Robert W. Castle
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Rev. Robert Wilkinson Castle Jr. (August 29, 1929 – October 27, 2012) was an American
Episcopal priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
,
social activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
, and
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
. Castle was the subject of the 1992
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
'' Cousin Bobby'', which was directed by his cousin, film director
Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...
. His involvement in Demme's documentary led to an unlikely career as an actor in more than a dozen films over the next two decades, including roles in ''
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
'', '' The Addiction'', '' Beloved'', and ''
Rachel Getting Married ''Rachel Getting Married'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, and Debra Winger. The film premiered at the 65th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, ...
''.


Life and career

Castle was born on August 29, 1929, in
Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
. He played as a football
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
at
St. Lawrence University St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students. Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...
, where he received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
. He earned a second degree from the
Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, founded in 1854, is a seminaries, seminary of Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
. While still studying at Berkeley, was given an assignment to serve at a predominantly
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...
parish on
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
, sparking a lifelong commitment to civil rights and minority rights. His first assignment as an Episcopal priest was as a rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church in his native Jersey City from 1960 to 1968. During that time, Castle became very involved with the American civil rights movement, including traveling to
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
to march with
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
He became one of the city's most vocal activists. He once dumped large amounts of garbage outside Jersey City Hall as a way to draw attention to the need for more street cleanings. He protested against his own New Jersey Episcopal bishop for his membership in segregated social clubs. Castle also led protests against restaurants, banks, and other businesses because they would not hire minority employees. An opponent of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, he allowed 1960s left-wing groups, including the
Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California ...
and
Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships a ...
, to use both his home and St. John's Episcopal Church for their meetings. His views and actions in Jersey City proved so controversial that when he left his post St. John's Church in 1968, no other church in the
Episcopal Diocese of Newark The Episcopal Diocese of Newark is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America comprising the northern third of New Jersey in the United States. The Diocese represents the Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Chu ...
would accept him into their parishes. Castle and his family moved to
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, where he became involved with social work and operated a
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
. Castle was also the football coach for several years at North Country Union High School where he led the team, with his son John at quarterback, to the state championship game in 1981.


Rector at St. Mary's Episcopal Church

Castle next became the rector of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, located on West 126th Street in Manhattan's
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
neighborhood. He served as rector from 1987 until his retirement in 2000. Castle continued his vocal activism at St. Mary's. In the early 1990s, he protested against the much larger
Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...
, also an Episcopal church, for honoring retired General
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
and other leading figures in
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. He campaigned against
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
of Harlem other neighborhoods in New York City. Though he was the founder of the St. Mary’s Episcopal Center, an AIDS
hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...
located in Harlem, Castle protested against himself to demand better contracts and pay for the hospice workers. St. Mary's Episcopal Church is located directly across the street from the 26th Police Precinct of the
NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
. Castle would put flyers on police cars admonishing the officers for illegally parking on the sidewalk in front of his church. His ongoing parking battle with the NYPD led a to newspaper article on him published during the late 1980s. That article caught the attention of film director Jonathan Demme, a cousin of Castle; both had previously lost touch with one another. In a 1992 interview with NPR, Demme recalled his reaction to the article, "I thought: 'Good Lord. I wonder — no, that couldn’t possibly be cousin Bobby...The good Bobby Castle would never be trashing police cars, for heaven's sake."


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Robert W. 1929 births 2012 deaths St. Lawrence University alumni Yale Divinity School alumni American male film actors Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey Male actors from New York City 20th-century American Episcopal priests