Robert LeRoy Diamond (August 23, 1943May 15, 2019) was an American actor active in the 1950s and 1960s before retiring from the profession and becoming a lawyer. He is best known as the child lead in the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

'' Fury''.

Early life and child roles

Diamond was born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles in 1943. His mother pushed him and his brother Gary into show business, and he appeared in small roles in a series of films in the early 1950s, beginning with a bit part in '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' in 1952. In 1955 he was cast as Joey Newton, an orphan who is taken in by rancher Jim Newton (played by

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Jim Phelps in the CBS television series '' Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 (original) and from 1988 to ...

), who introduces him to a horse named Fury, after whom the series was named. The show, broadcast on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, ran until 1960. After ''Fury'' ended, Diamond had roles in a variety of other TV productions, such as a guest appearance in 1965 as Evan Hendricks on ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'', and a recurring role in the final season of ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5 ...

'' as Dobie's cousin "Dunky". He was offered the role of the middle son in ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chronicl ...

'', but turned it down in favor of working on '' Westinghouse Playhouse'', a starring vehicle for

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of var ...

, which lasted only a single season against the other show's twelve. He was also considered for the role of Robin in the

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

TV series, but at 21 was thought to be too old, and lost the role to

Burt Ward Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis Jr. , July 6, 1945) is an American actor, animal welfare activist and businessman. He played Dick Grayson's Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the television series ''Batman'' (1966–1968), ...

. He had a single starring film role, as a boyish recruit in 1962's ''

Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

''. Though the movie was well-received, his film career as an adult failed to take off, and his only other notable film roles were small parts in '' Billie'' (a 1965

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

comedy) and ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...

'' (a 1981 slasher film).

Later life

Diamond attended

San Fernando Valley State College California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, where in addition to studying broadcast journalism, he competed in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

on the rings. Later, to avoid the Vietnam War draft, he studied law at

San Fernando Valley College of Law The University of West Los Angeles (UWLA) is a private, for-profit law school and business school in Los Angeles, California. It maintains two campuses, one in Inglewood (West Los Angeles) and one in Woodland Hills ( San Fernando Valley). H ...

, graduating in 1970 and starting a law practice in the area. Among his clients were

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

and

Paul Petersen William Paul Petersen (born September 23, 1945) is an American actor, singer, novelist, and activist. Petersen first rose to prominence in the 1950s playing Jeff Stone on ''The Donna Reed Show'', and transitioned to a singing career in the 19 ...

Personal life

In 1986, he married Tara Parker, whom he had met at a gym; they had two children, but were subsequently divorced. Diamond died of cancer at Los Robles Regional Medical Center,

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

, aged 75, in 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, Bobby 1943 births 2019 deaths Lawyers from Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles American male child actors California State University, Northridge alumni University of West Los Angeles alumni Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American lawyers