Robert Charles Totten (February 5, 1937 – January 27, 1995)
was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for directing many ''
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 ...
'' episodes between 1966 and 1971.
Career
In addition to directing, Totten also co-starred in ''Gunsmoke'' playing the role of Corley, opposite of
Nehemiah Persoff, in the 1969 episode "The Mark of Cain." He also played Cleavus Lukens, the childhood friend of Festus in an
episode named for his role.
As director, writer, and actor, Totten is a member all three guilds; the
Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of Film director, film and Television director, television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Dir ...
, the
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...
and the
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
.
Awards
Totten was nominated at the
25th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 25th Emmy Awards, later known as the 25th Primetime Emmy Awards, were handed out on May 20, 1973. The ceremony was hosted by Johnny Carson. This would be the final ceremony that included daytime categories, as the Daytime Emmy Awards premier ...
for ''Outstanding Writing in Drama - Adaptation'' for his work on the 1973 television film, ''
The Red Pony''.
Death
Totten died at the age of 57 on January 27, 1995, from a heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, California.
Filmography
A partial filmography follows.
Film
Director
Actor
Television
;Writer
* ''
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 ...
'' (1968) - "Nowhere to Run" (S13E18)
;Director
''
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 ...
''
(1966–71)
* "My Father's Guitar" (S11E21)
* "My Father, My Son" (S11E30)
* "Prime of Life" (S11E32)
* "The Good People" (S12E5)
* "The Wrong Man" (S12E7)
* "The Newcomers" (S12E11)
* "Saturday Night" (S12E16)
* "Mail Drop" (S12E19)
* "Mistaken Identity" (S12E26)
* "Nitro!" (S12E28 & S12E29)
* "The Wreckers" (S13E1)
* "A Hat" (S13E6)
* "Major Glory" (S13E8)
* "Blood Money" (S13E19)
* "Hill Girl" (S13E20)
* "The First People" (S13E23)
* "Waco" (S14E11)
* "Stryker" (S15E2)
* "A Matter of Honor" (S15E9)
* "Stark" (S16E3)
* "The Scavengers" (S16E10)
* "Jenny" (S16E15)
* "Murdoch" (S16E20)
* "The Lost" (S17E1)
Other shows (1962–90)
* ''
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) - S1E13 "Advance and Be Recognized"
* ''
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 ...
''
(1962-1963)
** "Lament for a Saturday Warrior" (S4E5)
** "To See, Perchance to Dream" (S4E9)
** "Two Too Many" (S4E16)
** "The Long Way Home" (S4E19)
* ''
Temple Houston'' (1963)
** "Letter of the Law" (S1E3)
** "Gallows in Galilee" (S1E6)
** "Jubilee" (S1E8)
** "Seventy Times Seven" (S1E11)
* ''
The Virginian''
(1964) - "The Secret of Brynmar Hall" (S2E26)
* ''
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 ...
''
(1965)
** "Dead and Gone" (S6E27)
** "A Natural Wizard" (S7E13)
* ''
The Legend of Jesse James''
(1965-1966)
* ''
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
''
(1966) - "The Gun" (S2E20)
* ''
Iron Horse''
(1966) - "Cougar Man" (S1E7)
* ''
The Monroes'' (1966) - "War Arrow" (S1E9)
* ''
The Wackiest Ship in the Army''
(1966)
** The Lamb Who Hunted Wolves (S1E16 & S1E17)
** Brother Love (S1E21)
* ''
Mission: Impossible''
(1968)
** The Phoenix (S3E23)
** Recovery (S3E25)
* ''
Dan August
''Dan August'' is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 23, 1970, to April 8, 1971. Burt Reynolds played the title character. Reruns of the series aired in prime time on CBS from May to October ...
'' (1970) - "When the Shouting Dies" (S1E10)
* ''
Bearcats!
''Bearcats!'' is an American Western television series broadcast on the CBS television network during the fall 1971 television season. It starred Rod Taylor and Dennis Cole as troubleshooters in the period before the American entry into Wor ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
''
(1973)
** "The Tong" (S2E7)
** "The Hoots" (S2E10)
* ''
The Red Pony''
(1973)
* ''
Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...
'' (1975)
* ''
The Fitzpatricks'' (1977) - "Say Goodbye to Buddy Bonkers" (S1E10)
* ''
The Sacketts''
(1979)
* ''
Enos'' (1981) - "House Cleaners" (S1E7)
* ''
Magnum, P.I.''
(1981) - "Double Jeopardy" (S2E19)
* ''
The Young Riders'' (1990) - "The Man Behind the Badge" (S1E21)
Actor
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, Robert
1937 births
1995 deaths
People from Los Angeles
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male television actors
American male film actors
20th-century American male actors
American male screenwriters
American television directors