Robert Wightman (born December 29, 1952) is an American actor.

Biography

He has often worked in the theater, notably in the West Coast Premier of the

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' play ''

Vieux Carré The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

'' produced with Williams' blessing by

Karen Kondazian Karen Kondazian (born January 27, 1950) is an American actress and author. She is a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award's Best Actress award and is a four-time Drama-Logue Awards winner. She had a regular starring role in '' ...

and starring

Ray Stricklyn Lewis Raymond Stricklyn (October 8, 1928 – May 14, 2002) was an American film actor, stage actor, television actor, soap opera star and publicist. His acting career took off with B-movie Westerns that placed his boyish good looks playing opp ...

Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...

said both Stricklyn and Wightman gave "touching and heartbreaking performances". Wightman had earlier appeared in two other works of Williams produced by Kondazian, ''

Sweet Bird of Youth ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra del Lago (travelling incognito as Princess ...

'' with

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award ...

, and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winning production of ''

The Rose Tattoo ''The Rose Tattoo'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1949 and 1950; after its Chicago premiere on December 29, 1950, he made further revisions to the play for its Broadway premiere on February 2, 1951, and its publication by ...

'', which was praised by Williams himself who said he had never seen the play better directed than by Clyde Ventura. Sylvie Drake in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' singled-out "the excellent Robert Wightman" as Edgar in LATC's ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...

'', and Hoyt Hilsman writing for '' Backstage'' praised his "lovely and mysterious" portrayal as Budge in the dark comedy '' The Day Room'' by

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, perf ...

. Wightman replaced Richard Thomas in the role of John-Boy Walton in the TV series ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

''. He played the role beginning with the show's eighth season in 1979 until the end of the series in 1981.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present'' (7th edition), page 1094, Ballantine, 1999 He also appeared in the role in the TV movie ''A Day of Thanks on Walton's Mountain'' in 1982. His movie credits include '' American Gigolo'' and the starring role in ''

Stepfather III ''Stepfather III'' (also known as ''Stepfather III: Father's Day'') is a 1992 American thriller film directed and written by Guy Magar. It stars Robert Wightman, Priscilla Barnes, David Tom, and Season Hubley. It is the second sequel to 1987 film ...

'' as the main character of the film, taking over the role originally played by

Terry O'Quinn Terrance Quinn (born July 15, 1952), known professionally as Terry O'Quinn, is an American actor. He played John Locke on the TV series ''Lost'', the title role in '' The Stepfather'' and '' Stepfather II'', and Peter Watts in ''Millennium'', ...

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1979–1981; 1982 movie) *'' American Gigolo'' (1980) *''Missing Children : A Mother's Story'' (1982) *''

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

'' (1984) *''

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

'' (1985–86) *'' On Wings of Eagles'' (1986) *''

Opposing Force An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air forces. T ...

'' (1986) *''

It's a Living ''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. ...

'' (1987) *''

'' (1992) *'' Matlock'' (1993) *''

Living in Oblivion ''Living in Oblivion'' is a 1995 American independent black comedy film, written and directed by Tom DiCillo, and starring Steve Buscemi, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney, Danielle von Zerneck, James LeGros and Peter Dinklage in his film debu ...

'' (1995) *''

Box of Moon Light ''Box of Moonlight'' is a 1996 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom DiCillo and starring John Turturro, Sam Rockwell, Lisa Blount and Catherine Keener. Synopsis Al Fountain is a methodic and somewhat neurotic engineer. On th ...

'' (1996) *'' Poodle Springs'' (1998)

References

External links

* Living people 1952 births Place of birth missing (living people) American male film actors American male television actors {{US-screen-actor-stub