Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955). In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry.

Early life

Sterling was born William Sterling Hart in New Castle, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. The son of

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

baseball player William S. Hart, he attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and worked as a clothing salesman before pursuing an acting career.

Career

Columbia Pictures

After signing with Columbia Pictures in 1939, he changed his name to Robert Sterling to avoid confusion with silent western star William S. Hart. His name was legally changed while he was a second lieutenant attending flight training in Marfa in West Texas in 1943. Sterling appeared in small parts for Columbia movies, often uncredited: '' Blondie Meets the Boss'' (1939), '' Romance of the Redwoods'' (1939), '' First Offenders'' (1939), '' Outside These Walls'' (1939), '' The Chump Takes a Bump'' (1939), '' That Girl from College'' (1939), and a serial '' Mandrake the Magician'' (1939). He was in '' Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939), '' Missing Daughters'' (1939), and a short with

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

, '' Pest from the West'' (1939). Sterling was in '' Good Girls Go to Paris'' (1939), '' The Man They Could Not Hang'' (1939), '' Golden Boy'' (1939), '' The Gates of Alcatraz'' (1939), '' A Woman Is the Judge'' (1939), '' The Story of Charles Goodyear'' (1939), '' Scandal Sheet'' (1939), '' Mr Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939), '' Beware Spooks!'' (1939), '' Blondie Brings Up Baby'' (1939), '' The Amazing Mr Williams'' (1939), '' Glove Slingers'' (1939), '' The Awful Goof'' (1939) (a short), and '' Crime's End'' (1939). He was in '' Nothing But Pleasure'' (1940) a

short, and '' The Heckler'' (1940) a short with Charley Chase,

20th Century Fox

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 ...

he played the lead in '' Manhattan Heartbeat'' (1940) and '' Yesterday's Heroes'' (1940). He was in '' The Gay Caballero'' (1940)

MGM

In November 1940, Sterling went to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. He appeared in '' The Penalty'' (1941) and had the lead in '' I'll Wait for You'' (1941), '' The Getaway'' (1941), and '' Ringside Maisie'' (1941) with Ann Sothern, whom he would later marry. He had a good support role in '' Two-Faced Woman'' (1941) with Greta Garbo and '' Johnny Eager'' (1941) with Robert Taylor. Sterling could also be seen in '' Dr. Kildare's Victory'' (1942) and '' This Time for Keeps'' (1942). He was billed third in '' Somewhere I'll Find You'' (1942), after

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

and

Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...

- one of MGM's biggest films of the year. But just as it seemed Sterling was about to break through as a star he joined the service.

Post war

Sterling served in

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 ...

as a

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

flight instructor. He got out of the army in October 1945 and MGM announced him for '' The Last Time I Saw Paris'' but the film would not be made for several years, and not with Sterling. He appeared in '' The Secret Heart'' (1946) at MGM. At RKO he had the lead in '' Roughshod'' (1949). He made an independent Western, '' The Sundowners'' (1950) with Robert Preston and John Drew Barrymore, and did '' Bunco Squad'' (1951) at RKO. He was appearing on Broadway in '' The Gramercy Ghost'' when he formed a relationship with actress/singer Anne Jeffreys. On television, Sterling starred in "The Man Who Had Influence", the May 29, 1950, episode of '' Studio One''. He also appeared on such shows as '' The Ford Theatre Hour'', '' Showtime, U.S.A.'', '' The Clock'', '' The Web'' (starring in the episode "Homecoming"), '' Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre'', '' Celanese Theatre'', '' Lights Out'' (one episode with Grace Kelly), '' Betty Crocker Star Matinee'' (an episode with Audrey Hepburn), ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

'', '' The Gulf Playhouse'', '' Robert Montgomery Presents'', '' Studio One in Hollywood'' (an adaptation of '' The Ambassadors''), and '' Climax!''. Sterling had an excellent part as Steve Baker, opposite

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

as Julie, in the hit MGM 1951 film version of '' Show Boat''. He supported

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

in '' Column South'' (1953). He and his second wife, actress Anne Jeffreys, also developed a night club act.

''Topper''

Sterling is perhaps most well known for starring with Jeffreys as the spirited George Kerby, to Jeffreys' Marion Kerby in the television program '' Topper'', based on the 1937 original film '' Topper''; Sterling played Cary Grant's role in the TV series, which aired on the CBS network from 1953 to 1955. Leo G. Carroll starred in the title role. Wife Marion Kerby was referred to as "the ghostess with the mostest", while Sterling's character was known as "that most sporty spirit". Mr. Carroll's titular character was introduced as "host to said ghosts". In 1955 he and Jeffreys appeared in a TV production of '' Dearest Enemy'', adapted by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

. He continued to guest star on such shows as '' The Loretta Young Show'', '' Lux Video Theatre'', '' Star Stage'', '' The 20th Century-Fox Hour'', '' The Ford Television Theatre'', '' Cavalcade of America'', and '' Telephone Time''. On December 18, 1957, Sterling and Jeffreys played a couple with an unusual courtship arrangement in "The Julie Gage Story" on the first season of NBC's '' Wagon Train''.

''Love That Jill''

In 1958, the couple co-starred in another comedy series, '' Love That Jill'' on ABC. Sterling and Jeffreys portrayed heads of rival modeling agencies in New York City. Sterling appeared on '' The United States Steel Hour'', then returned to features at Fox. He had good roles in '' Return to Peyton Place'' (1961), as Mike Rossi, husband of Eleanor Parker, and '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1961) for Irwin Allen.

''Ichabod and Me''

In the 1961–1962 television season, Sterling co-starred with George Chandler and Reta Shaw in CBS's '' Ichabod and Me''. In 1963, Sterling starred in '' The Twilight Zone'' episode " Printer's Devil" alongside Burgess Meredith. He was also in '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' and '' Naked City'', plus '' A Global Affair'' (1964) with Bob Hope.

Later career

After some additional television work in the early 1960s, Sterling made only sporadic appearances in later shows such as the hospital drama '' The Bold Ones'', the sitcoms '' Nanny and the Professor'', '' Love, American Style'', '' Diana'' and '' The Brian Keith Show'', the TV movie '' Letters from Three Lovers'' (1973), and the miniseries '' Beggarman, Thief'' in 1979. In the 1970s Sterling was a vice president and the spokesman for a company that implemented the software for one of the first supermarket barcoding and computer inventory systems. He later launched Sterling & Sons, a Santa Monica company that manufactured custom golf clubs. In the 1980s he guest starred on shows like '' Fantasy Island'', ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who ope ...

'', '' Masquerade'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', and ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

''. Sterling's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 1709 Vine Street.

Personal life

Sterling was married twice. His first marriage, in 1943, was to actress-singer Ann Sothern. They had a daughter, Patricia, who became an actress. Sothern and Sterling divorced in 1949. Sterling met actress-singer Anne Jeffreys soon after his Broadway debut, and they wed in 1951 and remained married for 55 years until his death. They had three sons. Sterling was a Republican who campaigned for

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in the 1952 presidential election. Sterling died Tuesday, May 30, 2006, aged 88, at his home in Brentwood,

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 ...

. According to the Associated Press, his son, Jeffrey, indicated that Sterling died of natural causes and also suffered from debilitating shingles for the last decade of his life. He was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and his ashes were returned to his family.

Selected Filmography

* '' The Alfred Hitchcock Hour'' (1962) (Season 1 Episode 8: "House Guest") as Ray Roscoe * '' The Twilight Zone'' (1963) (Season 4 Episode 9: " Printer's Devil") as Douglas Winter

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Robert 1917 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors California Republicans Male actors from Pennsylvania Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Military personnel from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans People from New Castle, Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II University of Pittsburgh alumni