   jason nelson robards, jr. (july 26, 1922 â december 26, 2000) was an american actor on stage, and in film and television. he was a winner of the tony award, two academy awards and the emmy award. he was also a united states navy combat veteran of world war ii. he became famous playing works of american playwright eugene o'neill and regularly performed in o'neill's works throughout his career. robards was cast in both common-man roles and as well-known historical figures. ==early life and education== robards was born in chicago, the son of hope maxine (nÃ©e glanville) robards and jason robards, sr.,jason robards genealogy. an actor who regularly appeared on the stage and in such early films as the gamblers (1929). robards was of english, welsh, irish, and swedish descent.http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=f70717f8385f107a93c2ab178ad85f408785f9 the family moved to new york city, when jason jr. was still a toddler, and then moved to los angeles when he was six years old. later interviews with robards suggested that the trauma of his parents' divorce, which occurred during his grade-school years, greatly affected his personality and worldview. as a youth, robards also witnessed first-hand the decline of his father's acting career. the elder robards had enjoyed considerable success during the era of silent films, but he fell out of favor after the advent of "talkies" (sound film), leaving the younger robards soured on the hollywood film industry. the teenage robards excelled in athletics, running a 
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