eleanor Pittman; and actor
Sam Robards by his third wife, actress
Lauren Bacall, to whom he was married in 1961 and from whom he was divorced in 1969.
In 1972, he was involved in an automobile 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.
Robards was a major
U.S. Civil War buff and scholar and in that vein, he ultimately portrayed Lincoln and later the voice of Grant.
A resident of the
Southport section of
Fairfield,
Connecticut,
["From the Archives" feature ("The Week of July 8") of The Advocate (Stamford, Connecticut), July 9, 2007, page A7, Stamford edition.] Robards died of
lung cancer in
Bridgeport, Connecticut, on December 26, 2000; he was
cremated.
His death was mourned by both fans and actors, and at a memorial service at Broadway's
Broadhurst Theatre to honor Robards, it was actors who seemed to feel most profoundly the loss of one of the greats, one of their own. "He was the last of a breed of actors who dedicated themselves to a life in the theater. Without asking for the role, he was our elder statesman," said actor
Kevin Spacey.
[The New York Times, February 27, 2001]
Legacy
The Jason Robards Award was created by the
Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City in his honor and his relationship with the theatre.
The actress,
Jennifer Jason Leigh, chose her middle name in honor of Robards.
Work
Stage
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Film
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Television
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