Robert Sterling

Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series Topper (1953–1955).

In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the television industry.

Early life

Sterling was born William Sterling Hart in New Castle, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The son of Chicago Cubs baseball player William Frank Hart, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a clothing salesman before pursuing an acting career.

Career Columbia Pictures After signing with Columbia Pictures in 1939, he changed his name to Robert Sterling to avoid confusion with silent Western star William S. Hart.

Sterling appeared in small parts for Columbia movies, often uncredited: Blondie Meets the Boss (1939), Romance of the Redwoods (1939), First Offenders (1939), Outside These Walls (1939), The Chump Takes a Bump (1939), That Girl from College (1939), and the serial Mandrake the Magician (1939).

He was in Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Missing Daughters (1939), and a short with Buster Keaton, Pest from the West (1939). Sterling was in Good Girls Go to Paris (1939), The Man They Could Not Hang (1939), Golden Boy (1939), The Gates of Alcatraz (1939), A Woman Is the Judge (1939), The Story of Charles Goodyear (1939), Scandal Sheet (1939), Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Beware Spooks! (1939), Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939), The Amazing Mr Williams (1939), Glove Slingers (1939), The Awful Goof (1939) (a short), and Crime's End (1939).

He was in Nothing But Pleasure (1940), a Buster Keaton short and The Heckler (1940), a short with Charley Chase,

20th Century Fox At 20th Century Fox, he played the lead in Manhattan Heartbeat (1940) and Yesterday's Heroes (1940). He was in The Gay Caballero (1940).

MGM In November 1940, Sterling went to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He appeared in The Penalty (1941) and had the lead in I'll Wait for You (1941), The Getaway (1941), and Ringside Maisie (1941) with Ann Sothern, whom he later married.

He had good supporting roles in Two-Faced Woman (1941) with Greta Garbo and Johnny Eager (1941) with Robert Taylor. Sterling also was seen in Dr. Kildare's Victory (1942) and This Time for Keeps (1942). He was billed third in Somewhere I'll Find You (1942), after Clark Gable and Lana Turner – one of MGM's biggest films of the year. Just as Sterling seemingly was about to break through as a star, he joined the service.

After the war Sterling served in World War II as a United States Army Air Corps flight instructor. He got out of the army in October 1945 and MGM announced him for The Last Time I Saw Paris, but the film was not made for several years and not with Sterling. He appeared in The Secret Heart (1946) at MGM.

At RKO, he had the lead in Roughshod (1949). He made an independent Western, The Sundowners (1950), with Robert Preston and John Drew Barrymore and did Bunco Squad (1951) at RKO.

He was appearing on Broadway in The Gramercy Ghost when he formed a relationship with actress/singer Anne Jeffreys.

On television, Sterling starred in "The Man Who Had Influence", the May 29, 1950, episode of Studio One. He also appeared on such shows as The Ford Theatre Hour, Showtime, U.S.A., The Clock, The Web (starring in the episode "Homecoming"), Faith Baldwin Romance Theatre, Celanese Theatre, Lights Out (one episode with Grace Kelly), Betty Crocker Star Matinee (an episode with Audrey Hepburn), Suspense, The Gulf Playhouse, Robert Montgomery Presents, Studio One in Hollywood (an adaptation of The Ambassadors), and Climax!.

Sterling had an excellent part as Steve Baker, opposite Ava Gardner as Julie, in the hit MGM 1951 film version of Show Boat. He supported Audie Murphy in Column South (1953). His second wife, actress Anne Jeffreys, and he also developed a nightclub act.

Love That Jill In 1958, the couple co-starred in another comedy series, Love That Jill on ABC. Sterling and Jeffreys portrayed heads of rival modeling agencies in New York City.

Sterling appeared on The United States Steel Hour, then returned to features at Fox. He had good roles in Return to Peyton Place (1961), as Mike Rossi, husband of Eleanor Parker, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) for Irwin Allen.

Ichabod and Me In the 1961–1962 television season, Sterling co-starred with George Chandler and Reta Shaw in CBS's Ichabod and Me.

In 1963, Sterling starred in The Twilight Zone episode "Printer's Devil" alongside Burgess Meredith. He was also in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Naked City, plus A Global Affair (1964) with Bob Hope.

Later career After some additional television work in the early 1960s, Sterling made only sporadic appearances in later shows such as the hospital drama The Bold Ones, the sitcoms Nanny and the Professor, Love, American Style, Diana, and The Brian Keith Show, the TV movie Letters from Three Lovers (1973), and the miniseries Beggarman, Thief in 1979.

In the 1970s Sterling was a vice president and the spokesman for a company that implemented the software for one of the first supermarket barcoding and computer inventory systems. He later launched Sterling & Sons, a Santa Monica company that manufactured custom golf clubs.

Sterling died Tuesday, May 30, 2006, aged 88, at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. According to the Associated Press, his son, Jeffrey, indicated that Sterling died of natural causes and also suffered from debilitating shingles for the last decade of his life.