Robert Cummings (born June 10, 1908;
died December 2, 1990), also known as Bob Cummings, was an American motion picture and
television actor noted for his fresh faced youthful look which lasted long after he was
young. He was a friend of Ronald Reagan, who, possibly apocryphally, telephoned Cummings and
directed him to change his political party affiliation after he (Reagan) became a
Republican--whether Cummings complied is not entirely clear.
He chiefly performed in comic roles but was effective in his few dramas, especially two Alfred
Hitchcock films, Saboteur and Dial M for Murder.
Cummings was born in Joplin, Missouri. While attending Joplin High School there he was taught
to fly by his godfather, Orville Wright. He studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. He had a
brief career on Broadway under the stage name Blade Stanhope Conway, a supposed Englishman,
before moving to Hollywood, California, first acting under the name and persona of Bruce
Hutchens, a wealthy Texan.
In the 1930s Cummings worked (under his own name) as a contract player and appeared in a
number of minor roles. He achieved stardom in 1939 in Three Smart Girls Grow Up opposite
Deanna Durbin. His many film comedies also include: The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) with Jean
Arthur, and The Bride Wore Boots (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Cummings gave memorable
performances in three notable dramas: (1942) Kings Row with friend Ronald Reagan, (1942)
Saboteur with Priscilla Lane and Norman Lloyd, and (1954) Dial M for Murder, with Grace Kelly
and Ray Milland.
Cummings also made his mark in on the CBS Radio network's long-running dramatic serial
entitled: "Those We Love." In the program, which ran from 1938 to 1945, Cummings played the
role of David Adair, opposite Richard Cromwell, Francis X. Bushman, and Nan Grey.
He served duty at a base in Oxnard, California during World War II, and later was a pilot in
the United States Air Force Reserve.
Cummings began a long career on television in 1952 with the comedy My Hero. He was in the
first performance of Twelve Angry Men to be televised, a live production that aired in 1955,
and received an Emmy award for his role as Juror Number Eight. Beginning in 1955 and
continuing through 1959, Cummings starred in his own sitcom, The Bob Cummings Show (shown in
reruns as Love That Bob). That was followed by The New Bob Cummings Show, 1961-1962. He also
spent a season starring in My Living Doll (1964), another sitcom. His last significant credit
was the 1973 TV movie Partners in Crime, also starring Lee Grant.
Cummings was married five times, and had seven children. He was an advocate for healthy diet
and authored the 1960 book, "Stay Young and Vital".
He died of Parkinson's disease in 1990 at the age of 82, and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery
in Glendale, California.
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wiki/Robert_Cummings
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