Robert Lowery (actor)
Robert Lowery (born Robert Lowery Hanks,[1][2] October 17, 1913 – December 26, 1971) was an American motion picture, television, and stage actor who appeared in more than 70 films. He is the second actor to play Batman, appearing as the character in the 1949 film serial Batman and Robin.
Robert Lowery | |
|---|---|
 Publicity photograph of Robert Lowery for Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940) | |
| Born | Robert Lowery Hanks October 17, 1913 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | December 26, 1971 (aged 58) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Bob Lowery Bob Lowry |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1936–1967 |
| Spouse(s) | Vivan Wilcox (1941–1944) (divorced) Rusty Farrell (1947–1948) (divorced) Jean Parker (m. 1951); 1 child |
Early life
Lowery was born in Kansas City, Missouri.[3]
Syndicated newspaper columnist Harrison Carroll reported that Lowery was "a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks" (Lincoln).[4]
He graduated from Paseo High School[5] in Kansas City, and soon was invited to sing with the Slats Randall Orchestra.[3]
Career
Lowery debuted in motion pictures in Come and Get It (1936).[6]
During his career, Lowery was primarily known for roles in action films such as The Mark of Zorro (1940), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and Dangerous Passage (1944). He became the second actor to play DC Comics' Batman (succeeding Lewis Wilson), starring in a 1949's Batman and Robin serial.[2]
Lowery also had roles in a number of Western films, including The Homesteaders (1953), The Parson and the Outlaw (1957), playing Gangster-mastermind Arnold Rothstein in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), Young Guns of Texas (1962), and Johnny Reno (1966). He was also a stage actor and appeared in Born Yesterday, The Caine Mutiny, and in several other productions.
On television, Lowery was best known for the role of Big Tim Champion on the series Circus Boy (1956–1957).[7] In 1956, he guest starred in "The Deadly Rock," an episode of The Adventures of Superman (which was the first time a Batman actor shared screen time with a Superman actor, although Lowery and Reeves had appeared together in their presuperhero days in the 1942 World War II anti-VD propaganda film, Sex Hygiene.) Lowery also had guest roles on Perry Mason, featured as murder victim Amos Bryant in "The Case of the Roving River" and as Andrew Collis in "The Case of the Provocative Protégé", Playhouse 90 ("The Helen Morgan Story"), Hazel, Cowboy G-Men, as Foxy Smith on Maverick in the 1959 episode "Full House" starring James Garner with Joel Grey as Billy the Kid, Tales of Wells Fargo, Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, and Pistols 'n' Petticoats.
He made his last on-screen appearance in the 1967 comedy/Western film The Ballad of Josie, opposite Doris Day and Peter Graves.
Personal life and death
He was married three times, to three actresses. Jean Parker and he had a son, Robert Lowery Hanks II, in 1952.[5]
His other wives were Vivan Wilcox and Barbara "Rusty" Farrell, whom he married on March 21, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[8]
Lowery died of heart failure at the age of 58 in his Los Angeles apartment on December 26, 1971.[9][10]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1936 | Come and Get It | Chicago Restaurant Patron | Uncredited |
| Great Guy | Mr. Parker | Uncredited | |
| 1937 | Wake Up and Live | Chauffeur | |
| The Lady Escapes | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| You Can't Have Everything | Co-Pilot | Uncredited | |
| Wife, Doctor and Nurse | Interne | Uncredited | |
| Charlie Chan on Broadway | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Hot Water | Uncredited | ||
| Life Begins in College | Sling | ||
| Second Honeymoon | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Big Town Girl | Elevator Boy | Uncredited | |
| 1938 | City Girl | Greenleaf | Uncredited |
| Happy Landing | Newspaper Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Walking Down Broadway | Delivery Man | Uncredited | |
| Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm | Attendant | Uncredited | |
| Island in the Sky | Elevator Starter | Uncredited | |
| Four Men and a Prayer | Sailor | Uncredited | |
| A Trip to Paris | Bank Teller | Uncredited | |
| Kentucky Moonshine | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Alexander's Ragtime Band | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Safety in Numbers | Harry | ||
| One Wild Night | Bank Messenger | Uncredited | |
| Josette | Boatman Rufe | Uncredited | |
| Always Goodbye | Don Gordon | Uncredited | |
| Passport Husband | Ted Markson | ||
| Gateway | Reporter | Uncredited | |
| Keep Smiling | Man at Auction | Uncredited | |
| Straight, Place and Show | Bob | Uncredited | |
| Submarine Patrol | Sparks, radioman | ||
| Kentucky | Sally's Partner at Ball | Uncredited | |
| 1939 | Tail Spin | Sam, Mechanic | Uncredited |
| Wife, Husband and Friend | Interne | Uncredited | |
| Everybody's Baby | B. Wilson | Uncredited | |
| Mr. Moto in Danger Island | Lt. George Bently | ||
| Young Mr. Lincoln | Juror Bill Killian | Uncredited | |
| Charlie Chan in Reno | Wally Burke | ||
| Second Fiddle | Orchestra Leader | Uncredited | |
| Here I Am a Stranger | Minor Role | Uncredited | |
| The Escape | Ambulance Driver | Uncredited | |
| Hollywood Cavalcade | Henry Potter | ||
| Drums Along the Mohawk | John Weaver | ||
| Day-Time Wife | Flirty Architect | Uncredited | |
| 1940 | City of Chance | Ted Blaine | |
| Free, Blonde and 21 | Dr. Stephen Craig | ||
| Star Dust | Bellboy | ||
| Shooting High | Bob Merritt | ||
| Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise | Dick Kenyon | ||
| Four Sons | Joseph | ||
| Maryland | Tom Bolton | Uncredited | |
| The Mark of Zorro | Rodrigo | ||
| Murder Over New York | David Elliot | ||
| 1941 | Ride on Vaquero | Carlos Martinez | |
| Private Nurse | Henry Holt | ||
| Great Guns | Uncredited | ||
| Cadet Girl | Walton, a Cadet | ||
| Remember the Day | Hotel P.A. Announcer | Uncredited | |
| 1942 | Who Is Hope Schuyler? | Robert Scott | |
| My Gal Sal | Sally's friend | Uncredited | |
| She's in the Army | Navy Lt. Jim Russell | ||
| Lure of the Islands | Wally | ||
| Criminal Investigator | Bob Martin | ||
| Rhythm Parade | Jimmy Trent | ||
| Dawn on the Great Divide | Terry Wallace | ||
| 1943 | So's Your Uncle | Roger Bright | |
| Revenge of the Zombies | Larry Adams | ||
| A Scream in the Dark | Mike Brooker | ||
| The North Star | Russian gunner | ||
| Campus Rhythm | Buzz O'Hara | ||
| Tarzan's Desert Mystery | Prince Selim | ||
| December 7th: The Movie | Pvt. Joseph L. Lockhart | Uncredited | |
| 1944 | The Navy Way | Johnny Zumano | |
| Hot Rhythm | Jimmy O'Brien | ||
| The Mummy's Ghost | Tom Hervey | ||
| Dark Mountain | Don Bradley | ||
| Mystery of the River Boat | Steve Langtry | ||
| Dangerous Passage | Joe Beck | ||
| 1945 | High Powered | Tim Scott | |
| Fashion Model | Jimmy O'Brien | ||
| The Monster and the Ape | Ken Morgan | ||
| Road to Alcatraz | John Norton | ||
| Sensation Hunters | Danny Burke | ||
| Prison Ship | Tom Jeffries | ||
| 1946 | God's Country | Lee Preston / Leland Bruce | |
| House of Horrors | Steven Morrow | ||
| They Made Me a Killer | Tom Durling | ||
| Death Valley | Steve | ||
| Big Town | Pete Ryan | ||
| Gas House Kids | Eddie O'Brien | ||
| Lady Chaser | Peter Kane | ||
| 1947 | Queen of the Amazons | Gary Lambert | |
| I Cover Big Town | Pete Ryan | ||
| Danger Street | Larry Burke | ||
| Jungle Flight | Kelly Jordon | ||
| Killer at Large | Paul Kimberly | ||
| 1948 | Mary Lou | Steve Roberts | |
| Heart of Virginia | Dan Lockwood | ||
| Shep Come Home | Mark Folger | ||
| Highway 13 | Hank Wilson | ||
| 1949 | Batman and Robin | Bruce Wayne / Batman | Serial |
| Arson, Inc. | Joe Martin | ||
| The Dalton Gang | Blackie Dalton / BlackieMallet | ||
| Call of the Forest | Sam Harrison | ||
| 1950 | Western Pacific Agent | Bill Stuart | |
| I Shot Billy the Kid | Sheriff Pat Garrett | ||
| Gunfire | Sheriff John Kelly | ||
| Train to Tombstone | Marshall Staley | ||
| Border Rangers | Mungo | ||
| 1951 | Crosswinds | Nick Brandon | |
| 1953 | Jalopy | Skid Wilson | with The Bowery Boys |
| The Homesteaders | Clyde Moss | ||
| Cow Country | Harry O'Dell | ||
| 1955 | Lay That Rifle Down | Nick Stokes/Poindexter March, III | |
| Two Gun Lady | "Big Mike" Doughterty | ||
| 1957 | The Parson and the Outlaw | Col. Jefferson Morgan | |
| 1960 | The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond | Arnold Rothstein | |
| 1962 | Deadly Duo | Jay Flagg | |
| When the Girls Take Over | Maximo Toro | ||
| Young Guns of Texas | Jesse Glendenning | ||
| 1963 | McLintock! | Gov. Cuthbert H. Humphrey | |
| 1964 | Stage to Thunder Rock | Deputy Sheriff Seth Barrington | |
| 1965 | Zebra in the Kitchen | Preston Heston | |
| 1966 | Johnny Reno | Jake Reed | |
| Waco | Mayor Ned Wood | ||
| The Undertaker and his Pals | |||
| 1967 | The Ballad of Josie | Whit Minick, Town Drunk | Last movie, (final film role) |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954 | The Joe Palooka Story | Don Jackson | 1 episode |
| The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse | George Loring | 1 episode | |
| 1955 | Letter to Loretta | Gordy | 1 episode |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | David Hanley | 1 episode |
| 1956–1957 | Circus Boy | Big Tim Champion | 49 episodes |
| 1958 | Casey Jones | Greg Pontus | 1 episode |
| Maverick | Episode: "Burial Ground of the Gods", Paul Asher | 1 episode | |
| Yancy Derringer | Blair Devon | 2 episodes | |
| 1959 | Cimarron City | Harris | 1 episode |
| Maverick | Episode: "Full House", Foxy Smith | 1 episode | |
| The Texan | Coy Bennet | 1 episode | |
| Bronco | Mike Kirk | 1 episode | |
| 1960 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective | Mark Sutro | 1 episode |
| Cheyenne (1955 TV series) | Episode: "Counterfeit Gun", Giff Murdock / Richard Scott | 1 episode | |
| Hotel de Paree | Trent | 1 episode | |
| Coronado 9 | Miller | 1 episode | |
| 1961 | Whispering Smith | Dave Markson | 1 episode |
| Rawhide | "The Captain's Wife": Captain Holloway | 1 episode | |
| 1962 | Frontier Circus | Marshal Taggert | 1 episode |
| Gunsmoke | Idaho Smith | 1 episode | |
| Hazel | Pablo Rivera | 1 episode | |
References
- Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 105.
- Cline, William C. (1977). In the Nick of Time: Motion Picture Sound Serials. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 9780786404711. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- Feramisco, Thomas M. (2007). The Mummy Unwrapped: Scenes Left on Universal's Cutting Room Floor. McFarland. pp. 142–144. ISBN 9781476607924. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- Carroll, Harrison (February 17, 1944). "Hollywood". The Press Democrat. California, Santa Rosa. p. 12. Retrieved May 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Son for Robert Hanks". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. Associated Press. September 27, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (1990). Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 423. ISBN 9780786491506. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
- "Marriages". Billboard. April 5, 1947. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- Forgotten Noir DVD VCI entertainment
- "Robert Lowery, Actor, Dies". The Kansas City Times. Missouri, Kansas City. Associated Press. December 27, 1971. p. 2. Retrieved May 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
