Cynthia Chenault is an American television actress and producer/writer active from the mid-1950s to the present. She used the screen name Cindy Robbins in her acting credits.

Early years

Robbins was born in

Hammond, Louisiana Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, and 21 ...

. Her mother operated a dancing school in

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula metropolitan area, and is part of the Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi, Biloxi–Pascag ...

, and Robbins began dancing at age five. When she was eight years old, her family moved to California. When she was a student at Glendale High School, her career plans changed from dancing to acting. In 1952, she was the school's representative at an annual drama festival. She has four sisters.

Career

Stage

Robbins's entertainment debut came in Ken Murray's ''Blackouts'' when she was 11 years old. On Broadway, she portrayed Molly Belmont in '' By the Beautiful Sea'' (1954), and Janice Dawson in '' Happy Town'' (1959). She also had a lead role in ''The Vacant Lot'' at the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a nonprofit professional theater on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under the ...

Television

Her first acting role on television was in 1955, in the episode ''Moonfire'' of the television western series '' Brave Eagle''. In 1960, Robbins appeared as a ballerina in the "Bullets and Ballet" episode of ''

Tightrope! ''Tightrope!'' is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960, under the alternating sponsorship of the J. B. Williams Company ( Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, etc.), and American Tobacco ( Pall Mall). Pr ...

''. Her last acting role in television was on the television comedy series ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

'' in 1964. Her best-known role was that of Carol Porter, one of the daughters in the one-season

situation comedy A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Tom Ewell Show ''The Tom Ewell Show'', also known as ''The Trouble With Tom'', is an American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1960-61 television season. It depicts the challenges a husband and father faces as he resides in a household otherwise consisting ...

'' (1960–61). She also made two guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'', including the role of Teddi Hart in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Treacherous Toupee" and the role of Mabel Richmond in the 1962 episode "The Case of Melancholy Marksman". Her other television work consisted of appearances in comedy shows ('' Ensign O'Toole'', ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was b ...

'', ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

''), ''

'' and military/action shows (''

Steve Canyon ''Steve Canyon'' is an American Action-adventure comics, action-adventure comic strip by cartoonist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, ''Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Terry and the Pirates'', ''S ...

'', ''

Whirlybirds ''Whirlybirds'' (sometimes called ''The Whirlybirds'' or ''Copter Patrol'') is a Television syndication, syndicated American Dramatic programming, drama/adventure television series, which aired for 111 episodes — broadcast from February ...

'', ''

Harbor Command ''Harbor Command'' is an American police series that was syndicated, with 39 half-hour episodes produced in 1957-1958. A Spanish-language version was broadcast in Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Overview The series stars Wendell C ...

''), westerns (''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', '' The Tall Man''), and dramas (''

Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse ''Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on the Columbia Broadcasting System between 1958 and 1960. Three of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s televis ...

'', ''

'', '' Dragnet'').

Film

She appeared in several films from 1957 to 1959: * ''

I Was a Teenage Werewolf ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf'' is a 1957 American science fiction horror film directed by Gene Fowler Jr., and starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager, Yvonne Lime, and Whit Bissell. Co-written and produced by cult film producer Herma ...

'' (1957) playing Pearl, Vic's Girl * ''

Dino Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur ** Dinosaurus People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey ...

'' (1957), a

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award ...

drama, playing Sylvia * '' Rockabilly Baby'' (1957), a film about family secrets and small-town life (featuring Les Brown and His Band of Renown), playing Vougette #1 * '' Gunsight Ridge'' (1957), a

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

Western, playing the Bride * '' This Earth Is Mine'' (1959), a

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular film stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades, and was a prominent figure in the G ...

drama about California wine country, playing Buz Dietrick

Producing/writing

In the mid-1980s, she produced/wrote several '' ABC Weekend Specials'' (notably, ''

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking () is the fictional main character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was off school. Pippi is ...

'') and a ''

CBS Schoolbreak Special ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' is an American anthology series for teenagers that aired on CBS from December 1978 to January 1996. The series began under the title ''CBS Afternoon Playhouse'', and was changed during the 1984–85 season A season ...

''. She was also a writer in 1984 for the TV cartoon series '' Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats''.

Personal life

She had one child, actress Kimberly Beck, born in Glendale, California, in January 1956. Cynthia, then still known as Cindy Robbins, married New Jersey singer-songwriter

Tommy Leonetti Tommy Leonetti (September 10, 1929September 15, 1979) was an American pop singer-songwriter and actor of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. In Australia his most famous song was "My City of Sydney" (written by Leonetti & Bobby Troup) and was used by t ...

on November 27, 1965, in Beverly Hills, California.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Cindy Living people American television actresses 20th-century American actresses American film actresses People from Hammond, Louisiana Actresses from Louisiana American television writers American women television writers Screenwriters from Louisiana American stage actresses 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)