Dale Robertson, Oklahoma Cowboy (Jerry Skinner Documentary)

[Music] this is TV and movie actor an Oklahoma Rancher Dale Roberson he once said that he only become an actor so he can make enough money to fulfill his life's dream of owning a horse farm where he could raise and train horses in his home state of Oklahoma Dale Lemoine Robinson was born at home two miles outside of Harrah Oklahoma 30 miles east of Oklahoma City on the 14th of July 1923 his parents were Melvin and varville Robison Melvin was a ranger and will later worked for and retired from the Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company Dale was the youngest of two brothers and one sister Dorothy Lee was born May the 14th 1917 and passed away a year later on the 8th of July in 1918 Melvin Roscoe jr. that everybody called Roxy was born February the 9th 1919 and Chester Howard called Chad was born the 3rd - September 1920 in 1927 when Dale was 4 years old his parents divorced and varville took the boys have moved to Oklahoma City she worked at different jobs in order to feed the family sometimes the boys would sell baked goods to neighbors that their mother had baked in order to make money Dale attended Eugene Phil elementary school and when he was 13 he was struck with an unknown infection he had woke up screaming I cannot see he had gone completely blind and lost 85% of his hearing for the next year Dale Roberson would be in a world of his own doctor after doctor was unable to find the answer they could only speculate that it could have been something that he caught while swimming in a local Creek after a year in darkness his sight began to return a along with his hearing the family considered it a miracle Dale attended Roosevelt Junior High in Oklahoma City but he would often spend time at his dad's range training polo ponies he had been riding from an early age and had developed quite a love for horses according to Suzie Robison Dale's wife in her book buck in Hollywood about her husband's life as incredible as it sounds Dale was already boxing professionally when he was still in his teens it was during the Depression and everyone including tail was trying to find ways to make money for the family through the years he fought several professional fights winning over 90% of them however he was knocked out twice and once got a broke nose he said he just kept fighting and the fellow not the nose back in place after graduating from Casson high school in 1939 he attended Oklahoma Military College at Claremore his plans was to continue his boxing career after college in 1940 Dale's mother varville opened the Robeson convalescent home at 12:19 northeast 8th Street in Oklahoma City which she managed for 20 years before retiring by Dale's second year at Military College the Second World War had begun they all his classmates and his brothers all joined the military he was quickly sent to Fort Sill in southwest Oklahoma to do basic training Dale will eventually be sent to officers Candidate School in Fort Knox Kentucky to become an officer he was then stationed at San Luis Obispo California while waiting to be shipped overseas Robinson and his buddies decided to go into Los Angeles sightseeing while there he stopped to have his picture made to send to his mother before going overseas now the shop owner placed Dale's picture in the shop window hoping that it would encourage other soldiers to have their picture made now this is a picture of lieutenant Robeson in uniform but it's not the one that was sent to his mother he didn't see that picture actually until years later movie talent scouts saw the picture in the window and begin writing him wanting to represent him now there was a shortage of actors during the war they all said that Uncle Sam wasn't interested in his potential movie career now many stories including the Los Angeles Times said that he served as lieutenant with the 777th tank battalion in North Africa and serving as a tank commander during battle he raised the hedge to look out when his tank was struck with a shell and concussion blowed him out through the hatch and during himself and killing his crew even though major newspapers printed this story I was unable to confirm it I do know however he was assigned to the 322nd combat engineering battalion during the European campaign we know that Dale was wounded from mortar fire during the taking of a town on the border of Czechoslovakia from German troops his right knee and legs were wounded but instead of reporting to the field hospital he tended his own wounds himself and stayed in command of his company and continued fighting years later the army tried to recall him for the Korean War during his physical his War Rooms was discovered by military doctors and he was declared ineligible for service staff writers from the Los Angeles Times on February the 28th 2013 stated that Dale Robinson received the runs and Silver Star and Purple Heart after World War Two was over Dale headed for Hollywood after giving up his dream of boxing career because of his wounded legs unfortunately the talent agents that wanted him during the or was now closing their doors after finally locating an agent that would accept him it will still take until 1948 before he'll be in his first unaccredited film role the boy with the green hair featuring a young Dean stop will the next year in 1949 Dale was in his first significant role fighting a man of the plains starring Randolph Scott Dale played Jesse James although he had a small part he did get to rescue Randolph Scott from the gallows they all gave credit to producer nad hoped for giving him a chance to obtain a part in this film after the movie he was offered a multi contract deal with Fox Studios this contract gave him enough financial security that Dale could begin fulfilling his dream and purchase a 400 acre range back home in Oklahoma in 1950 it was two flags West with Joseph Cotten and Jeff Chandler the next year deal will become romantically involved with Frederico Jacqueline Wilson and they will marry on May the 19th 1951 also in 1951 the studio decided to try Dale in a musical they gave him a lead role in golden girl with mitzi gaynor although the film played fast and loose with history it's based on an early stage career of the 19th century singer lo de Captree the next year the studio returned him back to westerns starting with return of the Texan with Joe Andrew that same year 1952 Frederika and Dale have a baby girl Rochelle while working for director Henry Hathaway on Oh Henry's pool house Hathaway told Dale that he often blew up and hollered sometimes and screamed at his actors but that he didn't mean it and Dale told Hathaway that he sometimes knocked the teeth anybody who hollered at him in public but he always felt bad later the next year in 1953 Dale will star with pin-up girl Betty Grable in the farmer takes a wife Robertson said that there were only two leading ladies that he really enjoyed working with and Betty Grable was one of them the next year in 1954 Dale went to United Artists to do Sitting Bull with Mary Murphy Murphy had just finished a major picture as the girlfriend of Marlon Brando in the wild one Robinson and Murphy first met on a flight to Mexico where said--and bull was being filmed filming took almost two months and during that period a romance developed between the two co-stars which will become on and off for the next two years also in 1954 Dale will star with his other favorite actress Debra Paget in the gambler of Natchez on the 4th of June 1956 after five years of marriage Frederico Wilson will divorce Dale Robinson as was custom back then she will gain custody of their daughter Rochelle on the same day of his divorce Dale and Mary Murphy drove from California to Yuma Arizona to be married Dale was 32 and miR was 25 within three months Mary Murphy will file for annulment on the grounds that Dale didn't want to have children although he already had one and he will later adopt another one after the annulment Mary will continue her acting career and eventually she will marry again and have a daughter Mary will pass away on may the 4th 2011 at the age of 80 from heart disease and the same year as their annulment 1956 Dale will star will Linda Darnell in the Dakota incident were Indians attack a stagecoach and passengers band together to survive they'll say that during this time he was being called by producer and NAT Holt trying to get him to agree to do a pilot that he was producing it was entitled tales of Wells Fargo four times Robison turned to offer down but he finally decided that he would do it for net thank you that he owed a favor for hiring him in his first two credited film fighting men of the plains that hold even offered Dale 50 percent of the show if he would agree to become Jim Hardy agent for Wells Fargo who investigated crime against the company Dale was Eman dextrous but primarily right-handed to be different from other TV westerns he decided to make Jim Hardy a left-handed draw now this way he could shake hands with the outlaw with his right hand and draw his gun with his left to everyone's surprise tales of Wells Fargo became a major TV show and ran for five years every cowboy including Jim Hardy had a favorite horse and Jim Hardy's horse was Jubilee Dale found Jubilee at the racetracks he was beautiful with a diamond blaze and four stocking feet all the way up to his knees he stood fifteen hands high do you believe was actually the grandson of the famous racehorse man-of-war Robinson would never call himself an actor he never took an acting lesson in his life and he pattered himself after John Wayne he said an actor becomes the part that he's playing I am a personality a personality adapts the part to himself through his career Dale will perform his own stunts that will 20 years later qualify him for induction into the stuntman's Hall of Fame two years after beginning Wells Fargo Dale met Lulu may Maxie according to Lula Mae she was working for a Houston oil company as a switchboard operator when she and four of her girlfriends went on vacation to the horse races when Dale walked up and asked her how she was doing she said awful he came back by the next day and asked the same question and she said he got the same answer he sent a message inviting all five girls to visit his ranch in California only two of the girls were able to cope over a period of time they became closer and on the 13th of November 1959 36 year old Dale Robinson and 26 year old Lula Mae Maxie Wed at Robinson's Sepulveda ranch in California it was Dale's third marriage and Lula second she had been divorced from her first husband for four years two years after Mary Ann Lulu Dale was a surprise guest star on the Ralph Edwards TV show this is your life now this is Dale Lula Mae and his newly adopted daughter that he named rebel Lee Robison as they appeared on this is your life in 1961 little rebel will grow up to become a Dallas certified public accountant after four years of being top TV show that tells the Wells Fargo's producer began changing the format add new characters and moving the retired main character Jim Hardy to a ranch in California and would seldom let him investigate crime the next year in 1962 Dale not being pleased with the changes sold his part of the show to the producers after Dale left the show was quickly cancelled On June the 2nd 1962 the next year Dale's brother Chad again managing Dale's Hamaker farm outside of Yukon Arizona it was located 30 miles northwest of Oklahoma City Dale named the ranch hay maker from a boxing term the range raised quarter horses when someone called Dale or cowboy he'd say I'm not a cowboy I don't raise cows I raise horses I don't like the idea of raising things that I know is going to be slaughtered in 1964 Dale will be in-law of the Louis with Yvonne De Carlo this is Bob ransom Jerry Collins and Dale in 1966 is an Iron Horse and ABC television series about the gambler played by Dale that wins a half-finished railroad in a card game his attempt to finish the railroad against several obstacles makes the plot the series will help 47 episodes and will end on January the 6th 1968 within a year of leaving Iron Horse Dale was hard to host a long-running TV show entitled Death Valley days the first host was Stanley Andrews who called himself the OL Ranger from 1952 until 1964 then a future governor and President Ronald Reagan from 1964 until 1966 who will quit the series to run for governor after Reagan it'll be rosemary de Kemp for a short time only and then they'll will host starting in 1969 and the show will in the next year 1970 by this time Dale and Lula had moved to his range and Dale would travel from Oklahoma to California to work in 1974 Dale will star as Melvin Purvis g-man in a made-for-television movie it's largely a fictitious film about purvis who was actually a real FBI agent chasing down gangster Machine Gun Kelly the next year in 1975 Robinson again will play agent Melvin Purvis and a spinoff from Melvin Purvis diamond they named it the Kansas City massacre on February the 8th nineteen 77 after 17 years of age Lula Mae and Dale Robison divorce ten months after his divorce on the 12th of December 1977 Dale's brother Chester Howard Robison Chad passed away suddenly at the age of 57 Chad had been managing hay maker farms for Dale since the early 60s within a few months of Chad's death Dale will move to Oklahoma so that he can take charge of hay maker in 1977 Dale Robinson was the first Oklahoman to be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame when reporters asked him why he was the first he said I don't know and I'm not gonna ask they might change their mind that same year he will star in the last ride of the Daltons Dale appeared in over 60 movies and some 400 TV shows during his career the word was they all never cared much for publicity that most people in the movie business craved he was more interested in his ranch and horses when he ducked Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons she was mad and told him that he would be out of business soon and she called Harry Cohn Columbia picture executive and demanded that he fired Dale Robison because he was rude and anti-semitic they all happened to be in the office at the time and Cohen allowed Dale to listen in on the conversation after hanging up mr. Cohen as Dale are you anti-semitic and Dale said why I don't know what what does that mean it means that you don't like Jews and Dale said are you Jewish mr. Cohen and he said I certainly a.m. they'll says well I sure don't like you that much and they had a big laugh over it their friendship continued for years until Harry Combes dead however Louella wasn't laughing and the next three years straight Dale received the sour apple award he told friends I going for that fourth year and would have wanted to until that Frank Sinatra slugs some reporter and cost me my award in September of 1979 Dale and his daughter of shell was flamed between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles so Dale could attend a function when they met airline stewardess Susan D Robbins Dale and Susan made a date for dinner on her next trip to Oklahoma next six months will be spent flying back and forth to see each other Susan stated in her book buck in Hollywood that Dale's younger daughter rebel was living with him and his rage and Dale had Oklahoma cowboy ideals so when she stayed at the range he insisted that she sleep in a room with rebel who would keep her awake most of the night talking but she said it was okay because she was such a sweet girl it'll be February the 2nd 1980 at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas among her family Susan and Dale Robinson will be made they will live at the Hamaker farm range in Oklahoma three months after their marriage Dale will get word that his father Melvin Roscoe Robinson had passed away on the 22nd of May 1980 while living in Sulphur Oklahoma some 85 miles south Oklahoma City mr. Robinson was 86 years old the next year 1981 Dale appeared in 15 episodes of the TV show dynasty as an old drilling wildcatter his character was killed off after the first season they all said because he couldn't keep his mouth shut he kept complaining about the sex stuff that they kept putting in I wouldn't do it the way they wanted he had often said I can't use bad language around ladies in Hollywood makes that crap and calls it art now to me it's striking how all cowboy actors from Oklahoma like James Garner Ben Johnson Dale Robison and others all have the same gentlemanly attitude when it comes to ladies on May the 27th 1981 one year after Dale's father passed away and three months after his marriage to Susan Dale was waiting to meet his and mother for lunch at the Sleepy Hollow restaurant located at 1101 North East 50th Street Oklahoma City varville was being driven to the restaurant by a young man believed to have been her great-nephew now this is the location where the restaurant was as they begin to turn left into the restaurant parking lot off northeast 50th Street her car was struck by an oncoming west bound vehicle now this is the restaurant back then Dale's wife Susan was on her way to the restaurant with friends to meet her husband and mother-in-law she witnessed the accident knowing whose car it was she rushed a varville side to assist and discovered it was too late Susan then rushed to be with Dale knowing that he was inside the restaurant waiting varville Rowena Robinson his buried after Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City she was 84 years old the next year Dale was hard to play one of the suitors to miss a Lee played by Barbara Bel Geddes on the CBS television series Dallas Dale played Frank Crutcher for five episodes in 1982 the next year in 1983 Dale Robertson will be inducted into the Hollywood stuntmen Hall of Fame in Moab Utah being a horseman all of his life it was only natural for him to do his own stunts in the same year that Dale was inducted into the stuntman's Hall of Fame he was also inducted into the Great Western performers at the National cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City now this is Dale were two other inductees Tom Selleck and Ernest Borgnine in 1986 oklahoma-based ram trucking company owned Bedell filed for bankruptcy they'll come out of retirement to pay the million dollar debt off the next year on the 26th of September 1987 dale began JJ Starbucks on CBS's crime drama by the same name he'll play a billionaire Texan crime fighter riding around in a Lincoln convertible with bull horns on the hood the series will end on August 17th 1988 in 1993 Dale will appear as Zeke in CBS's television series heart of the West that start Beau and Lloyd Bridges beau as David Hart who quit as a shoe salesman in the city and moves his family west to Nevada to revive a defunct dude range Lord plays as an old-timer on the range and Dale played his brother the show will close within a year and in 1994 Dale's brother Melvin Roscoe jr. Roxy passed away on June the 12th 1994 at the age of 75 after his last performance in 1994 on heart of the West they'll completely retired from acting and spent the next 19 years raising horses at his haymaker ranch raising over 200 quarter horses and several equestrian champions Dale's wife Susan stated that in his last few years he was affected by pains from his leg caused by the war Dale Robinson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located on the south side 6500 block Hollywood Boulevard Dale said he didn't want to ever be in anything that a family couldn't watch together 70% of his movies were westerns by 2012 Dale's health was beginning to fail although both Dale and Susan wanted a state on their beloved ranch and farm as long as possible they decided to move to Rancho Santa Fe California to be near Susan's sister and brother-in-law so that they could help care for Dale they had only been in California a few months when Dale was taken to the script Memorial Hospital in La Jolla while being tested for pneumonia doctors discovered that he had lung cancer and that it had already spread to his brain liver and lymph nodes on the 27th of February 2013 within a few days after discovery of his cancer Dale Lemoine Robinson passed away from complications of lung cancer at the age of 89 his body was cremated and his remains given to his family Dale Robinson left his wife Susan his daughters Rochelle and rebel and a granddaughter [Music] you

Channel: Jerry Skinner

Views: 284,301

Rating: 4.8809848 out of 5

Keywords: Dale Robertson

Id: leLKD3Luouc

Length: 28min 33sec (1713 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 12 2020