Robert Stack

Biography

Robert Stack was an American actor and a television host whose deep voice and commanding presence carried him through more than 40 feature films. Born in Los Angeles, he entered pictures after a Universal producer spotted him, making his debut opposite Deanna Durbin in First Love (1939) and winning notice in The Mortal Storm (1940). He played pilots and action leads in the 1950s, among them The High and the Mighty (1954), House of Bamboo (1955), and Written on the Wind (1956), which brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. From 1959 to 1963 he starred as Eliot Ness in The Untouchables, winning a Primetime Emmy in 1960, and he later hosted and narrated Unsolved Mysteries from 1987 to 2002. After spoofing his own image in 1941 (1979), he turned to deadpan comedy, notably as Captain Rex Kramer in Airplane! (1980), and appeared in Caddyshack II (1988) and BASEketball (1998). He died in 2003.

84years old at death

Born January 13, 1919Los Angeles
Died May 14, 2003Beverly Hills
Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Robert Langford Modini Stack (birth name)

Movie Career

Films: 23
Career span: 59 years1940 to 1999

Genres

Comedy48%, 11 films
Drama43%, 10 films
Action22%, 5 films
Romance17%, 4 films
War17%, 4 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

Big break
At 20, Stack was visiting the Universal Studios lot when producer Joe Pasternak offered him a way into the business, and after a test with Helen Parrish, he got the part.
A first
Stack made his film debut in First Love (1939), produced by Pasternak, opposite Deanna Durbin. The movie stirred controversy because he gave Durbin her first on-screen kiss.

Robert Stack movies on Netflix

Mumford1999IMDb rating 6.8as Himself
BASEketball1998IMDb rating 6.5as Himself - Unsolved Mysteries Host
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America1996IMDb rating 6.8as ATF Agent Flemming (voice)
Joe Versus the Volcano1990IMDb rating 5.9as Dr. Ellison
Caddyshack II1988IMDb rating 3.8as Chandler Young
Plain Clothes1988IMDb rating 6.2as Mr. Gardner
Big Trouble1986IMDb rating 5.2as Winslow
Uncommon Valor1983IMDb rating 6.3as MacGregor
Airplane!1980IMDb rating 7.7as Kramer
19411979IMDb rating 5.7as Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Murder on Flight 5021975IMDb rating 5.4as Captain Larkin
The Last Voyage1960IMDb rating 6.7as Cliff Henderson
The Scarface Mob1959IMDb rating 7.1as Eliot Ness
The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1as Roger Shumann
Great Day in the Morning1956IMDb rating 6.4as Owen Pentecost
Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3as Kyle Hadley
House of Bamboo1955IMDb rating 6.8as Eddie Kenner
The High and the Mighty1954IMDb rating 6.6as John Sullivan
War Paint1953IMDb rating 5.8as Lt. Billings
A Date with Judy1948IMDb rating 6.5as Stephen Andrews
Fighter Squadron1948IMDb rating 6.2as Capt. Stuart L. Hamilton
To Be or Not to Be1942IMDb rating 8.1as Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
The Mortal Storm1940IMDb rating 7.7as Otto Von Rohn

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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Airplane!1980 Comedyas Kramer
IMDb rating 7.7293K votes
To Be or Not to Be1942 Comedy, Romance, Waras Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
IMDb rating 8.150K votes
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America1996as ATF Agent Flemmingvoice
IMDb rating 6.863K votes
Caddyshack II1988as Chandler Young
IMDb rating 3.817K votes
Written on the Wind1956as Kyle Hadley
IMDb rating 7.315K votes
Uncommon Valor1983as MacGregor
IMDb rating 6.314K votes
Joe Versus the Volcano1990as Dr. Ellison
IMDb rating 5.943K votes
The Tarnished Angels1957as Roger Shumann
IMDb rating 7.14.5K votes

Most often with

David Zucker directed two of these films, Douglas Sirk two. Three actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Rock Hudson

Dorothy Malone

Robert J. Wilke

Dan Aykroyd

Lloyd Bridges

William Schallert

David ZuckerDirector, 2 films

Douglas SirkDirector, 2 films

Films together

Rock Hudson3 films together, 1948 to 1957
Rock Hudson's page
- The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1Stack as Roger ShumannHudson as Burke Devlin
- Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3Stack as Kyle HadleyHudson as Mitch Wayne
- Fighter Squadron1948IMDb rating 6.2Stack as Capt. Stuart L. HamiltonHudson as Second Lieutenant
Dorothy Malone3 films together, 1956 to 1960
Dorothy Malone's page
- The Last Voyage1960IMDb rating 6.7Stack as Cliff HendersonMalone as Laurie Henderson
- The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1Stack as Roger ShumannMalone as LaVerne Shumann
- Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3Stack as Kyle HadleyMalone as Marylee Hadley
Robert J. Wilke3 films together, 1953 to 1957
Robert J. Wilke's page
- The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1Stack as Roger ShumannWilke as Hank
- Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3Stack as Kyle HadleyWilke as Dan Willis
- War Paint1953IMDb rating 5.8Stack as Lt. BillingsWilke as Trooper Grady(Robert Wilke)
Dan Aykroyd2 films together, 1979 to 1988
Dan Aykroyd's page
- Caddyshack II1988IMDb rating 3.8Stack as Chandler YoungAykroyd as Capt. Tom Everett
- 19411979IMDb rating 5.7Stack as Maj. Gen. Joseph W. StilwellAykroyd as Sgt. Frank Tree
Lloyd Bridges2 films together, 1980 to 1990
Lloyd Bridges's page
- Joe Versus the Volcano1990IMDb rating 5.9Stack as Dr. EllisonBridges as Graynamore
- Airplane!1980IMDb rating 7.7Stack as KramerBridges as McCroskey
William Schallert2 films together, 1956 to 1957
William Schallert's page
- The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1Stack as Roger ShumannSchallert as Ted Baker
- Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3Stack as Kyle HadleySchallert as Reporter
David ZuckerDirector, 2 films, 1980 to 1998
All films by David Zucker
- BASEketball1998IMDb rating 6.5Stack as Himself - Unsolved Mysteries Host
- Airplane!1980IMDb rating 7.7Stack as Kramer
Douglas SirkDirector, 2 films, 1956 to 1957
All films by Douglas Sirk
- The Tarnished Angels1957IMDb rating 7.1Stack as Roger Shumann
- Written on the Wind1956IMDb rating 7.3Stack as Kyle Hadley
Also two films together9 more actors
- Edmond O'BrienThe Last Voyage (1960) and Fighter Squadron (1948)
- John DoucetteHouse of Bamboo (1955) and War Paint (1953)
- Peter GravesAirplane! (1980) and War Paint (1953)
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarBASEketball (1998) and Airplane! (1980)
- Laraine DayMurder on Flight 502 (1975) and The High and the Mighty (1954)
- Walter ReedWar Paint (1953) and Fighter Squadron (1948)
- Abe VigodaJoe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Plain Clothes (1988)
- Loren DeanMumford (1999) and Plain Clothes (1988)
- Rosemarie StackBig Trouble (1986) and Murder on Flight 502 (1975)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Box office

What Robert Stack's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$334 million

13 of the 23 films have a worldwide figure.

13Worldwide figure
2US gross only
1Never in cinemas
7Figure not found

Top grosser

19411979Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell$94.9 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 98% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
19411979as Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
$95M28.4% of the total
2
Airplane!1980as Kramer
$83M25.0% of the total
3
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America1996as ATF Agent Flemming (voice)
$63M18.9% of the total
4
Joe Versus the Volcano1990as Dr. Ellison
$39M11.8% of the total
5
Uncommon Valor1983as MacGregor
$31M9.1% of the total
6
BASEketball1998as Himself - Unsolved Mysteries Host
$7.0M2.1% of the total
7
A Date with Judy1948as Stephen Andrews
$4.6M1.4% of the total
8
Written on the Wind1956as Kyle Hadley
$4.3M1.3% of the total