Cliff Robertson (1923-2011)

The silence that has come out of Hollywood in the wake of veteran Cliff Robertson’s recent demise has been deafening.  Normally when an Oscar winner passes on to the great screening room in the sky the media is at least briefly full of stories beginning with the line “tributes have been flowing…”, obituaries in which peers or fans extol the virtue of the fallen star.  Robertson’s death last week barely even rated a mention on IMBD.

Why?  It would be easy to indulge in conspiracy theories.  The controversy which blighted Robertson’s professional life in the 1970s is part of Hollywood folklore.  In 1977 Robertson discovered that his signature had been forged on a Columbia studios cheque written out for work that he had not actually done.  When he reported the incident to the FBI the  resulting investigation implicated Columbia executive David Begelmen.  Begelmen went to jail for fraud but Robertson was effectively blacklisted by the film industry for the next six years.  By that time his name was in total eclipse.  He was reduced to supporting parts for the rest of his life.

The  Begelmen affair aside, Robertson was never going to be one of the great stars.  He had a quiet if charismatic persona and limited range, sort of like a poor man’s Glenn Ford.  He’s destined to be remembered for two key roles.  The first is “PT109″, a  war movie which doubles as biopic of John F. Kennedy.  Released four months before the President’s assassination, the film was embraced beyond its modest virtues when overtaken by the events of Dallas, Texas.  A grieving nation was happy to buy into a story that oversold JFK’s WW II exploits and Robertson - whom Kennedy personally approved for the part - greatly benefited from the good will.

“Charly” is the other standout on the Robertson CV.  He won the 1968 Oscar as Best Actor for the part of an intellectually handicapped man whose lot in life briefly improves after experimental surgery.  I confess to not having seen a film whose current unavailability says something about its mixed reputation.  Playing the mentally challenged is the easiest way to win awards, though judging by reviews it’s more the mannered split screen technique of director Ralph Nelson and tonally questionable premise that limits “Charly” and Robertson is quite credible in the leading role.

A later generation is likely to know Robertson only for his last part: Peter Parker’s uncle in Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman” trilogy.