Jason Robards - Biography

Last Editor: jmshore				Jason Robards Biography -   Name : Jason Robards Date of birth : 26 July 1922 Place of birth : Chicago, Illinois, USA Birth name : Jason Nelson Robards Jr. Height : 5' 11

Jason Robards Trivia -

Recipient of 22nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contribution to arts and culture, presented by President Bill Clinton in Wash DC, Dec. 5, 1999. Father of actor Jason Robards III. Father, with actress Lauren Bacall, of actor Sam Robards. Survivor of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack by the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. He has 3 children with Eleanor Pitman. He has 2 children with Lois O'Connor. He won an Emmy in 1988 for Inherit the Wind (1988) (TV). Is a Civil War buff in real life. Ironically he played President U.S. Grant in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), and was the voice of General Grant in the PBS mini-series "The Civil War" (1990) (mini). Preferred working in the theater, and said once that he performed in Hollywood films so that he could "grab the money and go back to Broadway as fast as I can." In 1972, he was in a horrifying accident on a winding California road. He drove his car into the side of a mountain and nearly died. His acute drinking problem contributed to the accident. He slowly recovered after extensive surgery and facial reconstruction. On April 22, 2002, the first Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre was awarded to Christopher Plummer by the Roundabout Theatre. Jennifer Jason Leigh added the "Jason" to her stage name in tribute to Robards, a family friend. She said, "I like the way it sounds between Jennifer and Leigh." In one of his last roles, in Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), he portrayed a man dying from lung cancer to excellent effect. Two years later he himself died from the same disease. Attended Hollywood High School in Beverly Hills and played on the football, baseball, basketball and track teams, once entertaining the idea of becoming a professional athlete. Avoided films until age 37 because he felt his acting father, Jason Robards Sr., had sold out and tarnished his own reputation by "going Hollywood". First lead role was in the 1953 off-Broadway production of "American Gothic" directed by José Quintero. . Two daughters and four sons: Sarah Louise, Shannon Robards, Jason Robards III, Sam Robards, David and Jake Robards. Received all of his Oscar nominations for playing real-life people: Benjamin C. Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Dashiell Hammett in Julia (1977) and Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980). In 1988 he became the 11th performer to win the Triple Crown of acting. Oscars: Best Supporting Actor, All the President's Men (1976) and Best Supporting Actor, Julia (1977); Tony: Best Actor-Play, 'The Disenchanted' (1959); Emmy: Best Actor -Miniseries/Special, _"Inherit the Wind" (1988) (mini) . Nominated eight times for a Tony Award, for "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1957), "The Disenchanted" (1959), "Toys in the Attic" (1960), "After The Fall" (1964), "Hughie" (1965), "The Country Girl" (1972), "A Moon for the Misbegotten" (1974), and "A Touch of the Poet" (1978). "The Disenchanted" in 1959 was his sole win. Won Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "The Disenchanted." He has been nominated seven other times: as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) in 1957 for "Long Day's Journey into Night;" as Best Actor (Dramatic) in 1960 for "Toys in the Attic," in 1964 for "After The Fall," in 1965 for "Hughie," in 1972 for "The Country Girl" and in 1974 for "A Moon for the Misbegotten;" and as Best Actor (Play) in 1978 for "A Touch of the Poet." With eight nominations, he holds the record for being the actor nominated the most times for a Tony Award, although he only won once. Was the first winner of a Best Actor Obie Award, which recognize achievement in the Off-Broadway theater, for playing Hickey in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" during the 1955-56 season. He tied for the Best Actor award with George Voskovec, who was cited for "Uncle Vanya."

Jason Robards Detailed Biography -

One of American's leading artists of stage and screen, Jason Robards was most recently honored for his contributions to the American Arts by the Kennedy Center. Robards won consecutive Oscars in 1976 and 1977 for his portrayal of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee in All The Presidents Men and his performance as novelist Dashiell Hammett in Julia. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his memorable depiction of eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes in Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard. Robards began his illustrious career on stage, coming to prominence with the spectacular 1956 Off-Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. The following year, he starred on Broadway in Long Days Journey into Night, for which he won the New York Drama Critics' Award. He later starred in the Broadway production of A Thousand Clowns - a role he re-created for the 1965 movie - and won a Tony Award in 1959 for his work in The Disenchanted. Robards made his film debut in The Journey in 1958 and went on to appear in By Love Possessed and in Tender is the Night, for which he received widespread acclaim. In 1962 he reprised his stage role in the film realization of Long Days Journey Into Night and portrayed playwright George S. Kaufman in Act One. He played Al Capone in The St. Valentine's Day Massacre and legendary gunfighter Doc Holliday in The Hour of the Gun. Other film credits include Tora! Tora! Tora!, Sam Peckinpah's The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Isadora, Johnny Got His Gun, Max Dugan Returns, Once Upon a Time in the West, Philadelphia, Bright Lights, Big City and Parenthood. On television, he has appeared in many telefilms and miniseries including Washington Behind Closed Doors as a Nixon-like President, The Day After, The Long Hot Summer, Sakharov and Inherit the Wind, for which he received an Emmy Award.