Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
January 13, 1919
Place of Birth:
Los Angeles, California, USA
Social Media
Robert Stack
Biography
Robert Langford Modini Stack (January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was a multilingual American actor and television host. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he also appeared on the television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Stack spent his early childhood growing up in Europe. Becoming fluent in French and Italian at an early age, and he did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles. Stack achieved minor fame in sporting, winning multiple championships including setting two world records and winning multiple honors in skeet shooting
Stack studied drama at Bridgewater State College, earning his first hollywood role at the age of 20 and continuing to star in numerous roles throughout the early 1940s.
After serving in the military, Stack returned to Hollywood to star in numerous films including stand out roles in The High and the Mighty (opposite John Wayne) and Written on the Wind (1957), for which he was awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Stack later moved on to televised dramatic series, depicting the crime-fighting Eliot Ness in The Untouchables (1959–1963), which earned him a best actor Emmy Award in 1960. Stack also starred in multiple drama series, before returning to film, this time in comedies to satirize his famed stoic and humorless demeanor.
He began hosting Unsolved Mysteries in 1987, and served as the show's host throughout it's entire original run from 1987 to 2002.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy | Self (archive footage) |
| 2019 | Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood | (archive footage) |
| 2018 | These Dead Souls | (archive footage) |
| 2008 | Acting for Douglas Sirk | Self (archive footage) |
| 2004 | Unsolved Mysteries Volume 1: UFOs | Host |
| 2001 | Killer Bud | The Gooch |
| 2001 | Recess: School's Out | Superintendent (voice) |
| 2001 | Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir | Self |
| 1999 | Mumford | Himself |
| 1999 | The Y2K Crisis | Host |
| 1999 | Sealed with a Kiss | Sumner Ethridge |
| 1999 | Hercules: Zero to Hero | Narrator (voice) (archive sound) |
| 1998 | BASEketball | Robert Stack |
| 1997 | Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down The Line | Self |
| 1996 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | Agent Flemming (voice) |
| 1996 | The Making of '1941' | Self (archive footage) |
| 1996 | Clark Gable: Tall, Dark, and Handsome | Self |
| 1991 | The Real Story of Baa Baa Black Sheep | Lt. Littleboy (voice) |
| 1991 | The Return of Eliot Ness | Eliot Ness |
| 1990 | Joe Versus the Volcano | Dr. Ellison |
| 1988 | Caddyshack II | Chandler Young |
| 1988 | Dangerous Curves | Louis Faciano |
| 1988 | Plain Clothes | Mr. Gardner |
| 1987 | Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit | Jordan White |
| 1987 | Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood | Self |
| 1986 | Big Trouble | Winslow |
| 1986 | The Transformers: The Movie | Ultra Magnus (voice) |
| 1985 | Midas Valley | Drew Hammond |
| 1985 | My Kingdom For... | |
| 1983 | Uncommon Valor | MacGregor |
| 1982 | Barry Norman in Celebrity City | Self |
| 1980 | Airplane! | Captain Rex Kramer |
| 1980 | Douglas Sirk: Über Stars | Self |
| 1979 | 1941 | Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell |
| 1979 | Undercover with the KKK | Host - Narrator |
| 1979 | The Muppets Go Hollywood | Self |
| 1978 | Second Wind | François Davis |
| 1975 | Adventures of the Queen | Capt. James Morgan |
| 1975 | Murder on Flight 502 | Captain Larkin |
| 1974 | The Strange and Deadly Occurrence | Michael Rhodes |
| 1971 | The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World | Self |
| 1971 | The Selling of the Pentagon | Self (archive footage) |
| 1970 | Story of a Woman | David Frasier |
| 1968 | Laura | Mark McPherson |
| 1967 | Action Man | Jim Beckley |
| 1967 | The Corrupt Ones | Cliff Wilder |
| 1966 | Is Paris Burning? | General Sibert |
| 1965 | Asylum for a Spy | James Andrew Congers |
| 1963 | The Caretakers | Dr. Donovan MacLeod |
| 1960 | The Last Voyage | Cliff Henderson |
| 1959 | John Paul Jones | John Paul Jones |
| 1959 | The Scarface Mob | Eliot Ness |
| 1958 | The Gift of Love | William 'Bill' Beck |
| 1957 | The Tarnished Angels | Roger Shumann |
| 1956 | Written on the Wind | Kyle Hadley |
| 1956 | Great Day in the Morning | Owen Pentecost |
| 1955 | Good Morning, Miss Dove | Dr. Tommy Baker |
| 1955 | House of Bamboo | Eddie Kenner |
| 1955 | Laura | Mark Macpherson |
| 1954 | The High and the Mighty | John Sullivan |
| 1954 | The Iron Glove | Captain Charles Wogan |
| 1953 | Sabre Jet | Col. Gil Manton |
| 1953 | War Paint | Lt. Billings |
| 1953 | Conquest of Cochise | Maj. Tom Burke |
| 1952 | Bwana Devil | Bob Hayward |
| 1951 | My Outlaw Brother | Patrick O´Moore |
| 1951 | Bullfighter and the Lady | John Regan |
| 1950 | Mr. Music | Jeff Blake |
| 1950 | Riviera Dream | |
| 1948 | A Date with Judy | Stephen Andrews |
| 1948 | Fighter Squadron | Capt. Stuart L. Hamilton |
| 1948 | Miss Tatlock's Millions | Nickey Van Alen |
| 1943 | Screen Snapshots (Series 23, No. 1): Hollywood in Uniform | Himself |
| 1942 | To Be or Not to Be | Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski |
| 1942 | Men of Texas | Barry Conovan |
| 1942 | Eagle Squadron | Chuck S. Brewer |
| 1942 | Keeping Fit | Bob - Factory worker |
| 1941 | Nice Girl? | Don Webb |
| 1941 | Badlands of Dakota | Jim Holliday |
| 1941 | Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 | Self |
| 1940 | The Mortal Storm | Otto Von Rohn |
| 1940 | A Little Bit of Heaven | Bob Terry |
| 1939 | First Love | Ted Drake |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Butt-Ugly Martians | Stoat Muldoon (voice) |
| 1998 | Hercules | Bob (voice) |
| 1997 | King of the Hill | Reynolds Penland (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1997 | The Angry Beavers | Narrator (voice) |
| 1996 | Suddenly Susan | Robert Stack |
| 1993 | Diagnosis: Murder | Peter McReynolds |
| 1992 | Vicki! | Self |
| 1991 | Unsolved Mysteries: UFOS | |
| 1990 | Blossom | |
| 1990 | The Fanelli Boys | Robert Stack (uncredited) |
| 1990 | The Fanelli Boys | Kyle Hadley |
| 1990 | Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts | |
| 1988 | Unsolved Mysteries | Host |
| 1985 | Hollywood Wives | George Lancaster |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Chester Harrison |
| 1984 | Brothers | |
| 1984 | George Washington | General Stark |
| 1982 | Hotel | Lewis Blackwood |
| 1982 | Hotel | Charles Vandoor |
| 1981 | Falcon Crest | Roland Saunders |
| 1981 | Strike Force | Captain Frank Murphy |
| 1981 | Entertainment Tonight | Self |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Bret Garrett |
| 1976 | Most Wanted | Captain Linc Evers |
| 1975 | Les Rendez-vous du dimanche | Self |
| 1974 | Dinah! | Self |
| 1973 | Police Story | |
| 1973 | The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts | Self |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game | Dan Farrell |
| 1967 | The Danny Thomas Hour | Angelo (Businessman) |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Major Morgan |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | James Andrew Congers |
| 1962 | The Lucy Show | Agent Briggs |
| 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self - Co-Host |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
| 1959 | The Untouchables | Eliot Ness |
| 1955 | The 20th Century Fox Hour | Mark MacPherson |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |
| 1952 | The Ford Television Theatre | Ralph Saunders |
| 1952 | The Ford Television Theatre | Ben Barton |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Vic Flint |
| 1951 | The Red Skelton Show | Self / Bo Bo McGoon |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | First Man |
| 1950 | The Bob Hope Show | Self - Cameo |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Self - Intermission Guest |
| 1949 | Lights Out | |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Presenter |