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
Cahill: United States Marshal
(1973)
Leader of Bunch
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Henchman (uncredited)
El Dorado
(1966)
Jason's Gunman
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Officer (uncredited)
Cat Ballou
(1965)
Armed Guard (uncredited)
The Searchers
(1956)
Ranger at Wedding (uncredited)
Man of the West
(1958)
Rifleman-Guard on Train (uncredited)
The Sons of Katie Elder
(1965)
Townsman (uncredited)
McLintock!
(1963)
Sheriff Jeff Lord
The Undefeated
(1969)
Yankee Sergeant at River (uncredited)
Rio Grande
(1950)
Officer / Indian Who Fires Arrow Into Col. York's Chest
Winchester '73
(1950)
Long Tom (uncredited)
Full Filmography
Acting
The Plainsman and the Lady
(1946)
Deputy (uncredited)
Calendar Girl
(1947)
Swedish Tug of War Man
The Flame
(1947)
Policeman (uncredited)
Jesse James Rides Again
(1947)
Lafe
Song of Scheherazade
(1947)
Midshipman (uncredited)
Homicide for Three
(1948)
Joe - Policeman
The Gallant Legion
(1948)
Ranger
The Arizona Ranger
(1948)
Henchman (uncredited)
California Firebrand
(1948)
Gunman
Albuquerque
(1948)
Man at Gambling Table (uncredited)
Wake of the Red Witch
(1948)
Seaman
Last of the Wild Horses
(1948)
Deputy Chuck (uncredited)
The Fighting Kentuckian
(1949)
Militiaman (uncredited)
Western Renegades
(1949)
Jones (uncredited)
The James Brothers of Missouri
(1949)
Townsman (uncredited)
Roughshod
(1949)
Deputy (uncredited)
Hellfire
(1949)
Groper (uncredited)
Law of the Golden West
(1949)
Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Stampede
(1949)
Sandy (uncredited)
Haunted Trails
(1949)
Ed - Ranch Hand (uncredited)
Winchester '73
(1950)
Long Tom (uncredited)
Trail of the Rustlers
(1950)
Bob - Henchman (uncredited)
Hills of Oklahoma
(1950)
Cowhand (uncredited)
Outcasts of Black Mesa
(1950)
Kramer - Henchman (as Charles 'Chuck' Roberson)
The Capture
(1950)
Employee (uncredited)
Cow Town
(1950)
Mike Grady - Henchman (as Charles Roberson)
Rio Grande
(1950)
Officer / Indian Who Fires Arrow Into Col. York's Chest
Atom Man vs. Superman
(1950)
Policeman on Road (uncredited)
Hi-Jacked
(1950)
Police Officer (uncredited)
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
(1952)
Pirate (uncredited)
Blackbeard, the Pirate
(1952)
Mounted Soldier
The Blazing Forest
(1952)
Lumberjack (uncredited)
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory
(1952)
Trooper (uncredited)
The Lusty Men
(1952)
Cowboy
Indian Uprising
(1952)
Taggart Man
Way of a Gaucho
(1952)
Gaucho
Cattle Town
(1952)
Rider
Hannah Lee: An American Primitive
(1953)
Cowboy
Cow Country
(1953)
Stubby (as Brett Houston)
Gun Belt
(1953)
Oliver
Raiders of the Seven Seas
(1953)
Spanish Officer (uncredited)
Calamity Jane
(1953)
Barfly (uncredited)
Hondo
(1953)
Otawanga
The Lone Gun
(1954)
Luke (uncredited)
Sign of the Pagan
(1954)
Mirrai
Jubilee Trail
(1954)
Man at Bar (uncredited)
The Far Country
(1954)
Latigo (uncredited)
The Second Greatest Sex
(1955)
Brawler (uncredited)
Lady Godiva of Coventry
(1955)
Soldier
Ten Wanted Men
(1955)
Gunfighter (uncredited)
The Tall Men
(1955)
Alva Jenkin (uncredited)
Timberjack
(1955)
Lumberjack (uncredited)
The Prodigal
(1955)
Chieftain
The Searchers
(1956)
Ranger at Wedding (uncredited)
The Rawhide Years
(1956)
Johnny (uncredited)
The Great Locomotive Chase
(1956)
Confederate Prison Captain (uncredited)
The King and Four Queens
(1956)
Posseman
7 Men from Now
(1956)
Mason
Red Sundown
(1956)
Henshaw's Man
Kentucky Rifle
(1956)
Indian (uncredited)
The Wings of Eagles
(1957)
Officer
Forty Guns
(1957)
Howard Swain
Run of the Arrow
(1957)
Sergeant
The Hired Gun
(1957)
Frank Cooper - Conroy Ranch Wrangler
Night Passage
(1957)
Roan
Man of the West
(1958)
Rifleman-Guard on Train (uncredited)
The Big Country
(1958)
Terrill Cowboy
The Wonderful Country
(1959)
Barton
Rio Bravo
(1959)
Gunman (uncredited)
Sergeant Rutledge
(1960)
Court-Martial Board Member (uncredited)
The Alamo
(1960)
Tennesseean
Spartacus
(1960)
Slave (uncredited)
Two Rode Together
(1961)
Comanche
How the West Was Won
(1962)
Officer (uncredited)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(1962)
Henchman (uncredited)
Merrill's Marauders
(1962)
Officer
Donovan's Reef
(1963)
Festus
Shock Corridor
(1963)
Wilkes
McLintock!
(1963)
Sheriff Jeff Lord
Advance to the Rear
(1964)
Monk (uncredited)
Mail Order Bride
(1964)
Saloon Brawler (uncredited)
Cheyenne Autumn
(1964)
Jessie (uncredited)
The Rounders
(1965)
Brawler (uncredited)
Shenandoah
(1965)
Rebel Commander with Mustache
Cat Ballou
(1965)
Armed Guard (uncredited)
Black Spurs
(1965)
Norton - Prisoner
The Sons of Katie Elder
(1965)
Townsman (uncredited)
Blindfold
(1966)
Fitzpatrick's Henchman
Smoky
(1966)
Chuck - a Ranch Hand
Nevada Smith
(1966)
Deputy (uncredited)
El Dorado
(1966)
Jason's Gunman
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
(1967)
Cook (uncredited)
Welcome to Hard Times
(1967)
Miner Fighting Bert (uncredited)
The War Wagon
(1967)
Brown / Mustachioed guard at blown bridge
Hellfighters
(1968)
Firefighter in Plane (uncredited)
The Green Berets
(1968)
Sgt. Griffin
The Scalphunters
(1968)
Scalphunter
The Undefeated
(1969)
Yankee Sergeant at River (uncredited)
Chisum
(1970)
Trail Herder (uncredited)
Rio Lobo
(1970)
Corporal in Baggage Car
Big Jake
(1971)
Texas Ranger (uncredited)
Cahill: United States Marshal
(1973)
Leader of Bunch
The Stone Killer
(1973)
Council Member (uncredited)
McQ
(1974)
Santiago's Bodyguard (uncredited)
99 and 44/100% Dead
(1974)
Gunman
John Wayne's 'The Alamo'
(1992)
Tennessean
Crew
Directing
Data provided by TMDB