Robert Wagner

Birthday: 10 February 1930, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Birth Name: Robert John Wagner

Height: 180 cm

Robert John Wagner, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Thelma Hazel Alvera (Boe), a telephone operator, and Robert John Wagner, Sr., a traveling salesman. His paternal grandparents were German and his maternal grandparents were Norwegian. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was seven. Always wanting to be an actor, he held a variety of jobs while pursuing his goal, but it was while dining with his parents at a restaurant in Beverly Hills that he was "discovered" by a talent scout. After making his uncredited screen debut in The Happy Years (1950), Wagner was signed by 20th Century Fox, which carefully built him up toward stardom. He played romantic leads with ease, but it wasn't until he essayed the two-scene role of a shellshocked war veteran in With a Song in My Heart (1952) that studio executives recognized his potential as a dramatic actor. He went on to play the title roles in Prince Valiant (1954) and The True Story of Jesse James (1957), and portrayed a cold-blooded murderer in A Kiss Before Dying (1956). In the mid-'60s, however, his film career skidded to a stop after The Pink Panther (1963). Several years of unemployment followed before Wagner made a respectable transition to television as star of the lighthearted espionage series It Takes a Thief (1968) (1968-1970). He also starred in the police series Switch (1975), but Wagner's greatest success was opposite Stefanie Powers in the internationally popular Hart to Hart (1979), which ran from 1979 through 1984 and has since been sporadically revived in TV-movie form (a 1986 series, Lime Street (1985), was quickly canceled due to the tragic death of Wagner's young co-star, Samantha Smith). Considered one of Hollywood's nicest citizens, Robert Wagner has continued to successfully pursue a leading man career; he has also launched a latter-day stage career, touring with Stefanie Powers in the readers' theater presentation "Love Letters". He found success playing Number Two, a henchman to Dr. Evil in the blockbuster trilogy Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and in 2007 he began playing Teddy, a recurring role on the hit CBS series Two and a Half Men (2003). Show less «

[When Natalie Wood began dating Warren Beatty]: I wanted to kill that son of a bitch . . . I was han...Show more »

[When Natalie Wood began dating Warren Beatty]: I wanted to kill that son of a bitch . . . I was hanging around outside his house with a gun, hoping he would walk out. I not only wanted to kill him, I was prepared to kill him. [A friend talked Wagner into going into psychoanalysis, instead.] Show less «

[Of Eddie Albert]: In almost all respects, he was an admirable man. But with his life experiences, E...Show more »

[Of Eddie Albert]: In almost all respects, he was an admirable man. But with his life experiences, Eddie wasn't fazed by things like stealing scenes, and he could be a bit devious and scratchy at times - about his character, his wardrobe, everything. Basically, he wanted to play both his part and mine, and sometimes he stole scenes for the hell of it. In his heart of hearts, he would have been very happy if 'Switch' had been called 'The Eddie Albert Show.' That said, I've always had affection for a theatrical rogue, and Eddie and I got along fine, mostly because if Eddie was going to steal scenes, so was I. Game on! For three years, we had a very pleasant competition. Show less «

My wife was a Bond Girl, so I play James Bond in real life every day.

[on his daily routine with wife Jill St. John]: We get up in the morning. I feed the birds. My wife ...Show more »

[on his daily routine with wife Jill St. John]: We get up in the morning. I feed the birds. My wife feeds me. Together we feed the animals. Show less «

When I can't sleep, I'll start thinking about how many shows I've done, count up the number of telev...Show more »

When I can't sleep, I'll start thinking about how many shows I've done, count up the number of television shows and movies. Show less «

[When he defined Eddie Albert, who starred with him on Switch (1975), about his longtime friend's re...Show more »

[When he defined Eddie Albert, who starred with him on Switch (1975), about his longtime friend's real-life experience as a lieutenant in the Navy, prior to becoming a young movie star]: Eddie Albert was an interesting man who possessed what could legitimately be termed a big set of balls. Before World War II, he was a contract actor at Warner Bros. when he had an affair with Jack Warner's wife, Ann. One time they were making love when Jack walked in and discovered them. As Jack told me, 'I didn't mind that so much; it was the fact that he didn't stop that bothered me.' Well, that little episode got Eddie blacklisted for a while. Show less «

[After Natalie Wood's death in 1981]: Jill St. John didn't try to put the lights on the Christmas tr...Show more »

[After Natalie Wood's death in 1981]: Jill St. John didn't try to put the lights on the Christmas tree; she was just there for me. I was shattered. I don't think our relationship could have gone anywhere until I put those pieces together again; and with Jill's help, and a lot of other people's help, I started to do that. It's still [as of 2009] in progress. But I'm very happy at the moment. I'm more down to who I really am. It's important to enjoy life as it comes and be able to see without tears in my eyes. Show less «

Life isn't full of 'what ifs'. Only 'what is'.

[If Eddie Albert was instrumental with Switch (1975)]: To work with Eddie, he was a tremendous actor...Show more »

[If Eddie Albert was instrumental with Switch (1975)]: To work with Eddie, he was a tremendous actor, had a tremendous background, and he loved acting. And when Larry did the Switch (1975) with us, he can tell you that Eddie Albert was a tremendous person to work with. Show less «

My daughters are my pride.

I should have realised our marriage could have gone on a bit longer if she'd gone into therapy. Of c...Show more »

I should have realised our marriage could have gone on a bit longer if she'd gone into therapy. Of course there was work to do in our relationship, but I wanted her attention to be with me and I thought this was another thing that would take her away from me. I was wrong. But when you are young you don't have that kind of perception. I wanted her to be with me. I wanted to be the one that could help her."After the divorce I had to work on myself. I was a very jealous person and I had to address that. Show less «

[on writing his memoir, "Pieces of My Heart"]: I had a difficult time letting it go. I had such anxi...Show more »

[on writing his memoir, "Pieces of My Heart"]: I had a difficult time letting it go. I had such anxiety about it. Show less «

[on wife Jill St. John]: Jill is very bright, very caring, and has what I can only call a gift for l...Show more »

[on wife Jill St. John]: Jill is very bright, very caring, and has what I can only call a gift for life . . . Jill has always been there. You can't ask for more from any human being. Plus, there is the fact that she's loving, and caring, a wonderful wife, 100 percent for me. Show less «

[on dating Elizabeth Taylor]: It was like sticking an eggbeater in your brain.

[on Suzanne Finstad's 2001 biography of Natalie Wood] This woman has fabricated, you know, those thi...Show more »

[on Suzanne Finstad's 2001 biography of Natalie Wood] This woman has fabricated, you know, those things that are all these things that she talks to these different people and she says she knows this and that. You know, it's -- there have been other books written besides that one, you know. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Show less «

[on his on- and off-screen chemistry with Eddie Albert, who played Frank MacBride on Switch (1975)]:...Show more »

[on his on- and off-screen chemistry with Eddie Albert, who played Frank MacBride on Switch (1975)]: Eddie was a very, very accomplished actor, I admired him tremendously. We had great fun together. I knew his wife, Margo, and before we worked together, and it was really an enjoyable time. We worked together for about 4 years on that. I really enjoyed it, I had a great deal of respect for Eddie, I thought the world of it. Show less «

[In 2009, on late wife Natalie Wood]: I have talked to her on occasion - let's just say I feel her p...Show more »

[In 2009, on late wife Natalie Wood]: I have talked to her on occasion - let's just say I feel her presence. Show less «

[on wife Jill St. John]: She's always been magical with me.

[Regarding his grief about the 1981 drowning of wife Natalie Wood]: When Natalie died, I was embitte...Show more »

[Regarding his grief about the 1981 drowning of wife Natalie Wood]: When Natalie died, I was embittered. I still get angry about it and I wonder why it had to happen. I have all those feelings of grief and anger that people who've lost someone they love always have. I had lived a charmed life, and then I lost a beautiful woman I loved with all my heart. Show less «

Robert Wagner

Robert Wagner's FILMOGRAPHY

Robert Wagner'S roles

Feedback about this page?