Robert Walker (actor, born 1940)

Robert Hudson Walker Jr. (April 15, 1940 – December 5, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in films including Easy Rider (1969) and was a familiar presence on television in the 1960s and early 1970s. He became less active in later decades.

Robert Walker Jr.
Walker in 1963
Born
Robert Hudson Walker Jr.

(1940-04-15)April 15, 1940
DiedDecember 5, 2019(2019-12-05) (aged 79)
Years active1962–2019
Spouses
Ellie Wood Walker
(m. 1962; div. 1976)
    Judy Motulsky
    (m. 1978; div. 1980)
      Dawn Walker
      (m. 1981)
      Children7
      Parent(s)Robert Walker
      Jennifer Jones

      Early life

      Walker was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York; his parents were actors Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones.[1][2] He attended The Lawrenceville School and trained as an actor at the Actors Studio.[1][3]

      He studied Tai Chi Chuan under Marshall Ho'o, a skill that he later exhibited in his role in Easy Rider.[4]

      Career

      Walker began his acting career in 1962 with TV roles on Route 66 ("Across Walnuts and Wine") and Naked City ("Dust Devil on a Quiet Street", playing the title role of an emotionally disturbed actor who lived and performed on the streets and in circuses). His film debut was in The Hook in 1963;[1] other film appearances, in addition to Easy Rider, included the title role in Ensign Pulver (1964) with Burl Ives and Walter Matthau; The War Wagon (1967) with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas; the title role in Young Billy Young (1969), alongside Robert Mitchum; and Beware! The Blob, or—Son of Blob (1972). He starred in Angkor: Cambodia Express (1982) with Nancy Kwan, Christopher George, Woody Strode, and Sorapong Chatree.

      On television in the 1960s, in The Big Valley episode "My Son, My Son" (1965), Walker portrayed Evan Miles, an emotionally disturbed college dropout who becomes obsessed with childhood friend Audra Barkley. In 1966, at the age of 26, he was cast in the Star Trek episode "Charlie X" (1966) as Charles 'Charlie' Evans, a 17-year-old social misfit with psychic powers. Also in 1966, he appeared in the fifth season of the series Combat! in the episode "Ollie Joe" . He had the title role in an episode of The Time Tunnel titled "Billy the Kid" (1967). He also portrayed Nick Baxter, an ill alien who caused the deaths of humans by touch, in an episode of The Invaders ("Panic", 1967). He played Mark Cole in an episode of Bonanza ("The Gentle Ones", 1967).

      In the 1970s, Walker had a role in an episode of Columbo ("Mind Over Mayhem", 1974), and as an innocent longshoreman who takes the blame for a murder on Quincy, M.E. ("The Hero Syndrome", 1977). He also appeared in the pilot episode of The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978).

      Walker maintained a presence on episodic television in the 1980s and 1990s. He guest-starred in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote with Angela Lansbury, the first time in "The Corpse Flew First Class" (1987), and as a mentally handicapped man in "Shear Madness" (1990). He appeared in L.A. Law and In the Heat of the Night, both in 1991. He also made a television series appearance in 1993 and had a small role in the film Beyond the Darkness (2018) before officially retiring in 2018.

      Personal life and death

      Walker was married three times, to Ellie Wood, to Judy Motulsky, and finally to Dawn Walker. He had 7 children.[2][3][5]

      He died at the age of 79 at his home in Malibu, California, on December 5, 2019.[1][2][5][6]

      Filmography

      Year Title Role Notes
      1962Naked CityNeil McCawEpisode: "Dust Devil on a Quiet Street"
      1962Route 66Michael ElyEpisode: "Across Walnuts and Wine"
      1962-1964Ben CaseyLarry Franklin/David Duncan2 episodes
      1963The HookPvt. O.A. Dennison
      1963The CeremonyDominic
      1964Ensign PulverEnsign Frank Pulverfeature film
      1964Dr. KildareNeal TomlinsonEpisode: "Quid Pro Quo"
      1965The Touching and the Not Touching
      1965The DefendersErik Davis2 episodes
      1965The Big ValleyEvan MilesEpisode: “My Son, My Son"
      1966COMBAT!Ollie Joe BrownEpisode: "Ollie Joe"
      196612 O'Clock HighMaster Sgt. Heinz Reiniger2 episodes
      1966The Trials of O'BrienArthur BarryEpisode: "The Only Game in Town"
      1966Star TrekCharlie EvansEpisode: "Charlie X"
      1966-1968The F.B.I.Paul Donald Thorpe/Willard Smith2 episodes
      1967The MonroesQuint GreggerEpisode: "Killer Cougar"
      1967The Time TunnelBilly the Kid (William H. Bonney)Episode: "Billy the Kid"
      1967The HappeningHerby
      1967The War WagonBilly Hyatt
      1967BonanzaMark ColeEpisode: "The Gentle Ones"
      1967The InvadersNick BaxterEpisode: "Panic"
      1968The Savage SevenJohnnie
      1968EveMike Yates
      1968Killers ThreeJohnny Warder
      1969Agilok & BlubboAgilok
      1969Easy RiderJack
      1969Young Billy YoungBilly Young
      1970The Man from O.R.G.Y.Steve Victor
      1970Road to SalinaJonas
      1972Beware! The BlobBobby Hartford
      1973Marcus Welby, M.D.Denny ReedEpisode: "A More Exciting Case"
      1973Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a WomanLe guitariste
      1973HexChupo[7]
      1974The Spectre of Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe
      1974Gone with the WestSheriff of Black Miller
      1974CannonDel FoxworthEpisode: "The Avenger"
      1974ColumboNeil CahillEpisode: "Mind Over Mayhem"
      1975The Streets of San FranciscoGene WatsonEpisode: "Asylum"
      1976Police WomanNat StarkEpisode: "Tender Soldier"
      1976The Passover PlotBar Talmi
      1977Quincy, M.E.Peter ThorwaldEpisode: "The Hero Syndrome"
      1977Evil TownMike Segal
      1978The Six Million Dollar ManCloche / Bell2 episodes
      1978The Next Step BeyondWalter HastingsEpisode: "Other Voices"
      1979Charlie's AngelsBurt MarshallEpisode: "Angels at the Altar"
      1980Beulah LandBruce Davis3-part miniseries
      1982CHiPsTom CoreyEpisode: "Ice Cream Man"
      1982Angkor: Cambodia ExpressAndrew Cameron
      1983OliviaMichael 'Mike' Grant
      1983Making of a Male ModelJosephTV movie
      1983The Devonsville TerrorMatthew Pendleton
      1983Matt HoustonAdrian HarcombEpisode: "The Outsider"
      1983Hambone and HillieThe Wanderer
      1985Simon & SimonMr. Matt GlassEpisode: "Slither"
      1985RiptideOscar DavenportEpisode: "The Bargain Department"
      1985-1986DallasHarding Devers3 episodes
      1986The Fall GuyEye-patch Poker Player2 episodes
      1986Days of Our LivesDr. Collins2 episodes
      1989DragnetBruce FellowsEpisode: "Where's Sadie?"
      1990Murder, She WroteGeorge Owens2 episodes
      1991In the Heat of the NightRay GarrettEpisode: "An Execution of Trust"
      1991LA LawWilliam LowellEpisode: "Good to the Last Drop"
      1992Santa BarbaraDr. Pressman
      1993FBI: The Untold StoriesBerryEpisode: "Kill for Love"
      2017Lock It Up DogVladimir
      2018Beyond the DarknessAgent Mills(final film role)

      References

      1. Mike Barnes (December 6, 2019). "Robert Walker Jr., 'Star Trek' Actor and Son of Hollywood Superstars, Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
      2. Dena Miller (January 15, 2020). "Actor Robert Walker Jr. Dies". Taos News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
      3. Harris M. Lentz III (2020). "Walker, Robert, Jr.". Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2019. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 437–38. ISBN 9781476679785. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
      4. "Tai Chi In The Movie Easy Rider". Slanted Flying. May 9, 2014. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
      5. "Obituary: Robert Walker". Malibu Times. December 21, 2019. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
      6. Will Thorne (December 7, 2019). "'Star Trek' Actor Robert Walker Jr. Dies at 79". Variety. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
      7. "Robert Walker Jr". TCM.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
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