Robert Lowery (born Robert Lowery Hanks, October 17, 1913 – December 26, 1971) was an American

motion picture 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, since ...

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, ...

, and stage

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who appeared in more than 70 films. He was the second actor to play

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, appearing as the character in the 1949 film serial '' Batman and Robin''.

Early life

Lowery was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. Syndicated newspaper columnist Harrison Carroll reported that Lowery was "a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks" (Lincoln). He graduated from Paseo High School in Kansas City, and soon was invited to sing with the Slats Randall Orchestra.

Career

Robert Lowery-Phyllis Brooks in High Powered

Lowery debuted in motion pictures in '' Come and Get It'' (1936). During his career, Lowery was primarily known for roles in action films such as '' The Mark of Zorro'' (1940), '' The Mummy's Ghost'' (1944), and '' Dangerous Passage'' (1944). He became the second actor to play

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

(succeeding Lewis Wilson), starring in a 1949's '' Batman and Robin'' serial. Lowery also had roles in a number of

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 ...

films, including ''The Homesteaders'' (1953), ''The Parson and the Outlaw'' (1957), playing Gangster-mastermind

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...

in '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (1960), ''Young Guns of Texas'' (1962), and ''Johnny Reno'' (1966). He was also a stage actor and appeared in '' Born Yesterday'', ''

The Caine Mutiny ''The Caine Mutiny'' is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard two destroyer-minesweepers in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Among its themes, it deals with the mo ...

'', and in several other productions. On television, Lowery was best known for the role of Big Tim Champion on the series '' Circus Boy'' (1956–1957). In 1956, he guest starred in "The Deadly Rock," an episode of '' The Adventures of Superman'' (which was the first time a Batman actor shared screen time with a Superman actor, although Lowery and Reeves had appeared together in their presuperhero days in the 1942 World War II anti-VD propaganda film, '' Sex Hygiene.'') Lowery also had guest roles on '' Perry Mason'', featured as murder victim Amos Bryant in "The Case of the Roving River" and as Andrew Collis in "The Case of the Provocative Protégé", ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...

'' ("The Helen Morgan Story"), ''

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

'', '' Cowboy G-Men'', as Foxy Smith on '' Maverick'' in the 1959 episode "

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

" starring James Garner with

Joel Grey Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical ''Cabaret (musical), Cabaret'' on Broadway theatre, ...

as Billy the Kid, ''

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 ...

'', '' Rawhide'', '' 77 Sunset Strip'', ''

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 '' Pistols 'n' Petticoats''. He made his last on-screen appearance in the 1967 comedy/Western film '' The Ballad of Josie'', opposite

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

and

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

Personal life and death

He was married three times, to three actresses. Jean Parker and he had a son, Robert Lowery Hanks II, in 1952. His other wives were Vivan Wilcox and Barbara "Rusty" Farrell, whom he married on March 21, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lowery died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at the age of 58 in his

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, ...

apartment on December 26, 1971.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Robert Lowery and Jean Parker in ''The Navy Way'' from YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Robert 1913 births 1971 deaths Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Male Western (genre) film actors 20th-century American male actors