Andrew Robinson (actor)

Andrew Jordt Robinson (born February 14, 1942) is an American actor and the former director of the Master of Fine Arts acting program at the University of Southern California.

Originally a stage actor, he works predominantly in supporting roles on television and in low-budget films.

In 1969, he had his first television role with a guest part on N.Y.P.D. at the age of 26.

He met his wife Irene after wrapping a production of Springvoices and the two married in 1970.

He has two stepsons from his wife's previous marriage and one daughter named Rachel, who became an actress as well.

He is known for his portrayals of the psychotic serial killer Scorpio in Dirty Harry (1971), Larry Cotton in the horror film Hellraiser (1987), and Elim Garak in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999).

He and his wife Irene have a daughter, actress Rachel Robinson, who appeared in Deep Space Nine episode "The Visitor".

Robinson was born in New York City.

In 1971, he began acting in feature films.

Robinson's first feature film role was in 1971's Dirty Harry.

Don Siegel, the film's director, and Clint Eastwood picked Robinson for the role after seeing him in a production of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot.

Robinson was cast as the Scorpio Killer, the antagonist of the film.

The Scorpio Killer was largely based on the contemporary real life Zodiac Killer, and Robinson integrated many known aspects of that serial killer's personality into his acting, such as a disturbed sense of humour and a sadistic inclination to taunt his pursuers.

In the film, his character murders a young woman, a 10-year old boy, a teenage girl and a police officer and takes a school bus full of young children hostage.

His portrayal was so convincing that he received death threats after the film's release.

Director Don Siegel noted that he cast Robinson because he had the face of "a choir boy."

Critical reactions to Robinson were generally positive.

Box Office Magazine wrote: "Andy Robinson is the maniacal Scorpio ... a good blending of cunning and savagery."

His role as Scorpio gave him widespread exposure, but Robinson also found himself typecast as "psycho" characters.

He claimed the role severely limited his casting options, as film producers were reluctant to cast him in any "good guy" roles.

Robinson starred in Charley Varrick, a 1973 film that starred Walter Matthau and was directed by Don Siegel.

In 1975 he co-starred as the sleazy, ill-fated chauffeur in the detective drama The Drowning Pool, starring Paul Newman.

Robinson played Frank Ryan on the soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1976–78, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

Robinson has had many one-time and recurring roles on a wide variety of television shows, in including the miniseries Once an Eagle.

His filmography includes guest roles on Bonanza, Marcus Welby, M.D., Kung Fu, Ironside, The Rookies, S.W.A.T., The Streets of San Francisco, Kojak, The Incredible Hulk, CHiPs, Mrs. Columbo, Barnaby Jones, Vega$, Falcon Crest, The Greatest American Hero, The Dukes of Hazzard, Hart to Hart, The A-Team, Matt Houston, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Matlock, Law & Order, Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder, She Wrote, The X-Files, The Practice, and Without a Trace.

In 1978 Robinson left acting professionally for five years and concentrated on raising his family in the small mountain community of Idyllwild, California, located about 150 mi from Los Angeles.

During that time he taught community theatre for middle and high school students and also worked as a carpenter to bring in a regular salary.

Some of his notable "psycho" roles include a demented and ill-fated military barber in Child's Play 3 (1991) and the character Frank Cotton (in the skin of Larry Cotton, Robinson's actual character) in the horror film Hellraiser (1987), in which Robinson had his first lead role in a feature film.

His middle name, Jordt, was given to honor his grandfather, though he did not begin using it in his professional credits until the 1996 Deep Space Nine episode, "Body Parts".

His father was a soldier in World War II and was killed when Robinson was three years old.

After his death, he and his mother moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he was raised with her family.

In his later childhood, Robinson became a juvenile delinquent and was eventually sent to St. Andrew's School, a boarding school in Rhode Island.

After graduating from high school, Robinson attended the University of New Hampshire.

After he picketed the school's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program his degree was withheld by the university, so he transferred to The New School for Social Research in New York City and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

He originally intended to become a journalist but went into acting after earning a Fulbright Scholarship.

After graduating, he went to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on the scholarship.

Robinson began acting in high school and college theatre.

While attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), he studied Shakespeare and voice training.

Robinson's first professional roles were as a stage actor and playwright in New York.

His first role in New York was in the play MacBird! He went on to appear in productions in North America and Europe, including Woyzeck, Futz, Werner Liepolt's "The Young Master Dante" and The Cannibals.