Robert Nichols (July 20, 1924 – March 21, 2013) was an American
character actor
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
, singer, and dancer. His television, theater and film career spanned more than seventy years.
Life and career
Robert Nichols was born in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, the son of Edna (née Beemer) and Ray D. Nichols, a real estate broker.
[ He began his career in entertainment as a student at Oakland High School.][ Nichols enlisted with the U.S. Army during ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, performing with the Special Services to entertain U.S. troops during the war.[ He performed on domestic U.S. military bases and managed a jazz band in Japan during the post-war period.][
Nichols was awarded a scholarship for the ]Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...
, a drama school in London, following World War II.[ He began performing on in theater while living in London. In 1949, Nichols made his film debut in '']I Was a Male War Bride
''I Was a Male War Bride'' is a 1949 comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Cary Grant and Ann Sheridan.
The film was based on "Male War Bride Trial to Army", a biography of Henri Rochard (pen name of Roger Charlier), a Belgian who ma ...
'', which was shot in West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.[ He was deported from the United Kingdom soon after because he did not have a British work permit.][
In 1950, soon after his deportation, Nichols met his future wife, Jennifer, at her 19th birthday beach party near ]Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...
.[ They became engaged after two dates and were married just two months later. Jennifer Nichols later worked as a film wardrobe supervisor.][
Nichols worked in American film and television throughout the 1950s. In the episode "Doc Holliday Rewrites History" of '']The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp
''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before ''Gunsmoke'' on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western ''Cheyenne''. The series is loosely base ...
'', Nichols played a traveling photographer and historian.
Nichols returned to the United Kingdom around 1960, where he appeared in British and European film, television and theater productions.[ Nichols moved back to Los Angeles, California, in 1965.][ He soon relocated to New York City, where he enjoyed a steady career on and off ]Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, notably the Broadway productions of ''The Man Who Came to Dinner
''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of N ...
'', ''Man and Superman
''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London ...
'' and ''Take Me Along
''Take Me Along'' is a 1959 musical based on the 1933 Eugene O'Neill play ''Ah, Wilderness'', with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill and book by Joseph Stein and Robert Russell.Mandelbaum, Ke"Ken Mandelbaum's Musicals On Disc: Remembering Bob Merri ...
''.[ He continued to act and perform until the early 2000s. His last theater role was in the musical '']Ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
'', appearing in Los Angeles, Chicago and Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
.[
Nichols died from heart failure at his Occidental home on March 21, 2013, at the age of 88.][
]
Filmography
Discography
* Jerome Kern: ''Show Boat'', conducted by John McGlinn, EMI, 1988
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Robert
1924 births
2013 deaths
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
People from Occidental, California
Male actors from Oakland, California
Military personnel from California
People deported from the United Kingdom
United States Army personnel of World War II