# Robert Phillips (actor)

Robert R. Phillips (April 10, 1925 – November 5, 2018) was an American film and television actor.

## Life and career

Phillips was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a self-defense instructor while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and later played football for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins. Phillips was also a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department and Illinois State Police. He was a personal bodyguard for the 31st Governor of Illinois, Adlai Stevenson II. Phillips began his film and television career in the 1950s, when a film producer suggested he should become an actor, and gave him a role in a film, and the TV series Tightrope! was based on aspects of his life.
Phillips retired as a police officer after being injured while working undercover, and attended acting school in the early 1950s. Phillips was hired by studios as a minder for Lee Marvin, to prevent him getting into fights after hours. He appeared in two films with actor Richard Jaeckel: The Gun Runners (1958) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). His other film roles included appearances in The Killers (1964) and Cat Ballou (1965), Dimension 5 (1966), Hour of the Gun (1967), Mackenna's Gold (1969), Slaughter (1972), The Slams (1973), I Escaped from Devil's Island (1973), The Dion Brothers (1974), Capone (1975, as Bugs Moran), Mitchell (1975), Mean Johnny Barrows (1975), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) and Walking Tall: Final Chapter (1977). Phillips also guest-starred in numerous television programs including Star Trek: The Original Series (in the episode "The Cage"), Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Bonanza, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Wild Wild West, Rawhide, Mission: Impossible, The High Chaparral, Mannix, The Fall Guy and Planet of the Apes. His last credit was for the western television series Bordertown.

## Death

Phillips died November 5, 2018, at the age of 93.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1953 | Code Two | Henchman | Uncredited |
| 1956 | UFO (1956 film) | Edward J. Ruppelt | Edward J. Ruppelt |
| 1958 | The Gun Runners | Outlaw | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Hell Is for Heroes | Jeep driver | |
| 1964 | The Killers | George Fleming | |
| 1965 | Cat Ballou | Klem | Uncredited |
| 1966 | The Silencers | 1st Armed Man | |
| 1966 | Dimension 5 | George | |
| 1967 | The Dirty Dozen | Corporal Morgan | |
| 1967 | Hour of the Gun | Frank Stilwell | |
| 1969 | Mackenna's Gold | Monkey | |
| 1970 | Darker than Amber | Griff | |
| 1972 | Slaughter | Frank | |
| 1973 | The Student Teachers | | |
| 1973 | Detroit 9000 | Captain Chalmers | |
| 1973 | The Slams | Cohalt | |
| 1973 | I Escaped from Devil's Island | Blassier | |
| 1974 | The Dion Brothers | Gino | |
| 1975 | Capone | Bugs Moran | |
| 1975 | Mitchell | Chief Albert Pallin | |
| 1975 | Mean Johnny Barrows | Ben | |
| 1975 | Adios Amigo | Notary | |
| 1976 | The Killing of a Chinese Bookie | Phil | |
| 1977 | The Car | Metcalf | |
| 1977 | Walking Tall: Final Chapter | Johnny | |
| 1977 | Telefon | Highway Patrolman #1 | |
| 1984 | Delta Pi | Pud | |
| 1987 | Cry Freedom | Speaker at Funeral | |
| 1997 | A Time to Revenge | Billy Two Feathers | (final film role) |