Robert Wagner is the epitome of cool. 
He was born February 10th in 1930 in Detroit and moved to Hollywood with his parents when he was seven years old. Always wanting to be an actor, he did what many young actors do: He worked small jobs (including caddying for former HOTW Clark Gable) while waiting for his Big Break. That break came in 1950 with a bit part in The Happy Years. He got the Rising Star treatment, but never broke into the majors, despite his obvious talent; he began to be overshadowed by newer players like Marlon Brando.
In the late 60s, he went into television, because that’s where the money was, and that move led to his greatest successes. In 1968, he took the role of Alexander Mundy in It Takes A Thief (co-starring Malachi Throne and sometimes Fred Astaire) and that’s when he really became the embodiment of cool. Counterculture hero Mundy was a gentleman thief who was recruited to work for the government for a reduced sentence; but he had standards and didn’t want to sully himself in the dirty world of espionage. His handler Noah Bane’s famous reply was, “Look, Al, I’m not asking you to spy– I’m just asking you to steal.” A running gag was how Mundy was always able to foil the monitoring systems in his gilded cage and somehow sneak in women.
After that, he moved on to a show called Switch with Eddie Albert (co-starring Sharon Gless) which was a moderate success. In the late 70s he took what is probably his most famous role (these days), that of Jonathan Hart in Hart To Hart (with co-stars Stephanie Powers and Lionel Stander), and proved that even in middle age he was still the epitome of cool.
In recent years, he has revived his career with parts in the Austin Powers movies and numerous TV guest appearances– and you know what? He’s still cool.
He has not led a completely charmed life. In addition to money problems over the years, he has suffered personal heartache and tragedy. He met and married the love of his life, Natalie Wood, back in the late 50s, but their marriage was stressed and they divorced in 1962– for the same reason that many couples do: Money. They both remarried, but it seems they were meant for each other because they got back together ten years later; their second marriage was much happier. It ended in tragedy nine years later, however, when Natalie drowned after falling off their yacht. Though he has moved on in the ensuing years, eventually marrying Jill St. John, Wagner has never fully recovered from losing the love of his life.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, his nickname in real life is RJ.
In his younger days:
Portraits:
In It Takes A Thief (with Malachi Throne and Fred Astaire):
In Switch (with Eddie Albert):
In Hart To Hart (with Stephanie Powers):
With Natalie Wood, shortly before her death:
And RJ today, still lookin' good:
Oh, and a little bonus.
He was born February 10th in 1930 in Detroit and moved to Hollywood with his parents when he was seven years old. Always wanting to be an actor, he did what many young actors do: He worked small jobs (including caddying for former HOTW Clark Gable) while waiting for his Big Break. That break came in 1950 with a bit part in The Happy Years. He got the Rising Star treatment, but never broke into the majors, despite his obvious talent; he began to be overshadowed by newer players like Marlon Brando.
In the late 60s, he went into television, because that’s where the money was, and that move led to his greatest successes. In 1968, he took the role of Alexander Mundy in It Takes A Thief (co-starring Malachi Throne and sometimes Fred Astaire) and that’s when he really became the embodiment of cool. Counterculture hero Mundy was a gentleman thief who was recruited to work for the government for a reduced sentence; but he had standards and didn’t want to sully himself in the dirty world of espionage. His handler Noah Bane’s famous reply was, “Look, Al, I’m not asking you to spy– I’m just asking you to steal.” A running gag was how Mundy was always able to foil the monitoring systems in his gilded cage and somehow sneak in women.
After that, he moved on to a show called Switch with Eddie Albert (co-starring Sharon Gless) which was a moderate success. In the late 70s he took what is probably his most famous role (these days), that of Jonathan Hart in Hart To Hart (with co-stars Stephanie Powers and Lionel Stander), and proved that even in middle age he was still the epitome of cool.
In recent years, he has revived his career with parts in the Austin Powers movies and numerous TV guest appearances– and you know what? He’s still cool.
He has not led a completely charmed life. In addition to money problems over the years, he has suffered personal heartache and tragedy. He met and married the love of his life, Natalie Wood, back in the late 50s, but their marriage was stressed and they divorced in 1962– for the same reason that many couples do: Money. They both remarried, but it seems they were meant for each other because they got back together ten years later; their second marriage was much happier. It ended in tragedy nine years later, however, when Natalie drowned after falling off their yacht. Though he has moved on in the ensuing years, eventually marrying Jill St. John, Wagner has never fully recovered from losing the love of his life.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, his nickname in real life is RJ.
In his younger days:
Portraits:
In It Takes A Thief (with Malachi Throne and Fred Astaire):
In Switch (with Eddie Albert):
In Hart To Hart (with Stephanie Powers):
With Natalie Wood, shortly before her death:
And RJ today, still lookin' good:
Oh, and a little bonus.
