Robert Horton (actor)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Horton (born July 29, 1924), a prominent American television actor, was most noted for the role of Flint McCullough in the TV series Wagon Train (1957–1962). (When Horton quit that series, he was quickly replaced with near-lookalike Robert Fuller.) According to an item in the 4-20-1959 issue of Time magazine, Horton's measurements were 42-31-40. Horton also played Ronald Reagan's role in the TV version of Kings Row (1955), which featured Jack Kelly and ran for seven episodes as part of the Warner Bros. Presents series, rotating with a TV version of Casablanca and a western series called Cheyenne. The ruggedly handsome Horton made dozens of appearances in movies and television shows between 1951 and 1989, including seven separate episodes of the anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He is also remembered for his offbeat role as a cowboy amnesiac in his television series A Man Called Shenandoah (1965–1966). Horton even took a turn in daytime, playing the part of Whit McColl on As the World Turns (1983-1984). In 1966 he starred in "The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones", the first Western made specifically for television and simultaneous distribution to cinemas in Europe. It was made by MGM and co-starred Sal Mineo and Diane Baker.

He went on to perform for many years in theaters and nightclubs all over America and in Australia as a very fine singer (sometimes with his wife, the former Marilynn Bradley). In 1963, producer David Merrick hired him as the male lead in the musical version of N. Richard Nash's play The Rainmaker (entitled 110 in the Shade), in the part played on the screen by Burt Lancaster. The musical, which boasted a score by Tom Jones (writer) and Harvey Schmidt, ran for 330 performances on Broadway.

He has been the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards for television, including the prestigious Golden Boot Award and, recently, the Cowboy Spirit Award at the National Festival of the West. Mr. and Mrs. Horton live in Encino, California.