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Robert Cornthwaite

Highest Rated: 100% Day of the Outlaw (1959)

Lowest Rated: 36% Futureworld (1976)

Birthday: Apr 28, 1917

Birthplace: St. Helens, Oregon, USA

Robert Cornthwaite was a thin man with an aristocratic bearing who radiated intelligence; in Hollywood, that got him typecast as a cold, intellectual scientist. This was despite the range he displayed in his many acting roles, which ran the gamut from Napoleon Bonaparte (in "The Purple Mask," a 1955 period film about French rebels just after the Revolution) to an Alzheimer's-afflicted mayor in the oddball small-town TV drama "Picket Fences" (1992). Perhaps the stereotype is due to Cornthwaite's memorable turn as Dr. Carrington, the ultimate science fiction egghead scientist in the self-descriptive 1951 hit "The Thing From Another World." Throughout his career, the actor played enough characters with the title "Dr." to staff the faculty of a major university. Among the more notable of these appearances was as a medical practitioner in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" (1962), a thriller about a demented former child star (played by Bette Davis) tormenting her sister. Cornthwaite took variations of this character to TV, but he also branched out into non-intellectual roles. He played a butler in a two-episode stretch of the popular Boston bar-set sitcom "Cheers" (1992) and a diplomat in the space saga "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979). During his working life, the actor was also extensively involved with productions in the theater, his preferred medium.

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Highest rated movies

100% 72% Day of the Outlaw
Watchlist
93% 63% Matinee Watchlist 89% 71% The War of the Worlds Watchlist
87% 73% The Thing
Watchlist
83% 75% The Spirit of St. Louis
Watchlist
78% 68% Monkey Business
Watchlist
67% 75% The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Watchlist
36% 30% Futureworld
Watchlist
The Power of the Resurrection
Watchlist
70% The Primevals
Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet 70% The Primevals Lloyd Trent (Character) - 2023
No Score Yet 86% White Dwarf King Joist of the Dark Side (Character) - 1995
93% 63% Matinee Dr. Flankon (uncredited) (Character) $8.9M 1993
36% 30% Futureworld Mr. Reed (Character) - 1976
No Score Yet 29% The Devil's Daughter Pastor Dixon (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet 75% The Six Million Dollar Man Dr. Ashburn (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Longest Night Frank Cavanaugh (Character) - 1972
No Score Yet No Score Yet Killer by Night Dr. Bradville (Character) - 1971
No Score Yet 38% The Peace Killers Ben (Character) - 1971
No Score Yet No Score Yet Two on a Bench Mr. Hayes (Character) - 1971
67% 75% The Ghost and Mr. Chicken Springer (Character) - 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Destination Space Senator Royce (Character) - 1959
No Score Yet 33% Ten Seconds to Hell Franz Loeffler (Character) - 1959
100% 72% Day of the Outlaw Blaise Starrett (Character) - 1959
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Power of the Resurrection Caiaphus (Character) - 1958
83% 75% The Spirit of St. Louis Harry Knight (Character) - 1957
No Score Yet 67% Stranger on Horseback Arnold Hammer (Character) - 1955
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Purple Mask Napoleon Bonaparte (Character) - 1955
89% 71% The War of the Worlds Dr. Pryor (Character) - 1953
78% 68% Monkey Business Dr. Zoldeck (Character) - 1952
87% 73% The Thing Dr. Arthur Carrington (Character) - 1951
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mark of the Renegade Innkeeper (Character) - 1951

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Chicago Hope Unknown (Guest Star) 1995
87% 95% Cheers Hives (Guest Star) 1992-1993
No Score Yet 86% Beauty and the Beast Morrison (Guest Star) 1988-1989
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dynasty Judge Edward P. Langdon (Guest Star) 1988
No Score Yet No Score Yet Kate & Allie Unknown (Guest Star) 1985
No Score Yet No Score Yet Laverne & Shirley Unknown (Guest Star) 1977
No Score Yet No Score Yet Barbary Coast Unknown (Guest Star) 1976
100% 84% Kolchak: The Night Stalker Unknown (Guest Star) 1974
No Score Yet No Score Yet Men at Law Unknown (Guest Star) 1970
No Score Yet No Score Yet Bonanza Unknown (Guest Star) 1970
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Markham (Guest Star) 1967
No Score Yet No Score Yet Garrison's Gorillas Unknown (Guest Star) 1967
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jericho Unknown (Character) 1967
No Score Yet No Score Yet Iron Horse Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gidget Brian Mack (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Man Called Shenandoah Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dr. Kildare Dr. Sisler (Guest Star) 1965-1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Farmer's Daughter Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Big Valley Unknown (Guest Star) 1966
No Score Yet 84% Get Smart Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
83% 92% The Munsters Mr. Parker (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Fugitive Pickett (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Combat! Unknown (Guest Star) 1965
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mr. Novak Unknown (Guest Star) 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Perry Mason Duval (Guest Star) 1957 1959-1960 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Rawhide Unknown (Guest Star) 1962 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Alfred Hitchcock Hour Unknown (Character) 1962 1964
No Score Yet No Score Yet Wagon Train Dr. Wilson (Guest Star) 1961-1963
No Score Yet No Score Yet 77 Sunset Strip Marvin Carmichael (Guest Star) 1963
No Score Yet 88% The Andy Griffith Show Mr. Somerset (Guest Star) 1963
92% 96% The Twilight Zone Hanford (Character) 1962-1963
No Score Yet No Score Yet Laramie Heron (Guest Star) 1963
No Score Yet No Score Yet Tales of Wells Fargo Vincent Dodd (Character),
Anthony Boaz (Guest Star)
1960 1962
No Score Yet No Score Yet Surfside 6 Unknown (Guest Star) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet Thriller Unknown (Character) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Untouchables Unknown (Guest Star) 1961
No Score Yet No Score Yet Zane Grey Theatre Unknown (Character) 1957 1959
No Score Yet No Score Yet Behind Closed Doors Unknown (Character) 1959
No Score Yet No Score Yet Trackdown Jerome Ballard (Guest Star) 1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Adventures of Jim Bowie John James Audubon (Character) 1956-1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Thin Man Hartwick (Guest Star) 1958
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gunsmoke Lou Staley (Guest Star) 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Marshal Dillon Unknown (Guest Star) 1957
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jeff's Collie Unknown (Guest Star) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lassie District Attorney (Guest Star) 1956
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Star and the Story Unknown (Character) 1955
No Score Yet No Score Yet Cavalcade of America Mark Twain (Character) 1953