Robert Thaler (born October 15, 1959) is an American stage and television actor. He is known for playing Pearl Bradford in the American television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Santa Barbara''.

Early life and education

Thaler was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

, and raised in

Marion, Iowa Marion is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,294 at the 2000 census and was 41,535 in 2020, an increase of 58%. The city is located next to Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

. He had a brother and two sisters. Thaler attended at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. Seeing a local production of ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'' inspired him to become an actor, and he began appearing in regional theatres.

Career

Thaler began his screen career in 1983, in the role of "Dancer" 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 ...

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 ...

television series '' The Renegades''. Thaler was seen in a

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, ...

production of a play titled ''Tamara'' by

Bridget and Jerome Dobson Bridget ( Hursley; September 1, 1938 – January 3, 2024) and Jerome Dobson were an American husband-and-wife duo of television award-winning screenwriters and artists. Through their company Dobson Productions, they are notable for their work a ...

, creators of the television

'' Santa Barbara''. They created the role of Pearl Bradford, an eccentric waiter, for him, and he joined the cast of ''Santa Barbara'' in October 1985. His final appearance on ''Santa Barbara'' was in April 1988. Thaler also guest-starred in television programs including ''

Hardcastle and McCormick ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' is an American action crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and r ...

'', '' V'', ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on NBC from October 1, 1982, ...

'', ''

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network u ...

'' and ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaler, Robert 1959 births Living people People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Male actors from Iowa American male television actors American male stage actors American soap opera actors American male soap opera actors 20th-century American male actors University of California, Berkeley alumni