Cliff Robertson RIP

Oscar-winning actor dead at 88With sad news comes great responsibility: Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson died on Saturday, one day after turning 88, in Long Island New York. While he might be best known to today's audiences as Uncle Ben Parker in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, he enjoyed a long, successful career capped by several notable roles and an Academy Award for 1968's Charly. Born in California in 1923, Robertson flirted with acting early on, joining the La Jolla High School Dramatic Club, while also harbouring dreams of becoming a pilot (he'd go on to indulge that ambition, earning his private flying licence and owning several classic aircraft). While he appeared on stage in San Diego in 1940, World War Two interrupted his thespian ambitions and he served his country in the Merchant Navy. After the war, he worked several odd jobs before returning to acting, appearing in touring and stock productions. More solid stage work soon came his way and he ended up on New York's Broadway, appearing in The Wisteria Trees among many other plays. Spotted while performing, he scored his first credited film role in 1956's Picnic alongside Kim Nova, though he'd already begun to forge a successful career in TV, with work on shows such as The Twilight Zone and Playhouse 90. During the 1950s, he became a contract player for Columbia Studios, largely preferring character work because of its variety. Among his films were The Naked and the Dead, Gidget, 633 Squadron, Three Days of the Condor and Midway. He became famous for playing a young John F Kennedy in 1963's PT 109, winning praise from the President himself, who had suggested Robertson's name to the filmmakers when Warren Beatty turned the role down. But he scored the most acclaim for Charly, adapted from Daniel Keyes' sci-fi novel Flowers for Algernon. Robertson took the title role of the mentally handicapped janitor who is treated with a revolutionary new drug that boosts his brain power - if only for a tragically short time. When asked about winning his Oscar, his reply was typically pragmatic and funny: "The year you win an Oscar is the fastest year in a Hollywood actor's life. Twelve months later they ask, 'Who won the Oscar last year?'"In addition to acting, Robertson also bought the rights to rodeo radio drama JW Coop, and wrote, directed and produced the film version in 1971. His career was also touched by scandal - albeit one that saw him emerge a hero for going up against Columbia studio boss David Begelman, who had been misappropriating company funds and had forged a hefty cheque in Robertson's name. Though some tried to blacklist him for helping to expose the fraud, Robertson's career continued on a strong footing. Playing Uncle Ben to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man was his final role, appearing in all three movies, ending with a flashback in Spider-Man 3. He's survived by one daughter.

Watch Movie For Free