Jason Robards, Sr.

Infobox Person
name = Jason Robards Senior


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birth_date = December 31, 1892
birth_place =
death_date = April 4, 1963 (aged 70)
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occupation = Actor, Relative
spouse = Hope Maxine Glanville
parents =
children = Jason Robards, Jr.

Jason Robards, Sr. (December 31 1892 — April 4 1963) was a stage and screen actor, and the father of Oscar-winning actor Jason Robards, Jr..

Biography

Robards was born Jason Nelson Robards in Hillsdale, Michigan to Elizabeth Loomis and Frank P. Robards, Sr. [ [http://dgmweb.net/genealogy/FGS/R/RobardsJasonNelson-HopeMaxineGlanville-AgnesE_.shtml Jason Nelson ROBARDS, Sr., & Hope Maxine GLANVILLE & Agnes E. __? ] ] , a famed American stage actor. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. Robards appeared in many films, initially as a leading man, then in character roles and occasional bits. He was consistently billed as "Jason Robards," as his more famous son, also named Jason Robards, did not come into prominence until the end of the elder Robards' career. He is only referred to as Jason Robards Sr. in retrospect. He died in 1963, having lived to see his namesake son and grandson (Jason Robards III) carry on the family acting tradition.

Acting career

Robards, Sr. had a film career which lasted from 1921 through 1961, where he was billed as Jason Robards, Sr. after his son became famous. His Broadway credits include the musical "Turn To The Right" (1917). After 1951, Robards' career consisted entirely of television performances, but prior to that, the Internet Movie Database lists appearances in 208 movies over a 30-year span before he spent another decade acting in various television shows and series.

Robards' best known stage role was John Marvin in the long-running hit "Lightnin"'. Robards' connection to the part caused his son to equate him to the character of James Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night," which Jason, Jr. played on Broadway in 1956. In the play, Tyrone is an actor whose career is limited by his identification with a single part, The Count of Monte Cristo. Jason, Jr. would later say "One of the most damaging things for me, I realize now, was playing a drunk in the play "Long Day's Journey Into Night." In the play, the drunk's father is a failed artist and his mother was a drug addict. It was only after years of analysis I realized I was acting out events in my own life on stage." [Sheridan Morely, The Great Stage Stars. Facts On File (1986)]

Father and son acted on stage together only once, in Budd Schulberg's "The Disenchanted", a play inspired by the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Jason, Jr. won his only Tony Award for his performance.

Death

Jason Robards, Sr. died, aged 70, in Sherman Oaks, California, of a heart attack.

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0730165|name=Jason Robards Sr.
*ibdb name|id=87840|name=Jason Robards, Sr.
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/p/jason_robards_sr/ Jason Robards, Sr. - Rotten Tomatoes]
* [http://www.tv.com/jason-robards-sr./person/93921/summary.html TV.com - Jason Robards, Senior]