Richard Rober

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Richard Rober

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Richard Rober
Rober in Kid Monk Baroni (1952)
Born	Richard Steven Rauber (1906-05-14)May 14, 1906 Rochester, New York, U.S.
Died	May 26, 1952(1952-05-26) (aged 46) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, New York
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1952
Spouse(s)	Mary Hay Barthelmess (m. 1946; div. 19??)

Richard Rober (born Richard Steven Rauber; May 14, 1906 – May 26, 1952) was an American stage and film actor. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s he featured in numerous theatre productions, including being part of the original cast of Born Yesterday in Chicago, and the long-running Oklahoma!. In 1947 he moved to Hollywood and appeared in dozens of B-movies and film noir-type films, including Call Northside 777 (1948), Sierra (1950), and The Well (1951). He died in an automobile accident in 1952 at the age of 46.

Early life and family

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Richard Steven Rauber was born in Rochester, New York, on May 14, 1906.^[1] He was the son of Frederick S. Rauber,^[2] an attorney, and Elizabeth Ford.^[3]

Career

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Rober began his career as a stage actor in the mid-1930s under his real name, Richard Rauber. Penniless and looking for work after his graduation from the University of Rochester, he landed a small part in a play by the Lyceum Players starring Louis Calhern.^[4] He went on to act with nearly every repertory theatre company on the East Coast.^[4] He was part of the original Chicago company of Born Yesterday.^[3]^[5] He also performed in the long-running Oklahoma!.^[6]

In 1947,^[1] Rober embarked on a career in Hollywood, appearing in his first film role in Call Northside 777 (1948). He appeared in many B-movies—including Sierra (1950)—and film noir drama films such as The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) and The Well (1951). In July 1951 it was reported that he had appeared in 26 films in his 3 1/2 years in Hollywood.^[4]

While Rober mostly played supporting roles, his career began to go on the ascendancy before his death in 1952. He had a starring role in The Well (1951), and had traveled to Austria to play the lead in the MGM production The Devil Makes Three (1952).^[3] The week before his death, he played the lead in Corny Johnson, a television film produced by Bing Crosby Enterprises.^[3]

Personal life

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Rober was married twice.^[7] His second marriage, at age 40, was to Mary Hay Barthelmess, age 23, daughter of actors Richard Barthelmess and Mary Hay, in New York in January 1946.^[7]^[8] They later divorced.

Death

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Rober died after crashing his car in the San Fernando Valley on May 26, 1952.^[3] He had been driving with a passenger, actress Norma Britton. The car swerved off the highway in heavy fog and plummeted over a 75 ft (23 m) embankment, something which, three years earlier, in The File on Thelma Jordon, he actually depicted, sitting next to Barbara Stanwyck.^[3]^[9] Rescuers took the pair to Santa Monica Hospital, where Rober died a few hours later. Britton survived with rib injuries.^[3]

Rober was eulogized in Rochester and buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery there.^[1]^[3]

Filmography

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1936	Sheik to Sheik	Ali Bin Whoopsie, the Mad Sheik	Short (credited as Richard Rauber)
1948	Call Northside 777	Sgt. Larson in Records Department	Uncredited
	April Showers	Al Wilson
	Embraceable You	Sig Ketch
	Larceny	Max
	Smart Girls Don't Talk	Lt. McReady
1949	Illegal Entry	Dutch Lempo
	Any Number Can Play	Lew 'Angie' Debretti
	Task Force	Jack Southern
	I Married a Communist	Jim Travers
	Port of New York	Jim Flannery
1950	The File on Thelma Jordon	Tony Laredo
	Backfire	Solly Blayne
	Sierra	Big Matt Rango
	Deported	Bernardo Gervaso
	Dial 1119	Police Capt. Henry Keiver	Also known as The Violent Hour in the UK
	Watch the Birdie	Mr. Hugh Shanway
1951	Father's Little Dividend	Police Sergeant
	Passage West	Mike	Also known as High Venture in the UK
	The Tall Target	Lt. Coulter
	The Well	Sheriff Ben Kellogg
	Man in the Saddle	Fay Dutcher
1952	Outlaw Women	Woody Callaway
	Kid Monk Baroni	Father Callahan
	O. Henry's Full House	Chief of Detectives	(segment "The Clarion Call")
	The Rose Bowl Story	Coach James Hadley
	The Savage	Capt. Arnold Vaugant
	The Devil Makes Three	Colonel James Terry
1957	Jet Pilot	FBI Agent George Rivers	Delayed release, final film role

Stage credits

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Year	Title	Role
1936	Murder in the Old Red Barn	William Corder
1938	Richard II	Lord Ross
1938	The Man from Cairo	Janos
1941-2	Banjo Eyes	Harry the Bartender
1942-3	Star and Garter	Narrator, District Attorney, Doctor
1943-8	Oklahoma!
1944	Ramshackle Inn	Dr. Russell
1946	Born Yesterday