Robert McNamara

Acting

Robert McNamara

Born — Died

1916-06-09 — 2009-07-06

Place of birth

San Francisco, California, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

20 titles

Robert Strange McNamara (June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Known for

American Experience poster
6.5

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

American Experience

1988

World in Action poster
7.0

World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.

World in Action

1963

The Vietnam War poster
8.2

An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

The Vietnam War

2017

The Fog of War poster
7.7

Former corporate whiz kid Robert McNamara was the controversial Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, during the height of the Vietnam War. Augmented by archival footage and cabinet conversation recordings, Errol Morris gives the conflicted McNamara a platform on which he attempts to confront his and the U.S. government's actions in Southeast Asia in light of the horrors of modern warfare, the end of ideology and the punitive judgment of history.

The Fog of War

2003

Turning Point: The Vietnam War poster
7.2

This thought-provoking documentary series examines the harrowing consequences of the Vietnam War, from the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the fall of Saigon.

Turning Point: The Vietnam War

2025

Vietnam: A Television History poster
9.5

A six-year project from conception to completion, "Vietnam: A Television History" carefully analyzes the costs and consequences of a controversial but intriguing war. From the first hour through the last, the series provides a detailed visual and oral account of the war that changed a generation and continues to color American thinking on many military and foreign policy issues.

Vietnam: A Television History

1983

Film credits

2010s · 2 titles

2000s · 6 titles

The Fog of War poster
7.7

Former corporate whiz kid Robert McNamara was the controversial Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, during the height of the Vietnam War. Augmented by archival footage and cabinet conversation recordings, Errol Morris gives the conflicted McNamara a platform on which he attempts to confront his and the U.S. government's actions in Southeast Asia in light of the horrors of modern warfare, the end of ideology and the punitive judgment of history.

The Fog of War

2003

The Most Dangerous Man in America poster
7.4

"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "imperial" presidency – answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people – in order to help end the Vietnam War.

The Most Dangerous Man in America

2009

No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat poster
5.8

A documentary exploring the historical concept of the narrative of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb." This short documentary compares the film with the actual events concerning the Cold War and the Cuban Missle Crisis.

No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat

2004

Cold War Submarine Adventures: Cuban Missile Crisis - Secret Subs poster
8.0

Explore the events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and hear from some of the actual participants in this riveting program. After an American naval blockade intercepted Soviet submarines on a secret mission to set up a military base in Cuba, the two nations engaged in a tense standoff that led the world to the brink of nuclear war. Submariners from both sides talk about the conflict, and viewers get a look inside their subs and the U.S. war room.

Cold War Submarine Adventures: Cuban Missile Crisis - Secret Subs

2002

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy poster
NR

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy, An Oral History explores the origins of United States strategic nuclear policy and how it evolved. The documentary looks at this topic through the oral history of key participants including Robert McNamara, Edward Teller, James Schlesinger, Andrew Goodpaster, Harold Brown, Richard Garwin and William Kaufmann.

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy

2005

USS Liberty: Dead in the Water poster
8.0

During the Six-Day War, Israel attacked and nearly sank the USS Liberty belonging to its closest ally, the USA. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed in the two-hour assault by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats. Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation. For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack. The film combines dramatic reconstruction of the events, with new access to former officers in the US and Israeli armed forces and intelligence services who have decided to give their own version of events. Written by Ørnås

USS Liberty: Dead in the Water

2002

1960s · 2 titles

Series credits

American Experience poster
6.5

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

American Experience

1988

World in Action poster
7.0

World in Action was Granada Television’s flagship ITV current affairs series, running from 7 Jan 1963 to 7 Dec 1998, and built a reputation for film-led investigative reporting and a forceful editorial stance. Its journalism produced major public and political repercussions—including investigations associated with miscarriages of justice such as the Birmingham Six—and it also served as a platform for landmark documentary projects, including the first broadcast of “Seven Up!” as part of the strand in 1964.

World in Action

1963

The Vietnam War poster
8.2

An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

The Vietnam War

2017

Turning Point: The Vietnam War poster
7.2

This thought-provoking documentary series examines the harrowing consequences of the Vietnam War, from the Gulf of Tonkin incident to the fall of Saigon.

Turning Point: The Vietnam War

2025

Vietnam: A Television History poster
9.5

A six-year project from conception to completion, "Vietnam: A Television History" carefully analyzes the costs and consequences of a controversial but intriguing war. From the first hour through the last, the series provides a detailed visual and oral account of the war that changed a generation and continues to color American thinking on many military and foreign policy issues.

Vietnam: A Television History

1983

Vietnam: A Television History poster
9.5

A six-year project from conception to completion, "Vietnam: A Television History" carefully analyzes the costs and consequences of a controversial but intriguing war. From the first hour through the last, the series provides a detailed visual and oral account of the war that changed a generation and continues to color American thinking on many military and foreign policy issues.

Vietnam: A Television History

1983

Bobby Kennedy for President poster
7.8

Historic footage and leading voices of the era examine the "Bobby Phenomenon" of the 1960s and the legacy of the man who helped redefine the country.

Bobby Kennedy for President

2018