Robert McQueeney (March 5, 1919 – April 24, 2002) was an American actor, best known for

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, ...

roles during the 1950s and 1960s. During and after his acting career, he also worked as a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

pro and instructor.

Acting career

A versatile character actor, McQueeney appeared on Broadway in ''

Billy Budd ''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'', also known as ''Billy Budd, Foretopman'', is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed vers ...

'' (1951) and ''Fragile Fox'' (1954). In 1959, he portrayed the 19th century actor,

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

, brother of

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

, the assassin of

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, in the episode "The Man Who Loved Lincoln" on the ABC/

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

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 ...

, '' Colt .45'', starring Wayde Preston as the fictitious undercover agent Christopher Colt, who in the story line is assigned to protect Booth following a death threat. That year he also played the role of murderer Michael Dwight in the '' Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Lost Last Act". He appeared in guest roles on such

as ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ''

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 ...

'', as well as Warner Bros. Television's '' Lawman'', and the short-lived '' The Alaskans'' and ''

Decoy A decoy (derived from the Dutch ''de'' ''kooi'', literally "the cage" or possibly ''eenden kooi'', " duck cage") is usually a person, device, or event which resembles what an individual or a group might be looking for, but it is only meant to ...

''. His one shot at a leading role in a series was his portrayal of

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

reporter Conley Wright on Warner Bros./ ABC's short-lived

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 ...

series, ''

The Gallant Men ''The Gallant Men'' is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II. Description ''The Gallant Men'' dramatized the experiences of th ...

'' (1962–63). He played supporting roles in such films as '' Portrait of a Mobster'' (1961) and '' The Glory Guys'' (1965).

Personal life

He had three children with his former wife, Patricia McQueeney. She was a model and an actress in television commercials who appeared regularly in the 1950s on

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 ...

's ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

''. She operated a talent agency, McQueeney Management, that for years handled the career of

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

. After the annulment of his marriage, he was ordained as a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. For twenty years until his death, he was the spiritual director for the

Padre Pio Pio of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known as , , was an Italian Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, celebrated on 23 Septembe ...

Foundation of America in

Cromwell, Connecticut Cromwell ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, located within the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 14,225 at the 2020 census. History The land where Cromwell is now located, was once na ...

. Somewhat coincidentally, considering his one leading role in a television series as a reporter, McQueeney wrote many articles for the Padre Pio Foundation after his ordination. Much of his work is still available on the Internet.

References

External links

* *
Robert McQueeney's writings for the Padre Pio foundation
1919 births 2002 deaths Catholics from Connecticut American male television actors American male film actors Warner Bros. contract players Male actors from Bridgeport, Connecticut Male actors from Los Angeles 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Fellows of the American Physical Society {{US-screen-actor-stub