Dale Robertson
Acting • Born 1923-07-14 – Died 2013-02-27
Biography
Dayle Lymoine Robertson was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the long-running NBC/ABC hit television series Tales of Wells Fargo, and Ben Calhoun, the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse. He was often presented as a deceptively thoughtful but modest Western hero. From 1968 to 1970, Robertson was the fourth and final host of the syndicated Death Valley Days anthology series. For most of his career, Robertson played in western films and television shows—well over sixty titles in all. His best-remembered series, Tales of Wells Fargo aired on NBC from 1957 to 1961, when it moved to ABC and expanded to an hour-long program for its final season in 1961-1962. The show was originally produced by Nat Holt whom Robertson felt he owed his career to for giving him his first leading roles.[10] Robertson also did the narration for Tales of Wells Fargo through which he often presented his own commentary on matters of law, morality, and common sense. He was unique among his television contemporaries, stating that he hated the gun he was forced to carry, but saw it as a necessary evil, a "tool of the trade", and kept practicing.[citation needed] In its March 30, 1959, cover story on television westerns, Time reported Robertson was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and measured 42-34-34. He sometimes made use of his physique in "beefcake" scenes, such as one in 1952's Return of the Texan where he is seen bare-chested and sweaty, repairing a fence. In 1960, Robertson guest-starred as himself in NBC's The Ford Show, starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.[12] In 1962, he similarly appeared on a short-lived western comedy and variety series, ABC's The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show. In 1963, after Tales of Wells Fargo ended its five-year run, he played the lead role in the first of A.C. Lyles' second feature westerns, Law of the Lawless.
Filmography
66 credits
Son of Sinbad
Movie • 1955
Sinbad
Flamingo Road
Movie • 1949
Tunis Simms (uncredited)
The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Movie • 1952
John Oakhurst
Dakota Incident
Movie • 1956
John Banner
Two Flags West
Movie • 1950
Lem
Sitting Bull
Movie • 1954
Bob Parrish
The Man from Button Willow
Movie • 1965
Justin Eagle (voice)
Legends of the West
Movie • 1992
Maj. Robert Parrish in 'Sitting Bull' (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Farmer Takes a Wife
Movie • 1953
Dan Harrow
Coast of Skeletons
Movie • 1965
A.J. Magnus
A Day of Fury
Movie • 1956
Jagade
Devil's Canyon
Movie • 1953
Billy Reynolds
Top of the World
Movie • 1955
Lee Gannon
Golden Girl
Movie • 1951
Tom Richmond
Take Care of My Little Girl
Movie • 1951
Joe Blake
Law of the Lawless
Movie • 1964
Judge Clem Rogers
The Kansas City Massacre
Movie • 1975
Melvin Purvis
The Cariboo Trail
Movie • 1950
Will Gray
Scalplock
Movie • 1966
Benjamin Calhoun
The Gambler from Natchez
Movie • 1954
Vance Colby
City of Bad Men
Movie • 1953
Brett Stanton
Melvin Purvis G-Man
Movie • 1975
Melvin Purvis
Return of the Texan
Movie • 1952
Sam Crockett
O. Henry's Full House
Movie • 1952
Barney Woods (segment "The Clarion Call")
Lydia Bailey
Movie • 1952
Albion Hamlin
The Silver Whip
Movie • 1953
Race Crim
Hell Canyon Outlaws
Movie • 1957
Sheriff Caleb Wells
Fast and Sexy
Movie • 1958
Raffaele
Call Me Mister
Movie • 1951
Capt. Johnny Comstock
Blood on the Arrow
Movie • 1964
Wade Cooper
Fighting Man of the Plains
Movie • 1949
Jesse James
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Movie • 1961
Jim Hardie
The One Eyed Soldiers
Movie • 1966
Richard Owen
The Boy with Green Hair
Movie • 1948
Policeman (uncredited)
The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang
Movie • 1979
Judge Isaac Parker
The Secret of Convict Lake
Movie • 1951
Narrator (Voice) (uncredited)
The High Terrace
Movie • 1956
Bill Lang
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
Movie • 2000
The Walking Major
Movie • 1970
Major Clark J. Allen
East Connection
Movie • 1970
Murder, She Wrote
TV • 1984
Colonel Lee Goddard (uncredited)
Dynasty
TV • 1981
Walter Lankershim
Dallas
TV • 1978
Frank Crutcher
The Hollywood Palace
TV • 1964
Self
The Johnny Cash Show
TV • 1969
Self
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
This Is Your Life
TV • 1952
Self
Climax!
TV • 1954
The 20th Century Fox Hour
TV • 1955
Lt. Clay Tucker
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV • 1956
Self
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self - Tales of Wells Fargo
Harts of the West
TV • 1993
J.J. Starbuck
TV • 1987
J.J. Starbuck
Tales of Wells Fargo
TV • 1957
Jim Hardie
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self - Co-Host
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
The Ford Television Theatre
TV • 1952
Donny Weaver
The Red Skelton Show
TV • 1951
Robinson Crusoe
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
TV • 1951
Jim Hardie
Climax!
TV • 1954
Nicky Jordan
The Steve Allen Show
TV • 1956
Self - Guest
The Iron Horse
TV • 1966
Ben Calhoun
The Love Boat
TV • 1977
Mason Fleers
Death Valley Days
TV • 1952
Self - Host
Studio 57
TV • 1954