American actor (1922-2000). Born Jason Robards, Jr., he was the son of
silent movie star Jason Robards, Sr. When he was younger, he wasn't much of a fan of
Hollywood, as he watched what happened when his father fell out of favor with the film industry as he got older. He served in the
Navy during
World War II. He started thinking about going into acting while serving in the Navy -- he emceed for a Navy band and enjoyed performing. After the
war, he enjoyed tremendous
success in
Broadway productions of
Eugene O'Neill's plays "
The Iceman Cometh" and "
Long Day's Journey Into Night" in the
1950s. He won a
Tony Award in 1959 for Best Performance by a Leading Actor for the play "
The Disenchanted" -- the only time he'd acted with his father.
He had his
film debut in "
The Journey" in 1959 and spent most of his
career playing
supporting roles -- often playing
real people, including
Al Capone in "
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre,"
Doc Holliday in "
Hour of the Gun," playwright
George S. Kaufman in "
Act One,"
New Mexico governor and "
Ben Hur" author
Lew Wallace in "
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,"
Washington Post editor
Ben Bradlee in "
All the President's Men" (for which he won an
Oscar in 1977),
Dashiell Hammett in "
Julia" (for which he won another Oscar in 1978), and
Howard Hughes in "
Melvin and Howard."
Some of his other films include: "
Tender is the Night," "
A Big Hand for the Little Lady," "
Divorce American Style," "
Once Upon a Time in the West," "
Tora! Tora! Tora!," "
Johnny Got His Gun," "
A Boy and His Dog," "
Comes a Horseman," "
Raise the Titanic," "
The Legend of the Lone Ranger," "
Something Wicked This Way Comes," "
Max Dugan Returns," "
Bright Lights, Big City," "
Parenthood," "
Dream a Little Dream," "
Quick Change," "
Philadelphia," "
The Adventures of Huck Finn," "
The Paper," "
Little Big League," "
Crimson Tide," "
Beloved," "
Enemy of the State," and "
Magnolia," as well as prominent
TV movies like "
The Day After," "
Sakharov," and "
Inherit the Wind."