Robert Bruce Sinclair (May 24, 1905 – January 3, 1970) was an American director who worked in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

Early years

Robert Bruce Sinclair was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, the son of an insurance agent. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and graduated from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce in 1926. While studying at the University of Pennsylvania, an English professor introduced him to

and playwright George S. Kaufman.

Career

Sinclair began his career as an assistant stage manager in October 1926 at the Greenwich Village Theater but worked there for less than a fortnight before moving to Cleveland to work at a stock company. He would eventually return to New York and worked his way up to

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

, although almost every production he worked on was not a success, which led him to publish ''Why I Am Leaving the Theater'', an "excoriation of the commercial stage." Sinclair became a sports desk editor for The Morning Telegraph and later worked at the

Museum of the City of New York The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is a history and art museum in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It was founded by Henry Collins Brown, in 1923Beard, Rick. "Museum of the City of New York" in to preserve and present the history ...

before, two years later, his mentor George S. Kaufman lured him back to the theater and he assisted Kaufman with his 1930 production of ''Once In a Lifetime''. Sinclair would direct or stage manage many theater productions, including the directing the original productions of '' Dodsworth'' (1934), ''Pride and Prejudice'' (1935), ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1936), ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work ...

'' (1937) and '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1939). Sinclair also became involved in film when he worked on Kaufman's 1932 film adaptation of Once in a Lifetime and directed eight films for Metro‐Goldwyn-Mayer between 1938 and 1941. During World War II, Sinclair was a Captain in the Air Force and directed a training video called '' Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' (1944) which received a nomination for best feature-length documentary at the

17th Academy Awards The 17th Academy Awards were held on March 15, 1945, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, honoring the films of 1944. This was the first time the complete awards ceremony was broadcast nationally, on the Blue Network (later ABC Radio). Bob Hope host ...

. In 1947, Sinclair left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed Mr. District Attorney for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. The next year, he would direct That Wonderful Urge for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, which would be his last film. Sinclair published ''The Eleventh Hour'' in 1951, which was his only novel and was nominated for a 1952

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best First Novel by an American Author. He would go on to direct episodes of various television series throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, mostly for Warners Brothers Television, including ''

Telephone Time ''Telephone Time'' is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS in 1956, and on ABC from 1957 to 1958. The series features plays adapted from short stories by John Nesbitt who hosted the first season. Frank C. Baxter became the ...

'', ''Johnny Staccat''o, ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each epis ...

'', ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

'' and ''

The Deputy ''The Deputy, a Christian tragedy'' (German language, German: ''Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel''), also published in English as ''The Representative'', is a controversial 1963 play by Rolf Hochhuth which portrayed Pope Pius XII ...

.''

Personal life

Sinclair was married to actress Jane Lamont Buchanan from 1934 to 1941. He moved to Beverly Hills from New York City in 1938. Sinclair married actress Heather Angel on April 15, 1944 in Hollywood. He went into semi-retirement in Montecito in the mid-1960s and led an active social life, especially in theater. He had a son, Anthony Sinclair, with Heather Angel and a stepdaughter, Barbara Benson.

Murder

On January 3, 1970, Sinclair was repeatedly stabbed in the chest by a burglar in his Montecito home and died. The assailant, Billy McCoy Hunter, a graduate student at

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

, was later arrested and charged with murder. He was found in possession of a bloody knife and a pistol.

Selected filmography

As director * '' Woman Against Woman'' (1938) * '' Dramatic School'' (1938) * '' Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President'' (1939) * '' And One Was Beautiful'' (1940) * '' The Captain Is a Lady'' (1940) * '' The Wild Man of Borneo'' (1941) * '' Rage in Heaven'' (1941), uncredited * '' I'll Wait for You'' (1941) * '' Down in San Diego'' (1941) * '' Mr. and Mrs. North'' (1942) * '' Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' (1944), nominated for

Academy Award for Best Documentary The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Special Awards to '' Kukan'' and '' Target for Tonight''. They have since been bes ...

* '' Mr. District Attorney'' (1947) * '' That Wonderful Urge'' (1948)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Robert B. 1905 births 1970 deaths People murdered in 1970 American theatre directors People from Toledo, Ohio Film directors from Ohio Deaths by stabbing in California People murdered in California Deaths from bleeding American murder victims Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery