Ann Robinson (born May 25, 1929)[1][2] is a former American actress and stunt horse rider, perhaps best known for her work in the science-fiction classic The War of the Worlds (1953) and in the 1954 film Dragnet, in which she starred as a Los Angeles police officer opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander.
Early life[]
Robinson attended Hollywood High School. Her father was employed by the Bank of Hollywood, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. He taught her how to ride horses, beginning when she was only three. Robinson became an accomplished rider, which led to her first professional work in Hollywood as a stunt rider in film Frenchie with Shelley Winters.[3]
Acting career[]
After doubling for Winters in Frenchie (1950), Robinson starred and rode in several Westerns during her career such as The Cimarron Kid (1951) with Audie Murphy, Gun Brothers (1956), and Gun Duel in Durango (1957).[3]
Paramount Pictures signed Robinson as an actress in the early 1950s. Her first leading role was as Sylvia Van Buren in The War of the Worlds (1953) co-starring with Gene Barry,[4] a role she quasi-reprised in two later films, first as Dr. Van Buren in Midnight Movie Massacre (1988) and then as Dr. Sylvia Van Buren in The Naked Monster (2005). She also reprised the role in three episodes of the television series War of the Worlds (1988).
Robinson worked on several other films, including Imitation of Life (1959), and the Doris Day thriller Julie (1956). She also had a starring role opposite Jack Webb and Ben Alexander in Dragnet (1954), a feature film version of the hit television series. From 1955 to 1959, Robinson was cast in ten episodes of the NBC children's western television series Fury as Helen Watkins, the teacher of series character Joey Clark Newton (Bobby Diamond) and romantic interest of his adopted father, Jim Newton (Peter Graves).
Robinson's other television roles were on Adam-12, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bachelor Father, Ben Casey, Biff Baker, U.S.A., The Bob Cummings Show, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Days of Our Lives, Four Star Playhouse, General Hospital, Gilligan's Island, It's a Great Life, The Millionaire, My Little Margie, Perry Mason, Peter Gunn, Police Woman, Rawhide, Rocky Jones Space Ranger, Rory Calhoun's The Texan, Waterfront, and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.[3] In 1955, she appeared as Joan Carter on the TV western Cheyenne in the premiere episode titled "Mountain Fortress".[5]
Robinson was featured in several commercials for Home Savings of America, Toni home perms, and Chesterfield Cigarettes. She performed a number of film voice-overs also, in English and Spanish. She did the leading actress's voice in To Begin Again, which won the 1984 Oscar for best foreign film. She also did loops for the Bruce Lee series The Dead Are Alive, Tough Guys, and Survive.
In 1985, Robinson appeared in a documentary about George Pal titled The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (produced and directed by Arnold Leibovit). In 1988, Ann Robinson reprised her role as Sylvia Van Buren from the original The War of the Worlds film for the War of the Worlds television series. In the 2005 Steven Spielberg film, War of the Worlds, she played a cameo role as Tom Cruise's character's mother-in-law, the grandmother of Dakota Fanning's character, alongside her long-ago co-star Gene Barry.[3] Upon completing this role, she retired from acting.
Personal life[]
In 1957, Robinson eloped to Mexico to marry world class matador Jaime Bravo, with whom she had two sons; Jaime A. Bravo Jr. (TV director for ABC Sports and ESPN), and Estefan A. Bravo (actor, seen in White Trash Wins Lotto, a musical by Andy Prieboy). While residing in Mexico, Robinson played minor Hollywood roles, mainly in science fiction films. The couple divorced in 1967.[3] On February 2, 1970, Bravo was killed in an automobile accident on the way to a bullfight.[3] In 1987, Robinson married real estate broker and business manager Joseph Valdez in California, where they took up residence in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Black Midnight | Girl Serving Punch at Square Dance | |
| 1950 | The Damned Don't Cry | Girl at Poolside in Home Movie | |
| I Was a Shoplifter | Sales Clerk | ||
| Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion | Bathing Suit Girl in Mirage | ||
| A Life of Her Own | Woman Showing Legs | ||
| All About Eve | Girl in Lobby of the 21 Club | ||
| 1951 | Goodbye, My Fancy | Clarisse Carter | |
| Callaway Went Thataway | Hatcheck Girl at Mocambo's | ||
| I Want You | Gloria | ||
| 1952 | The Cimarron Kid | Stella | |
| Son of Ali Baba | Girl at Palace | ||
| 1953 | City Beneath the Sea | Girl in Bar | |
| The Glass Wall | Nancy | ||
| The War of the Worlds | Sylvia Van Buren | ||
| Bad for Each Other | Lucille Grellett | ||
| 1954 | Dragnet | Office Grace Downey | |
| 1956 | Gun Brothers | Rose Fargo | |
| Julia | Valerie | ||
| 1957 | Gun Duel in Durango | Judy | |
| 1958 | Damn Citizen | Cleo | |
| 1959 | Imitation of Life | Showgirl | |
| 1988 | Midnight Movie Massacre | Dr. Sylvia Van Buren | |
| 1991 | My Lovely Monster | Party Guest | |
| 2005 | The Naked Monster | Dr. Sylvia Van Buren | |
| War of the Worlds | Grandmother | ||
| 2018 | Tales of Frankenstein | Elsa | |
| 2020 | The Last Page of Summer | Penelope (Mayor Friend) |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952–1953 | Racket Squad | Miss Vera | 2 episodes |
| 1953 | Biff Baker, U.S.A. | Dini Malloy | Episode: "The Witness" |
| The Web | Martha | Episode: "A Time for Dying" | |
| 1954 | The Ford Television Theatre | Unknown | Episode: "Wedding March" |
| Rocky Jones, Space Ranger | Queen Juliandra / Noviandra | 6 episodes | |
| Waterfront | Angela / Georgia Barton | 2 episodes | |
| Passport to Danger | Jorie Vinay | Episode: "Monte Carlo" | |
| 1955 | Stage 7 | Policewoman Merrill | Episode: "The Deceiving Eye" |
| Studio 57 | Margaret Perry | Episode: "The Bitter Rival" | |
| It's a Great Life | Gloria | Episode: "The Girl Friend" | |
| 1955–1956 | Fury | Helen Watkins | 9 episodes |
| 1955–1957 | Cheyenne | Paula Copeland / Joan Carter | 2 episodes |
| 1956 | The Bob Cummings Show | Betty | Episode: "Masquerade Party" |
| The Millionaire | Josie Howard | Episode: "The David Tremayne Show" | |
| 1958 | Schlitz Playhouse | Unknown | Episode: "Portrait of a Legend" |
| 1959 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | Sonya Miles | Episode: "Husbands Are Bad Luck" |
| 1960 | The Man and the Challenge | Sally Somers | Episode: "Rodeo" |
| Johnny Midnight | Sugar Kane | Episode: "Leading Lady" | |
| The Texan | Anne Carter | Episode: "Borrowed Time" | |
| Shotgun Slade | Miss Baxter | Episode: "The Deadly Key" | |
| Goodyear Theatre | Billie | Episode: "Marked Down for Connie" | |
| Perry Mason | Vivian Page | Episode: "The Case of the Slandered Submarine" | |
| Bachelor Father | Linda McCambridge / Doris Blake | 2 episodes | |
| Rawhide | Julia Garcia | Episode: "Incident of the Challenge" | |
| Manhunt | Maggie | Episode: "The Day the Roof Fell In" | |
| 1961 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Hetty Doane | Episode: "Billy Buckett, Incorporated" |
| Dante | Stella | Episode: "Aces and Eights" | |
| Sugarfoot | Marie McTavish | Episode: "Angel" | |
| Peter Gunn | Joanna Cochrane | Episode: "Portrait in Leather" | |
| Hawaiian Eye | Claire Monfreedy | Episode: "A Taste for Money" | |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Helen Cox | Episode: "Ambition" | |
| Surfside 6 | Penelope Carmody / Glorida Hale | 2 episodes | |
| 1962 | Ben Casey | Sally Hodges | Episode: "And If I Die" |
| The Roaring 20's | Evie Lincoln | Episode: "Footlights" | |
| Death Valley Days | Millie | Episode: "The Hat That Wore the Vest" | |
| 1963 | 77 Sunset Strip | Manager (Woman) | Episode: "Walk Among Tigers" |
| 1966 | Gilligan's Island | St. Louis's Bijou Theater Operator | Episode: "You've Been Disconnected" |
| 1978 | Police Woman | Mrs. Green | Episode: "Battered Teachers" |
| Days of Our Lives | Bobbie Jeannie Anderman | 4 episodes | |
| 1988–1989 | War of the Worlds | Sylvia Van Buren | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | The New Adam-12 | Valerie Rose | Episode: "Teach the Children" |
References[]
- ↑ Freese, Gene (2014). "Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary". Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc.. Retrieved on September 1, 2018.
- ↑ Flynn, John (2005). "War of the Worlds: From Wells to Spielberg". Galactic Books.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "About Ann Robinson". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved on June 23, 2011.
- ↑ King, Susan (June 27, 2005). "A 'War' veteran's reenlistment". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved on June 20, 2018.
- ↑ "Cheyenne - "Mountain Fortress" - Season One - 9/20/55". Getty Images. Retrieved on July 28, 2019.
External links[]
- Ann Robinson at Wikipedia
- Ann Robinson at the Internet Movie Database
- Ann Robinson interview at The Spectrum