Robert V. Barron (December 26, 1932 – December 1, 2000) was an American TV and film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He was best known for his role as the voice of Admiral Donald Hayes in 1980s animated TV series ''

Robotech ''Robotech'' is an American-Japanese science fiction Media franchise, franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United St ...

'', of which he also served as the producer. He is also well known for playing

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 1989 comedy film ''

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the ''Bill & Ted'' franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Win ...

''.

Career

Barron attended Morris Harvey College in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. He subsequently trained at

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

in New York City, and at Max Reinhardt Workshop in Los Angeles. He got his entertainment start in radio, co-producing a two-hour Saturday morning radio program, the "Bop Shop," which aired for two years on radio station WGKV-AM (later WHMS and WXIT, now WSWW (AM)) in his hometown of

. Before permanently moving to California and beginning his Hollywood work, he spent several years in regional theater across the U.S. He built an impressive resumé of glowing reviews of his performances in such roles as ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', ''Abe Lincoln In Illinois'', Sir Thomas More in ''A Man for All Seasons'', Henry Drummond in ''Inherit the Wind'', ''Richard III'', but was never offered major roles in films or television. In Hollywood, he made acting appearances in television shows such as ''

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

'', '' Get a Life'', ''

Father Dowling Mysteries ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', known as ''Father Dowling Investigates'' in the United Kingdom, is an American mystery television series first aired from January 20, 1989, to May 2, 1991. The series was preceded by the 1987 television movie ''Fat ...

'', and movies such as ''The Spring'' and ''A Dangerous Place''. He also wrote episodes of the NBC television western series ''

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 ...

'' and the

CBS-TV CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

western/spy series ''

Wild, Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on a story conceived by Jim Thomas (screenwriter), Jim an ...

''. Perhaps his best-remembered television script was his first, a lighthearted comedy episode of ''

'', "Hoss and the Leprechauns". As a writer, Barron drifted into adapting English

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

scripts of foreign films. American producers began buying successful Japanese animated series and dubbing them in English, and Barron was a pioneer in that industry, which grew rapidly and enormously. He became executive director and story editor for Saban Productions, which in five years became one of the world's largest producers of children's programming, with such shows as ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' (1992) and ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is an American superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s popular culture, ...

'' (1993). He also made appearances on TV series such as ''

'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'', ''

Love American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' and ''

Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...

'', and played a pool player in an episode of CBS-TV's ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

''.

Death

Barron died in December 1, 2000 at age 67 in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

, and was interred in Salinas's Garden of Memories Memorial Park.

Filmography

Anime

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* *
Robert V. Barron - a personal appreciation from a friend
* tribute page at ''Bill and Ted'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Robert V. 1932 births 2000 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Robotech cast and crew 20th-century American male actors American television writers American male screenwriters American television directors American television producers Film producers from West Virginia American voice directors Screenwriters from West Virginia American male television writers Morris Harvey College alumni Film directors from West Virginia 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters