Robert Stack's other roles - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

wiseguy182 · 04-02-2011, 04:03 AM

alot of us are probably farmiliar with some of Robert Stack's other roles, such as Elliot Ness, BASEketball, Airplane! and Beavis and Butthead. are there any other roles you have seen him in?

I've been watching Murder, She Wrote lately, and it was nice to see him in an episode. his first scene was to come barging into a room and shout "You bastard!" to Bert Convy, who was also hosting Super Password at the time. Speaking about Stack and Password, he was on the show way back when in the black and white days. I've seen a clip of it, and I'm trying to trade for those episode(s).

somewhat O/T, but does anyone else think Jessica Fletcher is a cold-blooded serial killer? I mean, murders are always occuring around this woman, even in the seemingly crime-free Cabot Cove, Maine. Personally, I think she concocts elaborate stories to pin the crimes on other people. She also has a bad history of rummaging through other people's belongings, committing breaking and entering, engaging in petty theft and meddling in other people's affairs. She is also extremely rude and arrogant. If she was coming to my town, I would get the heck out of dodge.

RobinW · 04-02-2011, 11:39 AM

I've actually seen quite a few of Stack's older films. In one of my university film classes, I got to see Douglas Sirk's melodrama, "Written on the Wind", the only time where RS earned himself an Academy Award nomination and it's quite amusing to see him as an alcoholic playboy. I've also seen one of his very first roles in the 1940 film, "The Mortal Storm", playing a young Nazi! The film wound up being banned in Germany by Hitler because it was one of the first Hollywood films to take an anti-Nazi stance.

Other roles I've seen him in include the captain of a plane that's in danger of crashing in the John Wayne film, "The High and the Mighty" (quite ironic, considering he would later appear in "Airplane!"), a general in the Steven Spielberg bomb, "1941", and the father of a P.O.W. in the action film, "Uncommon Valor". Oh yeah, and let's not forget him doing the voice of Ultra Magnus to the animated "Transformers" movie!

The man had quite a range as none of these roles give any indication to the type of persona he would display on UM.

Eire · 04-02-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

somewhat O/T, but does anyone else think Jessica Fletcher is a cold-blooded serial killer? I mean, murders are always occuring around this woman, even in the seemingly crime-free Cabot Cove, Maine. Personally, I think she concocts elaborate stories to pin the crimes on other people. She also has a bad history of rummaging through other people's belongings, committing breaking and entering, engaging in petty theft and meddling in other people's affairs. She is also extremely rude and arrogant. If she was coming to my town, I would get the heck out of dodge.

yes! Everyone she knows ends up dead. If she were my friend, I'd be living under an assumed name in some far-flung country nobody has ever heard of.

catlover79 · 04-02-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

somewhat O/T, but does anyone else think Jessica Fletcher is a cold-blooded serial killer? I mean, murders are always occuring around this woman, even in the seemingly crime-free Cabot Cove, Maine. Personally, I think she concocts elaborate stories to pin the crimes on other people. She also has a bad history of rummaging through other people's belongings, committing breaking and entering, engaging in petty theft and meddling in other people's affairs. She is also extremely rude and arrogant. If she was coming to my town, I would get the heck out of dodge.

She IS the Grim Reaper. Don't you think people would've figured out that someone dies whenever she's around? I'd get the heck out of dodge, too!!!

catlover79 · 04-02-2011, 02:35 PM

Years back, Mr. Stack did a skit spoofing UM on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was wearing the trench coat and everything. I forget what happened in the bit, but I still remember his exit line: "Join us next time when we go in search of a town without a Starbucks or Gap store."

Tillshalligan · 09-01-2011, 02:03 PM

Did you know that when the hiding place of Anne Frank and her family was later dealt with after the war, they found an 8x12 black and white glossy publicity photo of Robert Stack hanging on Anne's bulletin board?

xxxxmattxxxx69 · 09-01-2011, 02:14 PM

He was on password. Him and Arthur Ashe skeet shot at during a telecast of the 1984 olympics. I guess he's an expert skeet shooter. There's actually a comical clip on that site

Jason K · 09-01-2011, 03:20 PM

If you like Hollywood noirs, Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo is really good.

If you like Hollywood melodramas, Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind is really good.

UMfan77 · 09-02-2011, 06:42 AM

Back in the 1940's or 1950's, he was in a really good movie about a ship that was sinking and he was trying to save his wife and little girl. I can't remember the name of it though. Maybe someone else here has seen the movie and can remember the name. It was a great movie.

RobinW · 09-02-2011, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMfan77

Back in the 1940's or 1950's, he was in a really good movie about a ship that was sinking and he was trying to save his wife and little girl. I can't remember the name of it though. Maybe someone else here has seen the movie and can remember the name. It was a great movie.

"The Last Voyage":
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054016/

I also find it interesting that RS appeared in a made-for-TV Perry Mason movie in 1987, right around the time Raymond Burr hosted the UM pilot. I wonder if Burr had a hand in recommending Stack for the hosting gig.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093725/

crystaldawn · 09-02-2011, 10:08 AM

Love him in the "Pepsi Club" commercial. You can find it online if you've never seen it.

I read this interesting blurb about that commercial in an article Super Bowl ads:

While Pepsi has successfully lobbied NBC to carry an ad featuring a participant in a rival network’s show, Pepsi in the past faced defeat on this front. In 1997, ABC refused to run a Pepsi ad featuring actor Robert Stack — then appearing in NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” — trying to defend cans of the company’s popular soda from theft with a “Pepsi Club.”

justins5256 · 09-02-2011, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobinW

I also find it interesting that RS appeared in a made-for-TV Perry Mason movie in 1987, right around the time Raymond Burr hosted the UM pilot. I wonder if Burr had a hand in recommending Stack for the hosting gig.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093725/

He very well may have. I remember reading an interview with Robert Stack on the Lifetime website several years ago. Stack mentioned that he was friends with Raymond Burr and Karl Malden and acknowledged that they had hosted the show before him - a fact I found interesting since Lifetime had apparently never shown the episodes.

Kane · 09-02-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crystaldawn

Love him in the "Pepsi Club" commercial. You can find it online if you've never seen it.

I read this interesting blurb about that commercial in an article Super Bowl ads:

While Pepsi has successfully lobbied NBC to carry an ad featuring a participant in a rival network’s show, Pepsi in the past faced defeat on this front. In 1997, ABC refused to run a Pepsi ad featuring actor Robert Stack — then appearing in NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” — trying to defend cans of the company’s popular soda from theft with a “Pepsi Club.”

I wonder if ABC had a "no competition" policy on the matter. Anyway, I remember that Pepsi commercial.

Robert Stack made a guest appearance on Diagnosis Murder. I saw the episode ("Open and Shut") when it originally aired on September 25, 1997, although I didn't become a regular DM viewer until a few months later. It was cool to see Robert Stack working with the show's star, Dick Van Dyke.

xxxxmattxxxx69 · 09-02-2011, 10:23 PM

The pepsi club ad was epic. I remember watching a golf segment with him right before he died and I'm not sure of the date

catlover79 · 09-03-2011, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyRalph

LMAO!

I wish I could find that clip - it was hilarious.

04-02-2011, 04:03 AM	#1
wiseguy182 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 11, 2006 Location: Wendy's salad bar Posts: 7,030	Robert Stack's other roles alot of us are probably farmiliar with some of Robert Stack's other roles, such as Elliot Ness, BASEketball, Airplane! and Beavis and Butthead. are there any other roles you have seen him in? I've been watching Murder, She Wrote lately, and it was nice to see him in an episode. his first scene was to come barging into a room and shout "You bastard!" to Bert Convy, who was also hosting Super Password at the time. Speaking about Stack and Password, he was on the show way back when in the black and white days. I've seen a clip of it, and I'm trying to trade for those episode(s). somewhat O/T, but does anyone else think Jessica Fletcher is a cold-blooded serial killer? I mean, murders are always occuring around this woman, even in the seemingly crime-free Cabot Cove, Maine. Personally, I think she concocts elaborate stories to pin the crimes on other people. She also has a bad history of rummaging through other people's belongings, committing breaking and entering, engaging in petty theft and meddling in other people's affairs. She is also extremely rude and arrogant. If she was coming to my town, I would get the heck out of dodge.

04-02-2011, 11:39 AM	#2
RobinW Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2010 Posts: 1,874	I've actually seen quite a few of Stack's older films. In one of my university film classes, I got to see Douglas Sirk's melodrama, "Written on the Wind", the only time where RS earned himself an Academy Award nomination and it's quite amusing to see him as an alcoholic playboy. I've also seen one of his very first roles in the 1940 film, "The Mortal Storm", playing a young Nazi! The film wound up being banned in Germany by Hitler because it was one of the first Hollywood films to take an anti-Nazi stance. Other roles I've seen him in include the captain of a plane that's in danger of crashing in the John Wayne film, "The High and the Mighty" (quite ironic, considering he would later appear in "Airplane!"), a general in the Steven Spielberg bomb, "1941", and the father of a P.O.W. in the action film, "Uncommon Valor". Oh yeah, and let's not forget him doing the voice of Ultra Magnus to the animated "Transformers" movie! The man had quite a range as none of these roles give any indication to the type of persona he would display on UM.

04-02-2011, 02:35 PM	#5
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Years back, Mr. Stack did a skit spoofing UM on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was wearing the trench coat and everything. I forget what happened in the bit, but I still remember his exit line: "Join us next time when we go in search of a town without a Starbucks or Gap store."

09-01-2011, 02:03 PM	#6
Tillshalligan Member Forum Hawk Join Date: Feb 19, 2010 Location: Richmond Posts: 3	Did you know that when the hiding place of Anne Frank and her family was later dealt with after the war, they found an 8x12 black and white glossy publicity photo of Robert Stack hanging on Anne's bulletin board?

09-01-2011, 02:14 PM	#7
xxxxmattxxxx69 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 12, 2010 Location: MA Posts: 398	He was on password. Him and Arthur Ashe skeet shot at during a telecast of the 1984 olympics. I guess he's an expert skeet shooter. There's actually a comical clip on that site

09-01-2011, 03:20 PM	#8
Jason K Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 05, 2010 Posts: 59	If you like Hollywood noirs, Sam Fuller's House of Bamboo is really good. If you like Hollywood melodramas, Douglas Sirk's Written on the Wind is really good.

09-02-2011, 06:42 AM	#9
UMfan77 Member Senior Member Join Date: Nov 28, 2003 Posts: 1,064	Back in the 1940's or 1950's, he was in a really good movie about a ship that was sinking and he was trying to save his wife and little girl. I can't remember the name of it though. Maybe someone else here has seen the movie and can remember the name. It was a great movie.

09-02-2011, 10:08 AM	#11
crystaldawn Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 17, 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,261	Love him in the "Pepsi Club" commercial. You can find it online if you've never seen it. I read this interesting blurb about that commercial in an article Super Bowl ads: While Pepsi has successfully lobbied NBC to carry an ad featuring a participant in a rival network’s show, Pepsi in the past faced defeat on this front. In 1997, ABC refused to run a Pepsi ad featuring actor Robert Stack — then appearing in NBC’s “Unsolved Mysteries” — trying to defend cans of the company’s popular soda from theft with a “Pepsi Club.”

09-02-2011, 10:23 PM	#14
xxxxmattxxxx69 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 12, 2010 Location: MA Posts: 398	The pepsi club ad was epic. I remember watching a golf segment with him right before he died and I'm not sure of the date