Rex Robbins
American actor
title: "Rex Robbins" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1935-births", "2003-deaths", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "american-male-stage-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "people-from-pierre,-south-dakota", "male-actors-from-south-dakota", "yale-university-alumni"] description: "American actor" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Robbins" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American actor ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Rex Robbins |
| birth_name | Roger McNicol Robbins |
| birth_date | March 30, 1935 |
| birth_place | Pierre, South Dakota, U.S. |
| death_date | September 23, 2003 (aged 68) |
| death_place | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| occupation | Actor, singer |
| :: |
|name=Rex Robbins |birth_name=Roger McNicol Robbins |birth_date=March 30, 1935 |birth_place=Pierre, South Dakota, U.S. |death_date=September 23, 2003 (aged 68) |death_place=Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |occupation= Actor, singer Rex McNicol Robbins (March 30, 1935 – September 23, 2003) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He played the Narrator/Mysterious Man in the first national tour of Into the Woods. Robbins also portrayed Herbie in the first Broadway revival of Gypsy.
Career
Robbins appeared opposite Angela Lansbury in the 1974 Broadway revival of Gypsy. He made his Broadway debut in 1963 as the doctor in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and subsequently went on to play roles in over 30 plays and films. He also starred with John Lithgow in several British plays, including The Changing Room (1973) and Comedians (1976) and was directed by Lithgow in Boy Meets Girl (1976) based on the 1938 film of the same name. He replaced David Ogden Stiers in the long-running Doug Henning musical The Magic Show.
In 1972, he played the role of Roger Sherman in the film version of the musical 1776. Off-Broadway, he appeared in Urban Blight at Manhattan Theatre Club, A.R. Gurney's The Dining Room at Playwrights Horizons and Henry IV, Part I at the Public Theater. His last stage appearance was as Mr. Brown in the musical adaption of James Joyce's The Dead in 2000. His last film was a brief appearance in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Personal life
Robbins was born in Pierre, South Dakota, to Lucy Geraldine (McNicol), who worked in journalism, and Clarence Edward Robbins, a doctor. He was an alumnus of Yale University and was married with three children. Robbins died of a stroke on September 23, 2003, at age 68.
Partial filmography
- Shaft (1971) – Rollie
- 1776 (1972) – Roger Sherman (CT)
- Simon (1980) – Army doctor
- The First Time (1983) – Leon
- The Man Who Wasn't There (1983) – Minister
- Reuben, Reuben (1983) – C. B. Springer
- Key Exchange (1985) – Dr. Fanshaw
- The Secret of My Success (1987) – McMasters
- Vampire's Kiss (1988) – Sidney Langdon
- Love or Money (1990) – Al McDonough
- Stella (1990) – Minister
- I.Q. (1994) – Suit
- Breathing Room (1996) – David's Father
- The Associate (1996) – Investor at 21 Club
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) – Mr. Levinson (final film role)
References
References
- Simonson, Robert. (September 30, 2003). "Rex Robbins, Herbie to Lansbury's Mama Rose, Is Dead at 68". [[Playbill]].
- Rich, Frank. (June 20, 1988). "Taking New York Apart in a Musical Revue". [[The New York Times]].
- Gussow, Henry. (August 21, 1981). "'Henry IV, Part 1,' In the Park". The New York Times.
- "Rex Robbins Biography (1935-)".
- (October 2, 2003). "Rex Robbins, 68, Actor on Broadway". The New York Times.
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