CINEFILER

Chuck Roberson

Born
May 10, 1919
Died
June 8, 1988
Charles Hugh Roberson (May 10, 1919 – June 8, 1988) was an American actor and stuntman. Roberson was born near Shannon, Texas, the son of farmer Ollie W. Roberson and Jannie Hamm Roberson. Raised on cattle ranches in Shannon, Texas, and Roswell, New Mexico, he left school at 13 to become a cowhand and oilfield roughneck. He married and took his wife and daughter to California, where he joined the Culver City Police Department and guarded the gate at MGM Studios. Following army service in World War II, he returned to the police force. During duty at Warner Bros. studios during a labor strike, he met stuntman Guy Teague, who alerted him to a stunt job at Republic Pictures. Teague had been John Wayne's stunt double for many years and was able to show him the ropes. Chuck also resembled John Carrol whom Roberson doubled in his first picture, Wyoming (1947). He played small roles and stunted in other roles in the same film. He graduated to larger supporting roles in Westerns for Wayne and John Ford, and to a parallel career as a second-unit director. His television appearances include The Lone Ranger, The Adventures of Kit Carson, Lawman, Death Valley Days, Have Gun – Will Travel, Laramie, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Laredo, Bonanza, Daniel Boone, and The Big Valley. Roberson also appeared in Disney's television Westerns The Swamp Fox and Texas John Slaughter. They were part of The Wonderful World of Color. Before that, he portrayed a Confederate Prison Captain in The Great Locomotive Chase. In 1980 he published an autobiography, The Fall Guy: 30 Years as the Duke's Double. Roberson died of cancer on June 8, 1988, in Bakersfield, California, and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, next to his brother, actor Lou Roberson. Bob Dylan drew him as Long Tom in his Beaten Path series, the drawing is entitled "Untitled 1" and is based on a frame from the film Winchester '73 (1950). Roberson and Wayne Burson, another stuntman, were partners in breeding and training racehorses, with Roberson furnishing the horses from his Bakersfield, California, ranch and Burson training them.
Known For
Rio Bravo
(1959)
Gunman (uncredited)
Spartacus
(1960)
Slave (uncredited)
Rio Lobo
(1970)
Corporal in Baggage Car
The Big Country
(1958)
Terrill Cowboy
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Henchman (uncredited)
Cahill: United States Marshal
(1973)
Leader of Bunch
The Searchers
(1956)
Ranger at Wedding (uncredited)
El Dorado
(1966)
Jason's Gunman
The Sons of Katie Elder
(1965)
Townsman (uncredited)
Hondo
(1953)
Otawanga
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Officer (uncredited)
The Alamo
(1960)
Tennesseean
McLintock!
(1963)
Sheriff Jeff Lord
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Jessie (uncredited)
Big Jake
(1971)
Texas Ranger (uncredited)
Calamity Jane
(1953)
Barfly (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
The Plainsman and the Lady
(1946)
Deputy (uncredited)
Calendar Girl
(1947)
Swedish Tug of War Man
Song of Scheherazade
(1947)
Midshipman (uncredited)
Jesse James Rides Again
(1947)
Lafe
The Flame
(1947)
Policeman (uncredited)
Last of the Wild Horses
(1948)
Deputy Chuck (uncredited)
The Gallant Legion
(1948)
Ranger
Wake of the Red Witch
(1948)
Seaman
Albuquerque
(1948)
Man at Gambling Table (uncredited)
California Firebrand
(1948)
Gunman
The Arizona Ranger
(1948)
Henchman (uncredited)
Homicide for Three
(1948)
Joe - Policeman
Hellfire
(1949)
Groper (uncredited)
Stampede
(1949)
Sandy (uncredited)
Roughshod
(1949)
Deputy (uncredited)
Law of the Golden West
(1949)
Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Haunted Trails
(1949)
Ed - Ranch Hand (uncredited)
The James Brothers of Missouri
(1949)
Townsman (uncredited)
The Fighting Kentuckian
(1949)
Militiaman (uncredited)
Western Renegades
(1949)
Jones (uncredited)
Winchester '73
(1950)
Long Tom (uncredited)
Outcasts of Black Mesa
(1950)
Kramer - Henchman (as Charles 'Chuck' Roberson)
Rio Grande
(1950)
Officer / Indian Who Fires Arrow Into Col. York's Chest
Trail of the Rustlers
(1950)
Bob - Henchman (uncredited)
The Capture
(1950)
Employee (uncredited)
Cow Town
(1950)
Mike Grady - Henchman (as Charles Roberson)
Hills of Oklahoma
(1950)
Cowhand (uncredited)
Hi-Jacked
(1950)
Police Officer (uncredited)
Atom Man vs. Superman
(1950)
Policeman on Road (uncredited)
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory
(1952)
Trooper (uncredited)
Way of a Gaucho
(1952)
Gaucho
The Lusty Men
(1952)
Cowboy
The Blazing Forest
(1952)
Lumberjack (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
(1952)
Pirate (uncredited)
Blackbeard, the Pirate
(1952)
Mounted Soldier
Cattle Town
(1952)
Rider
Indian Uprising
(1952)
Taggart Man
Hondo
(1953)
Otawanga
Cow Country
(1953)
Stubby (as Brett Houston)
Hannah Lee: An American Primitive
(1953)
Cowboy
Calamity Jane
(1953)
Barfly (uncredited)
Gun Belt
(1953)
Oliver
Raiders of the Seven Seas
(1953)
Spanish Officer (uncredited)
The Far Country
(1954)
Latigo (uncredited)
Sign of the Pagan
(1954)
Mirrai
The Lone Gun
(1954)
Luke (uncredited)
Jubilee Trail
(1954)
Man at Bar (uncredited)
The Tall Men
(1955)
Alva Jenkin (uncredited)
Ten Wanted Men
(1955)
Gunfighter (uncredited)
The Prodigal
(1955)
Chieftain
Lady Godiva of Coventry
(1955)
Soldier
The Second Greatest Sex
(1955)
Brawler (uncredited)
Timberjack
(1955)
Lumberjack (uncredited)
7 Men from Now
(1956)
Mason
The King and Four Queens
(1956)
Posseman
The Searchers
(1956)
Ranger at Wedding (uncredited)
The Rawhide Years
(1956)
Johnny (uncredited)
Red Sundown
(1956)
Henshaw's Man
The Great Locomotive Chase
(1956)
Confederate Prison Captain (uncredited)
Kentucky Rifle
(1956)
Indian (uncredited)
Night Passage
(1957)
Roan
Run of the Arrow
(1957)
Sergeant
Forty Guns
(1957)
Howard Swain
The Wings of Eagles
(1957)
Officer
The Hired Gun
(1957)
Frank Cooper - Conroy Ranch Wrangler
The Big Country
(1958)
Terrill Cowboy
Man of the West
(1958)
Rifleman-Guard on Train (uncredited)
Rio Bravo
(1959)
Gunman (uncredited)
The Wonderful Country
(1959)
Barton
Spartacus
(1960)
Slave (uncredited)
The Alamo
(1960)
Tennesseean
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Court-Martial Board Member (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
(1961)
Comanche
Merrill's Marauders
(1962)
Officer
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Henchman (uncredited)
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Officer (uncredited)
McLintock!
(1963)
Sheriff Jeff Lord
Shock Corridor
(1963)
Wilkes
Donovan's Reef
(1963)
Festus
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Jessie (uncredited)
Advance to the Rear
(1964)
Monk (uncredited)
Mail Order Bride
(1964)
Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Black Spurs
(1965)
Norton - Prisoner
Cat Ballou
(1965)
Armed Guard (uncredited)
Shenandoah
(1965)
Rebel Commander with Mustache
The Rounders
(1965)
Brawler (uncredited)
The Sons of Katie Elder
(1965)
Townsman (uncredited)
El Dorado
(1966)
Jason's Gunman
Nevada Smith
(1966)
Deputy (uncredited)
Smoky
(1966)
Chuck - a Ranch Hand
Blindfold
(1966)
Fitzpatrick's Henchman
The War Wagon
(1967)
Brown / Mustachioed guard at blown bridge
Welcome to Hard Times
(1967)
Miner Fighting Bert (uncredited)
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
(1967)
Cook (uncredited)
The Scalphunters
(1968)
Scalphunter
The Green Berets
(1968)
Sgt. Griffin
Hellfighters
(1968)
Firefighter in Plane (uncredited)
The Undefeated
(1969)
Yankee Sergeant at River (uncredited)
Rio Lobo
(1970)
Corporal in Baggage Car
Chisum
(1970)
Trail Herder (uncredited)
Big Jake
(1971)
Texas Ranger (uncredited)
Cahill: United States Marshal
(1973)
Leader of Bunch
The Stone Killer
(1973)
Council Member (uncredited)
99 and 44/100% Dead
(1974)
Gunman
McQ
(1974)
Santiago's Bodyguard (uncredited)
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
(1992)
Tennessean
Crew
Directing
Data provided by TMDB