Robert Charles Totten (February 5, 1937 – January 27, 1995)
was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for directing many ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'' episodes between 1966 and 1971.
Career
In addition to directing, Totten also co-starred in ''Gunsmoke'' playing the role of Corley, opposite of
Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff (August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American character actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years, be ...
, in the 1969 episode "The Mark of Cain," among other roles.
As director, writer, and actor, Totten is a member all three guilds; the
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
, the
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Guil ...
and the
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
.
Awards
Totten was nominated at the
25th Primetime Emmy Awards for ''Outstanding Writing in Drama - Adaptation'' for his work on the 1973 television film, ''
The Red Pony
''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ...
''.
Death
Totten died at the age of 57 on January 27, 1995, from a heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, California.
Filmography
A partial filmography follows.
Director
Film
* ''
The Quick and the Dead''
(1963)
* ''
Death of a Gunfighter
''Death of a Gunfighter'' is a 1969 American Western film directed by Allen Smithee and starring Richard Widmark and Lena Horne. and features an original score by Oliver Nelson. The theme of the film is the "passing" of the West, the clash betw ...
'' (credited as Alan Smithee) (1969)
* ''
The Wild Country'' (1970)
* ''
Pony Express Rider'' (1976)
Television
* ''
The Gallant Men
''The Gallant Men'' is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.
Description
''The Gallant Men'' dramatized the experiences of the ...
'' (1962) - S1E13 "Advance and Be Recognized"
* ''
Hawaiian Eye''
(1962-1963)
** "Lament for a Saturday Warrior" (S4E5)
** "To See, Perchance to Dream" (S4E9)
** "Two Too Many" (S4E16)
** "The Long Way Home" (S4E19)
* ''
Temple Houston'' (1963)
** "Letter of the Law" (S1E3)
** "Gallows in Galilee" (S1E6)
** "Jubilee" (S1E8)
** "Seventy Times Seven" (S1E11)
* ''
The Virginian''
(1964) - "The Secret of Brynmar Hall" (S2E26)
* ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
''
(1965)
** "Dead and Gone" (S6E27)
** "A Natural Wizard" (S7E13)
* ''
The Legend of Jesse James
''The Legend of Jesse James'' is a 1980 country music concept album written by English songwriter Paul Kennerley, based on the story of American Old West outlaw Jesse James.
The album features Levon Helm singing the role of Jesse James, Jo ...
''
(1965-1966)
* ''
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
''
(1966) - "The Gun" (S2E20)
* ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
''
(1966–71)
** "My Father's Guitar" (S11E21)
** "My Father, My Son" (S11E30)
** "Prime of Life" (S11E32)
** "The Good People" (S12E5)
** "The Wrong Man" (S12E7)
** "The Newcomers" (S12E11)
** "Saturday Night" (S12E16)
** "Mail Drop" (S12E19)
** "Mistaken Identity" (S12E26)
** "Nitro!" (S12E28 & S12E29)
** "The Wreckers" (S13E1)
** "A Hat" (S13E6)
** "Major Glory" (S13E8)
** "Blood Money" (S13E19)
** "Hill Girl" (S13E20)
** "The First People" (S13E23)
** "Waco" (S14E11)
** "Stryker" (S15E2)
** "A Matter of Honor" (S15E9)
** "Stark" (S16E3)
** "The Scavengers" (S16E10)
** "Jenny" (S16E15)
** "Murdoch" (S16E20)
** "The Lost" (S17E1)
* ''
Iron Horse
''Iron horse'' is an iconic literary term (considered by the early 21st century to be transitioning into an archaic reference) for a steam locomotive, originating in the early 1800s, when horses still powered most machinery. The term was common ...
''
(1966) - "Cougar Man" (S1E7)
* ''
The Monroes'' (1966) - "War Arrow" (S1E9)
* ''
The Wackiest Ship in the Army''
(1966)
** The Lamb Who Hunted Wolves (S1E16 & S1E17)
** Brother Love (S1E21)
* ''
Mission: Impossible''
(1968)
** The Phoenix (S3E23)
** Recovery (S3E25)
* ''
Dan August
''Dan August'' is an American drama series that aired on ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October 1973 and from April to June 1 ...
'' (1970) - "When the Shouting Dies" (S1E10)
* ''
Bearcats!
''Bearcats!'' is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before the American entry into World War ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
''
(1973)
** "The Tong" (S2E7)
** "The Hoots" (S2E10)
* ''
The Red Pony
''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ...
''
(1973)
* ''
Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...
'' (1975)
* ''
The Fitzpatricks
''The Fitzpatricks'' is an American drama series which ran on CBS during the 1977–78 season. Tim Brooks; Earle Marsh. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present'. 8th ed. Random House Digital; October 14, 20 ...
'' (1977) - "Say Goodbye to Buddy Bonkers" (S1E10)
* ''
The Sacketts
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
''
(1979)
* ''
Enos Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: , Standard ''Enosh'', Tiberian ''ʼĔnôš''; "mortal man”) may refer to:
People in religious scripture
* Enos (biblical figure), a genealogical figure in the Bible.
* The Book of Enos, one of the books that make up the B ...
'' (1981) - "House Cleaners" (S1E7)
* ''
Magnum, P.I.
''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...
''
(1981) - "Double Jeopardy" (S2E19)
* ''
The Young Riders
''The Young Riders'' is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at ...
'' (1990) - "The Man Behind the Badge" (S1E21)
Writer
* ''
Gunsmoke
''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...
'' (1968) - "Nowhere to Run" (S13E18)
* ''
The Red Pony
''The Red Pony'' is an episodic novella written by American writer John Steinbeck in 1933. The first three chapters were published in magazines from 1933 to 1936. The full book was published in 1937 by Covici Friede. The stories in the book ...
'' (1973)
Actor
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, Robert
1937 births
1995 deaths
People from Los Angeles
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male television actors
American male film actors
20th-century American male actors
American male screenwriters
American television directors