Willard Robertson

Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films from 1924 to 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.

Biography Robertson first worked as a lawyer in Texas, but he left his profession for a sudden interest in acting after being encouraged to do so by Joseph Jefferson.

Robertson's initial venture onto the stage did not last. He returned to the practice of law as an attorney with the Interstate Commerce Commission. During World War I, he was an administrator in the Chicago office of the federal railway police. Robertson played supporting roles in many Hollywood films from 1930 until the year he died, typically portraying men of authority such as doctors, elected officials, military officers, and lawyers. He played Jackie Cooper's stern but loving father in the drama Skippy (1931) and its sequel Sooky (1931). Robertson also portrayed a flamboyant lawyer in Remember the Night (1940) and the straight sheriff in The Ox-Bow Incident (1943).

Robertson wrote the novel Moon Tide (1940), which was turned into Archie Mayo's drama thriller Moontide (1942) starring Jean Gabin and Ida Lupino.

Selected filmography

Daughters of the Night (1924) as Prof. Woodbury The Last of the Duanes (1930) as Texas Ranger Captain Once a Sinner (1931) as Speaker at Party (uncredited) Fair Warning (1931) as Tex Calder Skippy (1931) as Dr. Herbert Skinner City Streets (1931) as Detective (uncredited) The Lawyer's Secret (1931) as Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited) Murder by the Clock (1931) as Police Captain (uncredited) Silence (1931) as Phil Powers Shanghaied Love (1931) as Newman Graft (1931) as E. T. Scudder The Ruling Voice (1931) as Ed Bailey The Cisco Kid (1931) as Enos Hankins Sooky (1931) as Mr. Skinner The Gay Caballero (1932) as Major Lawrence Blount Behind the Mask (1932) as Capt. E.J. Hawkes Steady Company (1932) as Pop Henley The Broken Wing (1932) as Sylvester Cross The Rider of Death Valley (1932) as Bill Joyce So Big (1932) as The Doctor (scenes deleted) The Famous Ferguson Case (1932) as Sheriff The Texas Bad Man (1932) as Milton Keefe Tom Brown of Culver (1932) as Capt. White Doctor X (1932) as Detective O'Halloran Guilty as Hell (1932) as Police Sgt. Alcock Okay, America! (1932) as Bit Role Wild Girl (1932) as Red Pete Virtue (1932) as MacKenzie I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) as Prison Board Chairman The Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932) Central Park (1932) If I Had a Million (1932) as Fred - Glidden Associate (uncredited) Call Her Savage (1932) as Pete Springer Silver Dollar (1932) as Al - Yates' Office Manager (uncredited) Frisco Jenny (1932) as Capt. of Police Born to Fight (1932) as Dad Kinney Destination Unknown (1933) as Joe Shano Central Airport (1933) as Havana Airport Manager Trick for Trick (1933) as Dr. Frank Fitzgerald Supernatural (1933) as Prison Warden Heroes for Sale (1933) as The Sheriff (scenes deleted) Another Language (1933) as Harry Hallam Tugboat Annie (1933) as Red Severn Wild Boys of the Road (1933) as Captain of Detectives The Mad Game (1933) as Warden Ever in My Heart (1933) as Kennel Caretaker Female (1933) as Department Head (uncredited) The World Changes (1933) as Mr. Peterson Roman Scandals (1933) as Warren Finley Cooper East of Fifth Avenue (1933) as Dr. Morgan Lady Killer (1933) as Detective Conroy Two Alone (1934) as George Marshall Dark Hazard (1934) as Bill 'Billy' Fallen Heat Lightning (1934) as Everett Marshall Gambling Lady (1934) as District Attorney Whirlpool (1934) as Judge Jim Morrison Upper World (1934) as Police Capt. Reynolds I'll Tell the World (1934) as Hardwick One Is Guilty (1934) as Wells Deveroux He Was Her Man (1934) as Police Captain (uncredited) Let's Talk It Over (1934) as Dr. Preston Wild Gold (1934) as Dam Boss (uncredited) Operator 13 (1934) as Capt. Channing Murder in the Private Car (1934) as Elwood Carson aka Hanks Here Comes the Navy (1934) as Executive Officer Housewife (1934) as Judge Have a Heart (1934) as Mr. Schauber Death on the Diamond (1934) as Cato Elinor Norton (1934) as Ranch Foreman (uncredited) Mills of the Gods (1934) as Thomas The Secret Bride (1934) as Representative Grosvenor Million Dollar Baby (1934) as Doctor Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935) as Grigsby, the Process Server Transient Lady (1935) as Ed Goring Laddie (1935) as Mr. John Stanton Straight from the Heart (1935) as District Attorney Black Fury (1935) as Mr. J.J. Welsh Oil for the Lamps of China (1935) as Speaker Dante's Inferno (1935) as Inspector Harris The Virginia Judge (1935) as Plato Jones O'Shaughnessy's Boy (1935) as Dan Hastings His Night Out (1935) as J.J. Trent The Old Homestead (1935) as Uncle Jed Forced Landing (1935) as Martin Byrd Dangerous Waters (1936) as Bill MacKeechie Three Godfathers (1936) as Rev. McLane The First Baby (1936) as Dr. Clarke I Married a Doctor (1936) as Guy Pollock The Last of the Mohicans (1936) as Captain Winthrop The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) as Secretary Ingham The Man Who Lived Twice (1936) as Police Insp. Logan Wanted! Jane Turner (1936) as Walter Davies Winterset (1936) as Policeman in the Square That Girl from Paris (1936) as Immigration Officer (uncredited) Larceny on the Air (1937) as Inspector 'Mac' McDonald John Meade's Woman (1937) as The Governor Park Avenue Logger (1937) as Ben Morton The Go Getter (1937) as Matt Peasely This Is My Affair (1937) as George Andrews Roaring Timber (1937) as Harrigan Exclusive (1937) as Mr. Franklin Hot Water (1937) as Dr. Enfield The Last Gangster (1937) as Mr. Broderick (uncredited) Island in the Sky (1938) as Walter Rhodes Gangs of New York (1938) as Inspector Sullivan You and Me (1938) as Dayton Men with Wings (1938) as Col. Hadley Torchy Gets Her Man (1938) as Charles Gilbert Kentucky (1938) as Bob Slocum Jesse James (1939) as Clarke My Son Is a Criminal (1939) as Tom Halloran Sr. Union Pacific (1939) as Oakes Ames Heritage of the Desert (1939) as 'Nebraska' Each Dawn I Die (1939) as Lang Range War (1939) as Buck Collins Two Bright Boys (1939) as Clayton Main Street Lawyer (1939) as John Ralston The Cat and the Canary (1939) Remember the Night (1940) as Francis X. O'Leary My Little Chickadee (1940) as Uncle John Castle on the Hudson (1940) as Ragan Lucky Cisco Kid (1940) as Judge McQuade Brigham Young (1940) as Heber Kimball Northwest Mounted Police (1940) as Supt. Harrington The Monster and the Girl (1941) as Lieutenant Strickland I Wanted Wings (1941) as Judge Advocate Men of the Timberland (1941) as Tim MacGregor Texas (1941) as Rancher Wilson The Night of January 16th (1941) as Inspector Donegan Sullivan's Travels (1941) as Judge (uncredited) Juke Girl (1942) as Mister Just Wake Island (1942) as Col. Cameron (uncredited) No Time for Love (1943) as Construction Company President (uncredited) Air Force (1943) as Colonel at Hickam Field The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) as Sheriff Risley Background to Danger (1943) as 'Mac' McNamara Nine Girls (1944) as Capt. Brooks Along Came Jones (1945) as Luke Packard To Each His Own (1946) as Dr. Hunt Perilous Holiday (1946) as Graeme The Virginian (1946) as Judge Henry (uncredited) Renegades (1946) as Nathan Brockway Gallant Journey (1946) as Zachary Montgomery My Favorite Brunette (1947) as Prison Warden Deep Valley (1947) as Sheriff Akers Sitting Pretty (1948) as Mr. Ashcroft Fury at Furnace Creek (1948) as Gen. Leads