Robert Dowdell (March 10, 1932 – January 23, 2018) was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton in the television series ''

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden ...

''.

Biography

Dowdell was born in

Park Ridge, Illinois Park Ridge is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 39,656. It is located north of downtown Chicago. It is close to O'Hare International Airpo ...

, a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Chicago, and later graduated Parker High School. He attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, before enlisting in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

. After discharging from the service, Dowdell took an interest in acting. It was suggested that he take lessons with

Wynn Handman Wynn Handman (May 19, 1922 – April 11, 2020) was the artistic director of The American Place Theatre, which he co-founded with Sidney Lanier and Michael Tolan in 1963. His role in the theatre was to seek out, encourage, train, and present ...

. He was cast in a play written by

Leslie Stevens Leslie Clark Stevens IV (February 3, 1924 – April 24, 1998) was an American producer, writer, and director. He created two television series for the ABC network, '' The Outer Limits'' (1963–1965) and '' Stoney Burke'' (1962–63), and ''Sea ...

, who went on to create the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series '' Stoney Burke'' and encouraged him to audition. Dowdell was cast in the recurring role of Cody Bristol. Following ''Stoney Burke'', Dowdell was cast in ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', which aired from 1964 to 1968. Over the next 30 years, he continued to act in various stage, film, and television productions before retiring in 1995.

Personal life

Dowdell was married to actress Sheila Connolly from 1965 until their divorce in 1979. He did not have any children.

Death

Dowdell died of natural causes on January 23, 2018, at age 85 in

Coldwater, Michigan Coldwater is a city in and county seat of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city had a population of 13,822 at the 2020 census. The city is mostly surrounded by Coldwater Township, but the two are administered autonomously. H ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
1968 Bio
from

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowdell, Robert 1932 births 2018 deaths Actors from Park Ridge, Illinois American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel University of Chicago alumni Wesleyan University alumni 20th-century American male actors