Robert Robertson (3 July 1930 – 17 January 2001) was a British actor and director, born in Scotland. He was best known for playing Doctor Stephen Andrews in the television show ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries "Killer" from 6 until 20 September ...

''.

Biography

Robertson was born in

St. Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

. His acting career started with the Manchester Repertory Theatre shortly after World War II. He moved to London appearing in a variety of roles most notably as Dr Grimwig in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel '' Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before ...

'',

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his work ...

's acclaimed Dicken's musical, at the New Theatre. Robertson also wrote and performed his own one-man show, Your Humble Sevant, at the Open Space Theatre, London. In 1973 Robertson returned to Scotland to perform in Dundee and stayed. He acted and directed with the

Dundee Repertory Theatre Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving hous ...

, serving as the company's artistic director from 1976 to 1992. On stage he played Willy Loman in ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a monta ...

'' and Frank in '' Educating Rita''. He directed ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'', '' The Tempest'' and ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

''. Robertson also oversaw the move to a new purpose-built theatre in the centre of Dundee. In 1983 he was cast in the three-part pilot of ''Taggart'' as Dr Stephen Andrews. The show became an international success and Robertson became famous for his role as the pathologist. He appeared in 51 episodes of the show. Other notable television appearances include '' The Ambassadors of Death'', a '' Doctor Who'' serial in 1970 and the role of Palanguez in the BBC's ''

The Day of the Triffids ''The Day of the Triffids'' is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by the English science fiction author John Wyndham. After most people in the world are blinded by an apparent meteor shower, an aggressive species of plant starts killing people. Al ...

''. On the big screen Robertson appeared in the 1996 film ''

Breaking the Waves ''Breaking the Waves'' is a 1996 psychological drama film directed and co-written by Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier and starring English stage actress Emily Watson as her feature film acting debut. Set in the Scottish Highlands in the early 197 ...

'', directed by

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, ...

. Robertson died on 17 January 2001, at the age of 70, after suffering a heart attack while reading a Robert Burns poem, ''

Holy Willie's Prayer "Holy Willie's Prayer" is a poem by Robert Burns. It was written in 1785 and first printed anonymously in an eight-page pamphlet in 1789.Daiches, David (1952). Robert Burns. London: G. Bells It is considered the greatest of all Burns' satirical po ...

'', on stage in

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

. He was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed shortly afterwards to heart failure (cardiovascular disease).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Robert 1930 births 2001 deaths People educated at Strathallan School Scottish male stage actors Scottish male television actors People from St Andrews Scottish male film actors People associated with Dundee