Robert J. Stevenson (October 10, 1915 – March 4, 1975) was an American politician and former actor who served on the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

for the

District 13 ''District B13'' ( French title ''Banlieue 13'' or ''B13''), is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel, produced by Luc Besson, and written by Besson and Bibi Naceri. It depicts parkour in several action sequences, which was complet ...

from 1969 to 1975. As a film and television actor, Stevenson had approximately 133 credits.Robert Stevenson
at IMDb After his death in 1975, his wife,

Peggy Stevenson Peggy Stevenson (January 29, 1924 – October 16, 2014) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the District 13 from 1975 to 1985. The wife of Robert J. Stevenson, she was elected after her husband's death in 197 ...

, was elected to the seat. They were the second husband and wife to serve consecutive terms on the

—the first having been

Ed J. Davenport Edward J. Davenport (February 9, 1899 – June 24, 1953) was an American politician who served on the Los Angeles City Council for the Los Angeles City Council District 12, 12th district from 1945 to 1953. Elected as a liberal Democratic Party (Un ...

and Harriett Davenport between 1945 and 1955.

Personal life and acting career

Stevenson was born on October 10, 1915, in

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

.Los Angeles Public Library reference file
/ref> Stevenson was news editor and commentator for WHN radio and newscaster for "Around the World News" on CBS Radio in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and also worked for CBS in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He was a staff announcer on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...

'' and a film and TV actor, with 119 credits between 1946 and 1971, including an episode of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

''. In 1957, Stevenson was cast as Dave Weller in the episode "Deep Fraud" of

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

's syndicated

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

, ''

Sheriff of Cochise ''The Sheriff of Cochise'' is an American police crime drama television series of 79 black-and-white episodes broadcast from 1956 to 1958. The show has two seasons of 39 episodes, and there is an additional standalone episode. Each episode run ...

'', set in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. In 1958, Stevenson had a recurring role as "Big Ed", the town bartender in the 26-episode

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

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 A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, ''

Jefferson Drum ''Jefferson Drum'', also known as ''The Pen and the Quill'', is an American Western television series starring Jeff Richards that aired on the NBC network from April 25 to April 23, 1959. Overview Jefferson Drum, portrayed by Jeff Richards, i ...

'', starring Jeff Richards as a crusading

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

newspaper editor. After ''Jefferson Drum'', Stevenson appeared in two episodes as a police lieutenant named "Ringer" in the short-lived

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

series, ''

The Man from Blackhawk ''The Man from Blackhawk'' is a Western television series about an insurance investigator starring Robert Rockwell that aired on ABC from October 9, 1959 until September 23, 1960. It was also shown in Canada on CBC Television. Premise In '' ...

'', starring

Robert Rockwell Robert Rockwell (October 15, 1920 – January 25, 2003) was an American stage, film, radio and television actor. He is best known for playing the handsome, but awkward biology teacher Philip Boynton in the radio and television sitcom ''Our Miss ...

as a roving insurance investigator. Stevenson subsequently appeared in other western series, including nine episodes of

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

's ''

Have Gun - Will Travel Have or having may refer to: * the concept of ownership * any concept of ''possession'' * the English verb "to " is used: ** to express possession linguistically, in a broad sense ** as an auxiliary verb ** in constructions such as ''have somet ...

'', six times on ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', three times each on ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' and ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'', and twice each on ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

'' and '' The Virginian''. He also had minor roles in two episodes of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. In 1959, he played "Luke", a cowboy turned assassin out to kill General Sherman while the latter was visiting Dodge City in S1E11 "General Sherman’s March Through Dodge City" in the TV Western ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

''. In 1962 Stevenson (credited as Robert J. Stevenson) appeared as Torson on '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "The Brazen Bell." He was sometimes credited as Robert Forrest, Robert Stephenson, or Bob Stevenson. In 1962 Stevenson was credited as Robert J. Stevenson on '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "The Brazen Bell." Also in 1962 he played drunken store owner Ax Parsons in the episode “The Gallows (S7E22) of the TV Western ''

''. Stevenson served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His offices and memberships included president of the Nichols Canyon Association, trustee of the Buckley School, Greater Los Angeles Press Club, International Footprint Association, International Society for the Protection of Animals,

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...

and the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

.Internet Movie Data Base
/ref> He and his wife Peggy had a son, Bruce, born in 1956. The family lived in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

, just above

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

. Robert died in Northridge, California, on March 4, 1975, aged 59, after

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

, complicated by

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

and an infected

gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow Organ (anatomy), organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath t ...

. He had been ill for several months and underwent surgery for multiple retinal breaks in October and November 1974 but managed to return to his city council seat in December of that year.Erwin Baker, "Robert J. Stevenson, Councilman, Dies," ''Los Angeles Times,'' March 4, 1975, page 3
/ref> A funeral service was held in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a privately owned cemetery in Glendale, California, United States. It is the original and current flagship location of Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of six cemeteries and four additional mortuaries ...

, with the Reverend Frank Kelly of St. Athanasius Episcopal Church officiating.

Elections

Robert Stevenson began his City Hall career as a field deputy for Councilman James Potter and later had the same job for Paul H. Lamport in the 13th District. He resigned and successfully ran for election against his old boss in 1969."Councilman Stevenson Dies, unknown newspaper, March 6, 1975, page 1
/ref> Stevenson scored reelection to the city council in 1973 by soundly defeating policeman Irving Kaspar. The

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Kaspar criticized Stevenson's

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

and trial on charges of

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

and

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

in a Chinatown gambling scheme (below). Stevenson attacked Kaspar in a tabloid publication for allegedly having been "a known

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, right-wing populist, and ...

sympathizer." Kaspar went to court and got a

temporary restraining order An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

against further circulation of the campaign sheet on the grounds the statement was untrue. In the end, voters cast 27,231 ballots for Stevenson and 21,062 for Kaspar.

Positions

Robert Stevenson was known as "a widely respected reformer and moderate who often served as a peacemaker between clashing colleagues." Nevertheless, he was also seen as "warring" with fellow Councilman Arthur K. Snyder, partially occasioned by Stevenson's support of

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

of Snyder's neighboring councilmanic District 14. Known for his "progressive voting record," Stevenson was "the innovator of a new system of council hearings," being the first councilman to hire outside counsel to conduct an investigation. Other positions: 1969. He voted against allowing churches to be established in single-family residential neighborhoods as a matter of right, stating: "I don't have the right to say arbitrarily 'you people in the neighborhood are going to get a church whether you like it or not.' " 1970. He and Council Member James B. Potter, Jr. took the lead in successfully opposing a proposed freeway (State Route 160) through

Laurel Canyon Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neig ...

that would have linked

Slauson Avenue Slauson Avenue is a major east–west thoroughfare traversing the central part of Los Angeles County, California. It was named for the land developer and Los Angeles Board of Education member J. S. Slauson. It passes through Culver City, L ...

in Ladera Heights with the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

. They said the idea was a "scheme to bury huge areas of Hollywood, the mountains and Studio City under a blanket of concrete." 1973. Stevenson submitted an ordinance that would have required outdoor eating places along

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, Ventura and Wilshire boulevards to be enclosed as a way to prevent the spread of litter. 1973. In urging the establishment of

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

routes through the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

, he and Council Member Joel Wachs disagreed with a

Southern California Rapid Transit District The Southern California Rapid Transit District (almost always referred to as ''RTD'' or rarely as ''SCRTD'') was a public transportation agency established in 1964 to serve the Greater Los Angeles area. It was the successor to the original Los ...

report that the proposed routes would face safety hazards on the "steep and narrow roadways." 1974. Stevenson proposed an

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * Em ...

that would, among other things, have made job discrimination illegal against homosexuals. After his death, the City Council unanimously voted in 1975 to kill it. Police Chief

Edward M. Davis Edward Michael Davis (November 15, 1916 – April 22, 2006) was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1969 to 1978, and later a California state senator from 1980 to 1992 and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United Sta ...

was one of its more vocal critics.

Conspiracy and bribery

Indictment and decision

Robert Stevenson and eight other people were indicted in February 1970 on charges of

and

in the asserted proposed establishment of gambling dens in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

the previous year. Authorities said a multimillion-dollar-a-year operation was planned. All defendants were freed when a jury could not reach a verdict and Judge Joseph A. Sprankle Jr. declared a mistrial, acquitting Stevenson and seven of the other defendants. He said he did so reluctantly in Stevenson's case because he thought the councilman "probably knew something about what was going on," but that "the voters can take care of this in the next election."Doug Shuit, "Stevenson Foe Raises Gambling Case as Issue," ''Los Angeles Times,'' May 5, 1973, page 23
/ref>

Slander

In 1973 Stevenson filed suit against fellow City Councilman Arthur K. Snyder over Snyder's remarks about Stevenson during a radio interview concerning the bribery-conspiracy trial. Nineteen months later, a settlement ensued with Snyder making an apology but with no money changing hands.

Legacy

Stevenson Manor, a 61-unit apartment project at 1230 North Cole Avenue, Hollywood, was named for Councilman Robert Stevenson."Stevenson Honored," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 11, 1983, page G-17
/ref>