Robert Stack
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jan 13, 1919
- Died
- May 14, 2003 (aged 84)
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Credits
- 134
Robert Langford Modini Stack (January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was a multilingual American actor and television host. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he also appeared on the television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Stack spent his early childhood growing up in Europe. Becoming fluent in French and Italian at an early age, and he did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles. Stack achieved minor fame in sporting, winning multiple championships including setting two world records and winning multiple honors in skeet shooting
Stack studied drama at Bridgewater State College, earning his first Hollywood role at the age of 20 and continuing to star in numerous roles throughout the early 1940s.
After serving in the military, Stack returned to Hollywood to star in numerous films including stand out roles in The High and the Mighty (opposite John Wayne) and Written on the Wind (1957), for which he was awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Stack later moved on to televised dramatic series, depicting the crime-fighting Eliot Ness in The Untouchables (1959–1963), which earned him a best actor Emmy Award in 1960. Stack also starred in multiple drama series, before returning to film, this time in comedies to satirize his famed stoic and humorless demeanor.
He began hosting Unsolved Mysteries in 1987, and served as the show's host throughout it's entire original run from 1987 to 2002.
Known for
Airplane!
1980Movie
Captain Rex Kramer
To Be or Not to Be
1942Movie
Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
1996Movie
Agent Flemming (voice)
1941
1979Movie
Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
King of the Hill
1997TV
Reynolds Penland (voice) (uncredited)
BASEketball
1998Movie
Robert Stack
Filmography
Optimus Prime Awakening
2026Movie
Ultra Magnus (archived audio)
Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy
2023Movie
Self (archive footage)
Jacques Tati, tombé de la lune
2021Movie
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood
2019Movie
(archive footage)
These Dead Souls
2018Movie
(archive footage)
Acting for Douglas Sirk
2008Movie
Self (archive footage)
Unsolved Mysteries Volume 1: UFOs
2004Movie
Host
Butt-Ugly Martians
2002TV
Stoat Muldoon (voice)
Lana Turner... a Daughter's Memoir
2001Movie
Self
Killer Bud
2001Movie
The Gooch
Recess: School's Out
2001Movie
Superintendent (voice)
Lords of the Mafia
1999TV
Self - Narrator
Mumford
1999Movie
Robert Stack
Sealed with a Kiss
1999Movie
Sumner Ethridge
Hercules: Zero to Hero
1999Movie
Narrator (voice) (archive sound)
The Y2K Crisis
1999Movie
Host
Hercules
1998TV
Bob (voice)
BASEketball
1998Movie
Robert Stack
Barbara Stanwyck: Straight Down the Line
1997Movie
Self
The Angry Beavers
1997TV
Narrator (voice)
King of the Hill
1997TV
Reynolds Penland (voice) (uncredited)
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America
1996Movie
Agent Flemming (voice)
Suddenly Susan
1996TV
Robert Stack
Clark Gable: Tall, Dark, and Handsome
1996Movie
Self
Diagnosis: Murder
1993TV
Peter McReynolds
Vicki!
1992TV
Self
The Return of Eliot Ness
1991Movie
Eliot Ness
Unsolved Mysteries: UFOS
1991TV
The Real Story of Baa Baa Black Sheep
1991Movie
Lt. Littleboy (voice)
Unsolved Mysteries: Ghosts
1990TV
The Fanelli Boys
1990TV
Robert Stack (uncredited), Kyle Hadley
Blossom
1990TV
Robert Stack
Joe Versus the Volcano
1990Movie
Dr. Ellison
Unsolved Mysteries
1988TV
Host
Dangerous Curves
1988Movie
Louis Faciano
Caddyshack II
1988Movie
Chandler Young
Plain Clothes
1988Movie
Mr. Gardner
Perry Mason: The Case of the Sinister Spirit
1987Movie
Jordan White
Korea: The Forgotten War
1987TV
Host
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987Movie
Self
The Transformers: The Movie
1986Movie
Ultra Magnus (voice)
Big Trouble
1986Movie
Winslow
Midas Valley
1985Movie
Drew Hammond
Hollywood Wives
1985TV
George Lancaster
My Kingdom For...
1985Movie
Murder, She Wrote
1984TV
Chester Harrison
Brothers
1984TV
George Washington
1984TV
General Stark
Uncommon Valor
1983Movie
MacGregor
Barry Norman in Celebrity City
1982Movie
Self
Hotel
1982TV
Lewis Blackwood, Charles Vandoor
Falcon Crest
1981TV
Roland Saunders
Strike Force
1981TV
Captain Frank Murphy
Entertainment Tonight
1981TV
Self
Airplane!
1980Movie
Captain Rex Kramer
Douglas Sirk: Über Stars
1980Movie
Self
1941
1979Movie
Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell
Undercover with the KKK
1979Movie
Host - Narrator
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979Movie
Self (uncredited)
Second Wind
1978Movie
François Davis
The Love Boat
1977TV
Bret Garrett
Most Wanted
1976TV
Captain Linc Evers
Murder on Flight 502
1975Movie
Captain Larkin
Adventures of the Queen
1975Movie
Capt. James Morgan
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975TV
Self
Dinah!
1974TV
Self
The Strange and Deadly Occurrence
1974Movie
Michael Rhodes
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1973TV
Self
Police Story
1973TV
The Grand Opening of Walt Disney World
1971Movie
Self
The Selling of the Pentagon
1971Movie
Self (archive footage)
Story of a Woman
1970Movie
David Frasier
The Name of the Game
1968TV
Dan Farrell
Laura
1968Movie
Mark McPherson
The Danny Thomas Hour
1967TV
Angelo (Businessman)
Action Man
1967Movie
Jim Beckley
The Corrupt Ones
1967Movie
Cliff Wilder
Is Paris Burning?
1966Movie
General Sibert
Asylum for a Spy
1965Movie
James Andrew Congers
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963TV
Major Morgan, James Andrew Congers
The Caretakers
1963Movie
Dr. Donovan MacLeod
The Lucy Show
1962TV
Agent Briggs
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962TV
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961TV
Self - Co-Host, Self
Alcatraz Express
1961Movie
Eliot Ness
The Gun of Zangara
1960Movie
Eliot Ness
The Last Voyage
1960Movie
Cliff Henderson
The Scarface Mob
1959Movie
Eliot Ness
The Untouchables
1959TV
Eliot Ness
John Paul Jones
1959Movie
John Paul Jones
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958TV
Eliot Ness
The Gift of Love
1958Movie
William 'Bill' Beck
Panic Button
1957Movie
Jerry Cook
The Tarnished Angels
1957Movie
Roger Shumann
Written on the Wind
1956Movie
Kyle Hadley
Great Day in the Morning
1956Movie
Owen Pentecost
Good Morning, Miss Dove
1955Movie
Dr. Tommy Baker
Laura
1955Movie
Mark Macpherson
The 20th Century Fox Hour
1955TV
Mark MacPherson
House of Bamboo
1955Movie
Eddie Kenner
The High and the Mighty
1954Movie
John Sullivan
The Iron Glove
1954Movie
Captain Charles Wogan
Sabre Jet
1953Movie
Col. Gil Manton
Conquest of Cochise
1953Movie
Maj. Tom Burke
War Paint
1953Movie
Lt. Billings
The Oscars
1953TV
Self
The Ford Television Theatre
1952TV
Ralph Saunders, Ben Barton
Bwana Devil
1952Movie
Bob Hayward
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951TV
Vic Flint
The Red Skelton Show
1951TV
Bo Bo McGoon
My Outlaw Brother
1951Movie
Patrick O´Moore
Bullfighter and the Lady
1951Movie
John Regan
Mr. Music
1950Movie
Jeff Blake
Lux Video Theatre
1950TV
First Man, Self - Intermission Guest
The Bob Hope Show
1950TV
Self - Cameo
Riviera Dream
1950Movie
Lights Out
1949TV
Fighter Squadron
1948Movie
Capt. Stuart L. Hamilton
Miss Tatlock's Millions
1948Movie
Nickey Van Alen
A Date with Judy
1948Movie
Stephen Andrews
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948TV
Self
Golden Globe Awards
1944TV
Self, Self - Presenter
Screen Snapshots (Series 23, No. 1): Hollywood in Uniform
1943Movie
Himself
Keeping Fit
1942Movie
Bob - Factory worker
Men of Texas
1942Movie
Barry Conovan
Eagle Squadron
1942Movie
Chuck S. Brewer
To Be or Not to Be
1942Movie
Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski
Badlands of Dakota
1941Movie
Jim Holliday
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
1941Movie
Self
Nice Girl?
1941Movie
Don Webb
A Little Bit of Heaven
1940Movie
Bob Terry
The Mortal Storm
1940Movie
Otto Von Rohn
First Love
1939Movie
Ted Drake