Robert Fuller (actor)

Robert Fuller was born Leonard Leroy Lee on July 29, 1933, in Troy, New York, the only child of Elizabeth Lee, a dance instructor. Later in his childhood, Betty married Robert Simpson Sr., a Naval Academy officer. In 1939, the family moved to Key West, Florida, where, already known by the nickname of "Buddy", he took the name Robert Simpson Jr. His parents owned a dancing school in Florida. His family also lived in Chicago for a year before moving back to Florida. Simpson, Jr., as he was then still formally known, attended the Miami Military School for fifth and sixth grades, and Key West High School for ninth grade. He dropped out at age 14 because he disliked school and was doing poorly there. In 1950, at the age of 16, he and his parents moved to Hollywood, California, where his first job was as a stunt man. He also worked at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, beginning as a doorman, becoming assistant manager by age 18. At the urging of friends, Simpson, Jr., joined the Screen Actors Guild, changed his name to Robert Fuller, and embarked on a career in acting. ==Career==

Early career He started his career in his teen years, as a dancer, stuntman, and extra. Fuller's first small role was as an extra in the 1952 film Above and Beyond. This was the first of many projects, including as a cheerleader and football player in I Love Melvin. In 1953, he again had uncredited parts in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (which starred Marilyn Monroe) and the Doris Day classic, Calamity Jane. His career went on hold for military service in Korea in the United States Army. He returned to the United States in 1955. Although he had considered giving up acting, Fuller, at the suggestion of his best friend, Chuck Courtney, attended Richard Boone's acting classes. Boone suggested that Fuller study under the tutelage of Sanford Meisner at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse. Fuller's first recorded speaking role was in Friendly Persuasion in 1956, where he worked with future Laramie co-star John Smith and another close friend, Doug McClure, as well as Gary Cooper. His speaking part was cut, though he can be seen in two separate roles in the film. Fuller then landed the role of Jess Harper on Laramie, which ran from 1959 to 1963. Fuller was cast opposite one of his best friends, John Smith. Smith had already been cast as Jess Harper; Fuller was asked to screen test for the character of Slim Sherman. Fuller insisted he would be better as Harper, and after the screen test, he became Jess and Smith got the part of Slim. Laramie eventually aired in more than 70 countries. When it ended its run in 1963, Fuller jumped to another Western, Wagon Train alongside John McIntire (a veteran film actor, a two-time guest-star on Laramie), Frank McGrath, and Terry Wilson. According to an August 17, 2009, interview for On Screen and Beyond, Fuller noted that he was not brought in to replace Robert Horton (a lifelong friend Fuller had met in 1954) as the wagon train scout. He resembled Horton and the two shared the same birthday, but Horton was nine years Fuller's senior. Horton had already departed from the cast a year prior to Fuller's stepping in to complete the series' final two seasons. Though the genre was fading in the late 1960s, Fuller appeared in a handful more westerns in 1966. He starred in Incident at Phantom Hill. He portrayed the ill-fated military Captain William Judd Fetterman in "Massacre at Fort Phil Kearney" on NBC's Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre. He was Vin in Return of the Seven (1966), a sequel to The Magnificent Seven. He portrayed Captain Jeffrey Stone in the "Court Martial" episode of The Monroes (1966). He also appeared in the 1969 thriller What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, and worked with Joel McCrea in the 1976 Western Mustang Country, McCrea's last role. Fuller also appeared in the Hec Ramsey episode, The Mystery of Chalk Hill (1974), as well as the 1979 TV action movie Disaster on the Coastliner. Emergency! '' (1973), L-R: Kevin Tighe, Robert Fuller, Julie London, Bobby Troup, and Randolph Mantooth After producer Jack Webb saw Fuller in the 1971 movie The Hard Ride, he insisted Fuller star in his new NBC medical drama, Emergency!. He had already cast singer and actress, Julie London, a best friend of Fuller's, in the role of Dixie McCall, Chief Nurse of The Emergency Room. Fuller was reluctant to play a doctor, especially in a series with a contemporary urban setting. The persistent Webb convinced him to accept the role of Dr. Kelly Brackett, Chief of Emergency Medicine, at the fictitious Rampart General Hospital. In the aforementioned 2009 interview with On Screen and Beyond, Fuller said that he had twice, politely, rejected the role of Brackett. Webb then reminded Fuller, much less politely, that Western shows had been repeatedly cancelled over the previous five years and that the genre was on the decline. As the 1990s approached, he guest starred in more than 20 television shows, including The Love Boat, The Fall Guy (two episodes), Murder, She Wrote, Matt Houston, Tour of Duty, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., JAG, and Diagnosis: Murder (two episodes). He had a recurring role as Laramie's Jess Harper's great-great-grandson and retired El Paso Texas Ranger Wade Harper on Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris and Clarence Gilyard. He also portrayed Ranger Cabe Wallace in the episode "Last of a Breed." His final film appearances included portraying Dr. Hackett, based on his Emergency! character, in the parody film Repossessed (1990) and a cameo as a poker player along with many other old western stars in Maverick (1994). ==Personal life==

Fuller dabbled in singing. He did several "bandstand" gigs with Bill Aken's Los Nomadas rock group at holiday festivities in Whiskey Flats, California. While acting as grand marshal for the local Memorial Day parade, he performed the 1950s song "Caribbean", singing the same verse over and over. He later told the band that he only knew the first verse of the song. In 1967, he recorded an LP in Munich, Germany. Most of the songs were recorded in German, including "Ein einsamer Cowboy" ("Lonesome Cowboy"), "Adios Mexicana" ("Goodbye Mexican Girl"), "Überall auf der Welt" ("All Over the World"), and "Sind wie Blumen" ("Girls Are Like Flowers"). Fuller and Patricia Lee Lyon married on December 20, 1962, and had three children. The two divorced in 1984; Lyon died of cancer in 1994. By the 1990s, Fuller had largely retired from the film business. His last acting credit was in 2001. He married actress Jennifer Savidge, known for her role on NBC's St. Elsewhere series, on May 19, 2001. Fuller reunited with the rest of the surviving Emergency! cast at the Emergency! Convention '98, at the Burbank Airport Hilton, October 9–11, 1998. All of the main actors attended except for Julie London, who had suffered a stroke in 1995, and was later diagnosed with lung cancer. London's husband Bobby Troup died four months after the reunion. Fuller and the rest of the cast and crew answered fans' questions and reminisced about their time together, during which the castmates said they got along well. On March 10, 2010, Fuller presented James Drury with the "Cowboy Spirit Award" at the Festival of the West. He also paid tribute to late co-star John Smith. During the tribute, he recounted many details about Smith's life, especially their on- and off-screen chemistry during their days on Laramie. Smith had also attended the Festival of the West for two seasons before his declining health rendered his appearance impossible. In 2004, Fuller and wife Jennifer Savidge moved from Los Angeles to a ranch in north Texas. His neighbor and long-term friend Alex Cord had urged Fuller to move to Cooke County. The two met in 1961 on the set of Laramie when Cord made his television acting debut. Fuller's stepfather, Robert Simpson Sr., died in 2009. On October 9, 2010, Fuller, Drury, and Don Reynolds participated in the Wild West Toy Show, sponsored by Bob Terry in Azle, Texas near Fort Worth. The event promotes horse riding and the purchase and exchange of Western merchandise. In September 2012, Fuller, along with several other Western celebrities, attended the first-ever Spirit of the Cowboy Western Festival held at Chestnut Square in McKinney, Texas. The event is billed as the biggest and best Western festival in north Texas. On July 29, 2013, Fuller celebrated his 80th birthday with his fans and his wife while vacationing on a ranch in Libby, Montana. On November 9, 2014, Fuller and fellow actor/fishing buddy, James Best, whom he met on the sixth episode of Laramie, attended the 100th birthday celebration of their lifelong friend and fellow actor Norman Lloyd, in Los Angeles, California. Best died a few months later. ==Awards==

In 1961, Fuller won the Best Actor Award in Japan and the Japanese Golden Order of Merit, presented by the Empress of Japan. Fuller was the first American ever to earn this award. On April 16, 1974, Fuller won the Outstanding Service Award from the Huntsville (Alabama) Fire Department. In 1989, he won the Golden Boot Award. On March 18, 2006, a bronze sculpture of Jess Harper on Traveller was awarded to him by the Robert Fuller Fandom and the National Festival of the West. On April 12, 2008, Fuller was inducted into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. On October 12, 2013, Fuller was the first recipient of the Spirit of the Cowboy Lonestar Legacy Award. ==Filmography==

• 1971 : The Virginian (TV) season 9 episode 19 (Flight from Memory) : Carl Ellis • 1989 : Paradise (TV) season 2 episode 3 (Home Again) : Sam Clanton • 2001 : JAG (TV) season 6 episode 16 (Retreat, Hell) : Marine Corps General ==References==