# Robert Douglas (actor)

Robert Douglas Finlayson (9 November 1909 – 11 January 1999), known professionally as Robert Douglas, was an English stage and film actor, a television director and producer.

## Early life

Douglas was born in Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire. He studied at RADA and made his stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Bournemouth in 1927. A year later he made his first London appearance in Many Waters at the Ambassadors Theatre and went into films the following year.

## Career
### As an actor
#### Theatre

* 1927: The Best People (Theatre Royal Bournemouth + tour)
* 1928: Crime (Grand Theatre Croydon + tour)
* 1928: Many Waters (Ambassadors Theatre London)
* 1928: Mrs.Moonlight (Kingsway Theatre London)
* 1929: Black St. Anthony (Strand Theatre London)
* 1929: A Bill of Divorcement (St.Martin's Theatre London)
* 1929: Barbara's Wedding (Apollo Theatre London)
* 1929: Many Waters (in UK, in Canada / Maxine Elliott's Theatre, Broadway + Times Square Theater Broadway)
* 1930: The Last Enemy (Fortune Theatre London)
* 1930: Suspense (Duke of York's Theatre London)
* 1930: Badger's Green (Prince of Wales Theatre London)
* 1930: The Last Enemy (Hartford / New Haven + Shubert Theatre Broadway)
* 1931: After All (Criterion Theatre London + The New Theatre London)
* 1931: The Arch-Duchess (Phoenix-Theatre London)
* 1931: Vile Bodies (Arts Theatre London)
* 1931: Brief Moment (Detroit / Washington + Belasco Theatre Broadway + Cort Theatre Broadway)
* 1932: Vile Bodies (Vaudeville Theatre London)
* 1932: As it was in the Beginning (Arts Theatre London)
* 1933: Ten Minute Alibi (Embassy Theatre London + Haymarket Theatre London)
* 1933: These Two (Arts Theatre London)
* 1934: Men in White (Lyric Theatre London + tour)
* 1934: Overture 1920 (Phoenix Theatre London)
* 1934: Inside the Room (Queens Theatre London)
* 1935: Theatre Royal / The Royal Family (Lyric Theatre London + tour)
* 1935: Most of the Game (Cort Theatre Broadway)
* 1936: No Exit (Embassy Theatre London + St.Martin's Theatre London)
* 1936: Stubble before Swords (Globe Theatre London)
* 1936: Kind Lady (The King's Theatre Edinburgh + Lyric Theatre London)
* 1938: Official Secret (Tour + New Theatre London)
* 1938: Night Arrival (Globe Theatre London)
* 1939: The Spring Time of Others (Gate Theatre London)
* 1946: Lighten our Darkness (New Theatre Hull + tour)
* 1946: He Lived in Two Worlds (Wimbledon Theatre London + tour)
* 1946: But for the Grace of God (Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh + tour + St.James Theatre London)

#### Film

* 1930: P. C. Josser (dir. Milton Rosmer) - Dick Summers
* 1931: Many Waters (dir. Milton Rosmer) - Godfrey Marvin
* 1933: The Blarney Stone / (US): The Blarney Kiss (dir. Tom Walls) - Lord Breethorpe
* 1935: Death Drives Through (dir. Edward L. Cahn) - Kit Woods
* 1937: London Melody / (US): Girl in the Street (dir. Herbert Wilcox) - Nigel Taplow
* 1937: Our Fighting Navy / (US): Torpedoed (dir. Norman Walker) - Captain Markham
* 1938: The Challenge (dir. Milton Rosmer) - Edward Whymper
* 1939: Over the Moon (dir. Thornton Freeland) - The Unknown Man
* 1939: The Lion Has Wings (dir. Michael Powell) - Briefing Officer
* 1940: The Chinese Bungalow / (US): Chinese Den (dir. George King) - Richard Marquess
* 1947: The End of the River (dir. Derek N. Twist) - Jones
* 1948: The Adventures of Don Juan / (GB): The New Adventures of Don Juan (dir. Vincent Sherman) - Duke de Lorca
* 1948: The Decision of Christopher Blake (dir. Peter Godfrey) - Ken Blake
* 1949: Homicide (dir. Felix Jacoves) - Police Lieutenant Michael Landers
* 1949: The Fountainhead (dir. King Vidor) - Ellsworth M. Toohey
* 1949: The Hasty Heart (dir. Vincent Sherman) - Off-Screen Narrator (voice, uncredited)
* 1949: The Lady Takes a Sailor (dir. Michael Curtiz) - John Tyson
* 1950: Buccaneer's Girl (dir. Frederick De Cordova) - Narbonne
* 1950: Barricade (dir. Peter Godfrey) - Aubrey Milburn
* 1950: Spy Hunt / (GB): Panther's Moon (dir. George Sherman) - Stephen Paradou
* 1950: This Side of the Law (dir. Richard L. Bare) - Philip Cagle
* 1950: The Flame and the Arrow (dir. Jacques Tourneur) - Marchese Alessandro de Granazia
* 1950: Kim (dir. Victor Saville) - Colonel Creighton
* 1950: Mystery Submarine (dir. Douglas Sirk) - Commander Eric von Molter
* 1951: Target Unknown (dir. George Sherman) - Colonel von Broeck
* 1951: Thunder on the Hill / (GB): Bonaventure (dir. Douglas Sirk) - Dr. Edward Jeffreys
* 1952: At Sword's Point / (GB): Sons of the Musketeers (dir. Lewis Allen) - Duc de Lavalle
* 1952: Ivanhoe (dir. Richard Thorpe) - Sir Hugh De Bracy
* 1952: The Prisoner of Zenda (dir. Richard Thorpe) - Michael, Duke of Strelsau
* 1953: Fair Wind to Java (dir. Joseph Kane) - Saint Ebenezer / Pulo Besar
* 1953: The Desert Rats (dir. Robert Wise) - General
* 1953: Flight to Tangier (dir. Charles Marquis Warren) - Danzer
* 1954: Saskatchewan / (GB): O'Rourke of the Royal Mounted (dir. Raoul Walsh) - Benton
* 1954: King Richard and the Crusaders (dir. David Butler) - Sir Giles Amaury
* 1955: The Virgin Queen (dir. Henry Koster) - Sir Christopher Hatton
* 1955: The Scarlet Coat (dir. John Sturges) - General Benedict Arnold
* 1955: Good Morning Miss Dove (dir. Henry Koster) - John Porter
* 1956: Helen of Troy (dir. Robert Wise) - Agamemnon
* 1959: The Young Philadelphians / (GB): The City Jungle (dir. Vincent Sherman) - Uncle Morton Stearnes
* 1959: Tarzan, the Ape Man (dir. Joseph M. Newman) - Colonel James Parker
* 1961: The Lawbreakers (dir. Joseph M. Newman) - Allen Bardeman (archive footage)

#### Television

* 1939: The Royal Family of Broadway (TV Movie) - Tony Cavendish
* 1953: Chevron Theatre (Season 2 Episode 23: "Serenade to an Empty House")
* 1955: Lux Video Theatre (Season 5 Episode 33: "The Browning Version") - Frank Hunter
* 1955: Front Row Center (Season 1 Episode 2: "The Barretts of Wimpole Street") - Robert Browning
* 1957: Panic! (Season 1 Episode 12: "The Vigilantes") - Thomas Burdue / James Stuart
* 1958-1959: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (2 episodes)
** (Season 3 Episode 38: "Impromptu Murder") - Inspector Charles Tarrant
** (Season 5 Episode 1: "Arthur") - Inspector Ben Liebenberg
* 1959: General Electric Theatre (Season 7 Episode 14: "And One Was Loyal") - Roger Howard
* 1959-1961: 77 Sunset Strip (2 episodes)
** (Season 1 Episode 19: "Eyewitness") (1959) - Dr. Emory Williams
** (Season 4 Episode 12: "Reserved for Mr. Bailey") (1961) - Walter Van Nuys (voice) (uncredited)
* 1959-1961: One Step Beyond (3 episodes)
** (Season 1 Episode 14: "The Secret") (1959) - Harrison Ackroyd
** (Season 2 Episode 29: "Encounter") (1960) - Paul McCord
** (Season 3 Episode 21: "Night of Decision") (1961) - General George Washington
* 1960: Adventures in Paradise (2 episodes)
** (Season 1 Episode 22: "There Is an Island") - Albert Otherly
** (Season 1 Episode 25: "The Forbidden Sea") - Albert Othery
* 1960: Walt Disney presents The Swamp Fox (2 episodes)
** (Season 6 Episode 15: "Redcoat Strategy") - General Cornwallis
** (Season 6 Episode 16: "A Case of Treason") - General Cornwallis
* 1960: Maverick (Season 4 Episode 1: "The Bundle from Britain") - Herbert
* 1961: The Asphalt Jungle (Season 1 Episode 2: "The Lady and the Lawyer") - Allen Bardeman
* 1962: Thriller (Season 2 Episode 30: "The Specialists") - Antony Hugh Swinburne
* 1968: Secret Ceremony (TV-Version) - Sir Alex Gordon
* 1972: Portrait: The Woman I Love (TV Movie) - Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
* 1974: The Questor Tapes (TV Movie) - Dr. Michaels
* 1974: Cannon (Season 3 Episode 23: "Triangle of Terror") - Sir Arnold Masters (uncredited)
* 1975: Columbo (Season 4 Episode 4: "Troubled Waters") - Dr. Frank Pierce
* 1975: Medical Center (Season 6 Episode 21: "Survivors") - Miles Halloran
* 1975: The Invisible Man (Season 1 Episode 3: "Man of Influence") - Dr. Theophilus
* 1978: Centennial (Season 1 Episode 7: "The Shepherds") - Claude Richards (final appearance)

### As a director
#### Theatre

* 1933: Ten Minute Alibi (Haymarket Theatre London)
* 1934: Overture 1920 (Phoenix Theatre London)
* 1946: Lighten Our Darkness (New Theatre Hull)
* 1956: The Ponder Heart (Shubert Theatre New Haven + Forrest Theatre Philadelphia + Shubert Theatre Boston + Music Box Theatre Broadway)
* 1956: Affair of Honor (Ethel Barrymore Theatre Broadway)
* 1956: The Loud Red Patrick (Walnut Theatre Philadelphia + Ambassador Theatre Broadway)
* 1956: Uncle Willie (Locust Street Theatre Philadelphia + John Golden Theatre Broadway)
* 1957: One Foot in the Door (Locust Street Theatre Philadelphia + Shubert Theatre Boston)

#### Film

* 1964: Night Train to Paris

#### Television

* 1960-1962: Surfside 6 (9 episodes)
* 1960: Maverick (2 episodes)
* 1960-1962: 77 Sunset Strip (12 episodes)
* 1961: The Roaring Twenties (episode The Red Carpet)
* 1961-1962: Hawaiian Eye (4 episodes)
* 1962-1963: Fair Exchange (1. Segment)
* 1963-1964: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (4 episodes)
* 1962: The Virginian (episode The Final Hour) = The Final Hour (film)
* 1965: Kraft Suspense Theatre (episode Kill me on July 20th)
* 1964-1965: Court Martial (3 episodes)
* 1965-1967: 12 O'Clock High (16 episodes)
* 1966: The Fugitive (episode Second Sight)
* 1966: Daniel Boone (episode The Matchmaker)
* 1967: Lost in Space (episode The Toymaker)
* 1967: Mission: Impossible (episode The Diamond)
* 1967: The Monroes (2 episodes)
* 1967-1974: The FBI (13 episodes)
* 1967-1968: The Invaders (episodes The Prophet and Counterattack)
* 1969-1970: Adam-12 (6 episodes)
* 1970: The Immortal (2 episodes)
* 1970: Dan August (episode Invitation to Murder)
* 1972-1975: The Streets of San Francisco (4 episodes)
* 1972-1973: Cannon (5 episodes)
* 1974: Barnaby Jones (2 episodes)
* 1974: Shazam! (4 episodes)
* 1974-1975: Medical Center (6 episodes)
* 1975: Swiss Family Robinson (episode The Pit)
* 1975-1978: Baretta (9 episodes)
* 1976: City of Angels (2 episodes)
* 1976: Columbo (episode Old Fashioned Murder)
* 1976-1977: Big Hawaii (episode Tightrope)
* 1977: Future Cop (2 episodes)
* 1977: Hunter (episode Yesterday, Upon the Stair)
* 1977: The Man from Atlantis (episode The Naked Montague)
* 1978: Quincy, M.E. (episode Double Death)
* 1979-1981: Trapper John, M.D. (4 episodes)
* 1979: Nobody's Perfect (4 episodes)
* 1982: House Calls (2 episodes)
* 1982: Fame (episode A Big Finish)

### As a producer

* 1963-1964: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (8 episodes)
* 1964-1965: Court Martial (10 episodes)

## Personal life

Douglas was married twice, to actresses Dorothy Hyson (1914–1996) and Suzanne Weldon (1921–1995), fathering two children, Lucinda and Robert (Giles). He died from natural causes in Encinitas, California, aged 89.