CINEFILER

Robert Stack

Born
January 13, 1919
Died
May 14, 2003
Robert Langford Modini Stack was a multilingual American actor and television host. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he also appeared on the television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries. Born in Los Angeles, California, Stack spent his early childhood growing up in Europe.  Becoming fluent in French and Italian at an early age, and he did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles.  Stack achieved minor fame in sporting, winning multiple championships including setting two world records and winning multiple honors in skeet shooting Stack studied drama at Bridgewater State College, earning his first hollywood role at the age of 20 and continuing to star in numerous roles throughout the early 1940s. After serving in the military, Stack returned to Hollywood to star in numerous films including stand out roles in The High and the Mighty (opposite John Wayne) and Written on the Wind (1957), for which he was awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Stack later moved on to televised dramatic series, depicting the crime-fighting Eliot Ness in The Untouchables (1959–1963), which earned him a best actor Emmy Award in 1960. Stack also starred in multiple drama series, before returning to film, this time in comedies to satirize his famed stoic and humorless demeanor. He began hosting Unsolved Mysteries in 1987, and served as the show's host throughout it's entire original run from 1987 to 2002.
Known For
Airplane!
(1980)
Captain Rex Kramer
The Transformers: The Movie
(1986)
Ultra Magnus (voice)
Recess: School's Out
(2001)
Superintendent (voice)
Is Paris Burning?
(1966)
General Sibert
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
(1996)
Agent Flemming (voice)
Joe Versus the Volcano
(1990)
Dr. Ellison
BASEketball
(1998)
Robert Stack
1941
(1979)
Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Uncommon Valor
(1983)
MacGregor
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Caddyshack II
(1988)
Chandler Young
Written on the Wind
(1956)
Kyle Hadley
The High and the Mighty
(1954)
John Sullivan
The Mortal Storm
(1940)
Otto Von Rohn
Mumford
(1999)
Himself
The Tarnished Angels
(1957)
Roger Shumann
Full Filmography
Acting
First Love
(1939)
Ted Drake
The Mortal Storm
(1940)
Otto Von Rohn
A Little Bit of Heaven
(1940)
Bob Terry
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
(1941)
Self
Badlands Of Dakota
(1941)
Jim Holliday
Nice Girl?
(1941)
Don Webb
Men of Texas
(1942)
Barry Conovan
Keeping Fit
(1942)
Bob - Factory worker
To Be or Not to Be
(1942)
Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Eagle Squadron
(1942)
Chuck S. Brewer
Screen Snapshots (Series 23, No. 1): Hollywood in Uniform
(1943)
Himself
Fighter Squadron
(1948)
Capt. Stuart L. Hamilton
A Date with Judy
(1948)
Stephen Andrews
Miss Tatlock's Millions
(1948)
Nickey Van Alen
Mr. Music
(1950)
Jeff Blake
My Outlaw Brother
(1951)
Patrick O´Moore
Bullfighter and the Lady
(1951)
John Regan
Bwana Devil
(1952)
Bob Hayward
Conquest of Cochise
(1953)
Maj. Tom Burke
War Paint
(1953)
Lt. Billings
Sabre Jet
(1953)
Col. Gil Manton
The High and the Mighty
(1954)
John Sullivan
The Iron Glove
(1954)
Captain Charles Wogan
Laura
(1955)
Mark Macpherson
Good Morning, Miss Dove
(1955)
Dr. Tommy Baker
House of Bamboo
(1955)
Eddie Kenner
Great Day in the Morning
(1956)
Owen Pentecost
Written on the Wind
(1956)
Kyle Hadley
The Tarnished Angels
(1957)
Roger Shumann
The Gift of Love
(1958)
William 'Bill' Beck
John Paul Jones
(1959)
John Paul Jones
The Scarface Mob
(1959)
Eliot Ness
The Last Voyage
(1960)
Cliff Henderson
The Caretakers
(1963)
Dr. Donovan MacLeod
Asylum for a Spy
(1965)
James Andrew Congers
Is Paris Burning?
(1966)
General Sibert
The Corrupt Ones
(1967)
Cliff Wilder
Action Man
(1967)
Jim Beckley
Laura
(1968)
Mark McPherson
Story of a Woman
(1970)
David Frasier
The Selling of the Pentagon
(1971)
Self (archive footage)
The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World
(1971)
Self
The Strange and Deadly Occurrence
(1974)
Michael Rhodes
Murder on Flight 502
(1975)
Captain Larkin
Adventures of the Queen
(1975)
Capt. James Morgan
Un Second Souffle
(1978)
François Davis
Undercover with the KKK
(1979)
Host - Narrator
The Muppets Go Hollywood
(1979)
Self
1941
(1979)
Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Douglas Sirk: Über Stars
(1980)
Self
Airplane!
(1980)
Captain Rex Kramer
Barry Norman in Celebrity City
(1982)
Self
Uncommon Valor
(1983)
MacGregor
Midas Valley
(1985)
Drew Hammond
Big Trouble
(1986)
Winslow
The Transformers: The Movie
(1986)
Ultra Magnus (voice)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
(1987)
Jordan White
Dangerous Curves
(1988)
Louis Faciano
Caddyshack II
(1988)
Chandler Young
Plain Clothes
(1988)
Mr. Gardner
Joe Versus the Volcano
(1990)
Dr. Ellison
The Return of Eliot Ness
(1991)
Eliot Ness
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
(1996)
Agent Flemming (voice)
The Making of '1941'
(1996)
(archive)
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line
(1997)
Self
BASEketball
(1998)
Robert Stack
Hercules: Zero to Hero
(1999)
Narrator (voice) (archive sound)
Hercules: Zero to Hero
(1999)
Narrator (voice)
Sealed with a Kiss
(1999)
Sumner Ethridge
Mumford
(1999)
Himself
The Y2K Crisis
(1999)
Host
Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir
(2001)
Self
Recess: School's Out
(2001)
Superintendent (voice)
Killer Bud
(2001)
The Gooch
Unsolved Mysteries Volume 1: UFOs
(2004)
Host
Acting for Douglas Sirk
(2008)
Self (archive footage)
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(2019)
(archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB