Robert Stack
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
King of the Hill
Reynolds Penland (voice) (uncredited)
1997
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Series
The Love Boat
Bret Garrett
1977
Series
Murder, She Wrote
Chester Harrison
1984
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
1961
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Diagnosis: Murder
Peter McReynolds
1993
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self
1944
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
1944
Series
Falcon Crest
Roland Saunders
1981
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Major Morgan
1963
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
James Andrew Congers
1963
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
The Red Skelton Show
Bo Bo McGoon
1951
Series
The Lucy Show
Agent Briggs
1962
Series
Hotel
Lewis Blackwood
1982
Series
Hotel
Charles Vandoor
1982
Series
The Untouchables
Eliot Ness
1959
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Series
Hercules
Bob (voice)
1998
Series
The Name of the Game
Dan Farrell
1968
Series
Blossom
Robert Stack
1990
Film
Airplane!
Captain Rex Kramer
1980
Series
Dinah!
Self
1974
Series
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Series
The Bob Hope Show
Self - Cameo
1950
Series
The Angry Beavers
Narrator (voice)
1997
Series
The Ford Television Theatre
Ralph Saunders
1952
Series
The Ford Television Theatre
Ben Barton
1952
Series
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Eliot Ness
1958
Series
Unsolved Mysteries
Host
1988
Series
The 20th Century Fox Hour
Mark MacPherson
1955
Series
Lights Out
1949
Series
Police Story
1973
Series
Brothers
1984
Series
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
1973
Vicki!
Self
1992
Series
Suddenly Susan
Robert Stack
1996
Film
The Transformers: The Movie
Ultra Magnus (voice)
1986
Lux Video Theatre
First Man
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Self - Intermission Guest
1950
Series
Entertainment Tonight
Self
1981
Film
1941
Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
1979
Film
Recess: School's Out
Superintendent (voice)
2001
Film
BASEketball
Robert Stack
1998
Film
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
Agent Flemming (voice)
1996
Series
The Danny Thomas Hour
Angelo (Businessman)
1967
Film
Is Paris Burning?
General Sibert
1966
Film
Joe Versus the Volcano
Dr. Ellison
1990
Film
Uncommon Valor
MacGregor
1983
Film
The High and the Mighty
John Sullivan
1954
Film
To Be or Not to Be
Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
1942
Series
Hollywood Wives
George Lancaster
1985
Series
Butt-Ugly Martians
Stoat Muldoon (voice)
2002
Film
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
1987
Series
Most Wanted
Captain Linc Evers
1976
Film
Caddyshack II
Chandler Young
1988
Series
Strike Force
Captain Frank Murphy
1981
The Fanelli Boys
Robert Stack (uncredited)
1990
The Fanelli Boys
Kyle Hadley
1990
Series
George Washington
General Stark
1984
Series
Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts
1990
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Vic Flint
1951
Series
Unsolved Mysteries: UFOS
1991
Film
Written on the Wind
Kyle Hadley
1956
Film
House of Bamboo
Eddie Kenner
1955
Film
Plain Clothes
Mr. Gardner
1988
Film
Great Day in the Morning
Owen Pentecost
1956
Film
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self
1979
Film
Riviera Dream
1950
Film
The Mortal Storm
Otto Von Rohn
1940
Film
Nice Girl?
Don Webb
1941
Film
Hercules: Zero to Hero
Narrator (voice) (archive sound)
1999
Film
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones
1959
Film
Mumford
Himself
1999
Series
Lords of the Mafia
Self - Narrator
1999
Film
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
Self
1997
Film
Good Morning, Miss Dove
Dr. Tommy Baker
1955
Film
A Date with Judy
Stephen Andrews
1948
Alcatraz Express
Eliot Ness
1961
Film
Barry Norman in Celebrity City
Self
1982
Film
Dangerous Curves
Louis Faciano
1988
Film
The Last Voyage
Cliff Henderson
1960
Film
Action Man
Jim Beckley
1967
Film
Fighter Squadron
Capt. Stuart L. Hamilton
1948
Film
Big Trouble
Winslow
1986
Film
The Tarnished Angels
Roger Shumann
1957
Film
Clark Gable: Tall, Dark, and Handsome
Self
1996
Film
Undercover with the KKK
Host - Narrator
1979
Film
Jacques Tati, tombé de la lune
2021
Film
Bullfighter and the Lady
John Regan
1951
Film
Murder on Flight 502
Captain Larkin
1975
Film
The Return of Eliot Ness
Eliot Ness
1991
Film
War Paint
Lt. Billings
1953
Film
The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World
Self
1971
Film
Badlands of Dakota
Jim Holliday
1941
Film
First Love
Ted Drake
1939
Film
The Scarface Mob
Eliot Ness
1959
Film
Eagle Squadron
Chuck S. Brewer
1942
Asylum for a Spy
James Andrew Congers
1965
Film
The Corrupt Ones
Cliff Wilder
1967
Film
Adventures of the Queen
Capt. James Morgan
1975
Film
The Strange and Deadly Occurrence
Michael Rhodes
1974
Film
Mr. Music
Jeff Blake
1950
Film
The Gift of Love
William 'Bill' Beck
1958
Film
The Caretakers
Dr. Donovan MacLeod
1963
Film
Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir
Self
2001
Film
Midas Valley
Drew Hammond
1985
Film
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
(archive footage)
2019
Film
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
Jordan White
1987
Film
Conquest of Cochise
Maj. Tom Burke
1953
Film
Unsolved Mysteries Volume 1: UFOs
Host
2004
The Gun of Zangara
Eliot Ness
1960
Film
My Outlaw Brother
Patrick O´Moore
1951
Film
The Iron Glove
Captain Charles Wogan
1954
Film
A Little Bit of Heaven
Bob Terry
1940
Film
Sealed with a Kiss
Sumner Ethridge
1999
Film
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Self
1941
Film
Story of a Woman
David Frasier
1970
Film
Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy
Self (archive footage)
2023
Douglas Sirk: Über Stars
Self
1980
Film
Miss Tatlock's Millions
Nickey Van Alen
1948
Film
Laura
Mark Macpherson
1955
Film
Bwana Devil
Bob Hayward
1952
Film
The Selling of the Pentagon
Self (archive footage)
1971
Film
Men of Texas
Barry Conovan
1942
Film
Laura
Mark McPherson
1968
Film
These Dead Souls
(archive footage)
2018
Film
Killer Bud
The Gooch
2001
Film
The Y2K Crisis
Host
1999
My Kingdom For...
1985
Film
Second Wind
François Davis
1978
Film
Sabre Jet
Col. Gil Manton
1953
The Real Story of Baa Baa Black Sheep
Lt. Littleboy (voice)
1991
Film
Keeping Fit
Bob - Factory worker
1942
Acting for Douglas Sirk
Self (archive footage)
2008
Film
Screen Snapshots (Series 23, No. 1): Hollywood in Uniform
Himself
1943