Dale Robertson

Acting

Dale Robertson

Born 1923-07-14 · Harrah, Oklahoma USA

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.

Acting credits

Elvis: That's the Way It Is poster
8.1

On July 31, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley staged a triumphant return to the concert stage from which he had been absent for almost a decade. His series of concerts broke all box office records and completely reenergized the career of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Elvis: That's the Way It Is

1970

The Cariboo Trail poster
6.4

A cattleman fights to establish a ranch in the middle of gold country.

The Cariboo Trail

1950

Son of Sinbad poster
5.1

Legendary pirate and adventurer Sinbad is in single-minded pursuit of two things: beautiful women and a substance called Greek Fire--an early version of gunpowder.

Son of Sinbad

1955

The Boy with Green Hair poster
6.2

Peter, an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.

The Boy with Green Hair

1948

The Boy with Green Hair poster
6.2

Peter, an orphaned boy, is adopted by Gramp Frye after his parents are killed in Europe while doing war relief work. The boy feels safe with his new caretaker, but when he is taunted for being an orphan, he gets demoralized. The next day Peter wakes up with green hair. Embarrassed and further ridiculed, Peter seeks solace in a nearby forest. To his surprise, he finds other orphans in the woods, who encourage him to spread news of the injustices of war.

The Boy with Green Hair

1948

O. Henry's Full House poster
6.9

Five O. Henry stories, each separate. The primary one from the critics' acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem". Soapy tells fellow bum Horace that he is going to get arrested so he can spend the winter in a nice jail cell. He fails. He can't even accost a woman; she turns out to be a streetwalker. The other stories are "The Clarion Call", "The Last Leaf", "The Ransom of Red Chief", and "The Gift of the Magi".

O. Henry's Full House

1952

Sitting Bull poster
5.3

Chief Sitting Bull of the Sioux tribe is forced by the Indian-hating General Custer to react with violence, resulting in the famous Last Stand at Little Bighorn. Parrish, a friend to the Sioux, tries to prevent the bloodshed, but is court- martialed for "collaborating" with the enemy. Sitting Bull, however, manages to intercede with President Grant on Parrish's behalf.

Sitting Bull

1954

The Walking Major poster
6.0

U.S. Army Captain Clark Allen gains attention by walking back and forth, the length of Japan, gambling with U.S. servicemen in order to raise funds to rebuild an orphanage. Suspicious of Allen's motives, a Japanese newsman, Hiroshi Kitabayashi, traces the American's background until he discovers the motive behind Allen's long walk.

The Walking Major

1970

Legends of the West poster
NR

Host Jack Palance explores how Hollywood has depicted Western legends like George Armstrong Custer, Billy the Kid, Crazy Horse and the O.K. Corral

Legends of the West

1992

Two Flags West poster
6.2

A group of confedarate prisoners is sent to a unionist fort in the west to help the local garrison to fight the indians.

Two Flags West

1950

The Secret of Convict Lake poster
6.6

After a group of convicts escapes from prison, they take refuge in the wilderness. While most of the crew are ruthless sociopaths, Jim Canfield is an innocent man who was jailed under false pretenses. When Canfield and his fellow fugitives reach an isolated farming settlement where the men are all away, it creates tension with the local women. Things get direr when rumors of hidden money arise, and Canfield discovers that the man who framed him is part of the community.

The Secret of Convict Lake

1951

Flamingo Road poster
7.0

A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.

Flamingo Road

1949

The Kansas City Massacre poster
5.8

Gangsters free one of their colleagues being escorted to prison and kill several FBI agents and local police officers in the attempt. FBI agent Melvin Purvis puts together a special squad to track down and capture the men responsible.

The Kansas City Massacre

1975

Law of the Lawless poster
6.5

A former gunfighter, now a circuit court judge, faces his father's killer in a small post-Civil War Kansas town.

Law of the Lawless

1964

No artwork available
7.0

After the death of a UN employee who falls from a tower in Nassau, his last words trigger a hunt for a hidden treasure. His daughter, a journalist, and a gang led by a sadistic dwarf compete for the loot.

East Connection

1970

Top of the World poster
6.5

A team of Air Force servicemen become stranded after setting up a weather station on an island of ice in Alaska.

Top of the World

1955

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang poster
3.9

A light-hearted view of the Dalton Gang's legendary raid on Coffeyville, Kansas and the years leading up to it as the brothers form themselves into a gang of horse thieves and train and bank robbers with their arch enemy, Detective Will Smith, constantly on their heels.

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

1979

Golden Girl poster
6.4

Against the background of the Civil War, sixteen-year-old song-and-dance artiste Lotta Crabtree works her way across America, becoming ever more popular.

Golden Girl

1951

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story poster
9.0

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses and background accounts by historians.

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

2000

Lure of the Wilderness poster
6.1

A young girl and her father, who is unjustly accused of murder, seek refuge in a Georgia swamp until they are befriended by a trapper who penetrates the swamp in search of his dog.

Lure of the Wilderness

1952

City of Bad Men poster
6.2

Outlaws plan a robbery to take place during a championship prizefight in Carson City, Nevada.

City of Bad Men

1953

Blood on the Arrow poster
4.4

In this western, the sole survivor of an Apache ambush rides out to save a young boy who has been captured. The hero was a captured outlaw en route to his trial.

Blood on the Arrow

1964

Fighting Man of the Plains poster
5.5

Former bandit Jim Dancer becomes marshal of a Kansas town and cleans up the criminal element - with the help of his old pal, Jesse James.

Fighting Man of the Plains

1949

The Man from Button Willow poster
5.3

In 1869, Justin Eagle lives on his ranch called "The Eagle's Nest" near the town of Button Willow, California. In addition to being a rancher, Juston is a trouble-shooter for the U. S. Government which calls for him to act as an undercover operative and thwart the forces of evil in the rapidly-growing West. He is sent to San Franciso to find missing U. S. Senaator Freeman, who has disappeared while fighting the efforts of Montgomery Blaine, a villain who has been, with the aid of his henchman, "The Whip," forcing settlers to sell their land to him, not knowing that the land is in the path of a proposed railroad, from Utah, that will link the western United States to the East. Senator Freeman is the leader of an effort to veer the railroad southward to bypass Blaine's land and, for his efforts, is kidnapped by Bliane's henchmen and shanghaied from the San Francisco waterfront. Justin Eagle's job is to find and return him safely.

The Man from Button Willow

1965