Dale Robertson dies at 89; TV and western movie star

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Dale Robertson dies at 89; TV and western movie star

Dale Robertson, who appeared in more than 60 movies, was best known for starring in the NBC series 'Tales of Wells Fargo.'

From Los Angeles Times staff and wire reports
February 28, 2013, 5:59 p.m.

Dale Robertson, an Oklahoma horseman who became a TV and western movie star during the genre's heyday, died Tuesday at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. He was 89.
 
Robertson, who was best known for starring in the series "Tales of Wells Fargo" from 1957 to 1962, had pneumonia and lung cancer, his family said.
 
The handsome, square-jawed actor, who was often said to resemble Clark Gable, was an able horse rider by age 10 and was training polo ponies in his teens. He applied those skills in Hollywood, where he appeared in more than 60 movies, including a prime role as Jesse James in 1949's "Fighting Man of the Plains." His leading ladies included such glamour icons as Betty Grable and Mitzi Gaynor.

In the 1950s, Robertson moved into television, where the faster pace appeared to suit his no-nonsense style.
 
Starring as stagecoach troubleshooter Jim Hardie in NBC's "Tales of Wells Fargo," he made the role memorable in part because he drew his pistol with his left hand, a quirk that became necessary because he drew so fast with his right hand that the camera missed the action.
 
"In truth, it was an honest gimmick that allowed Hardie to shake hands with a bad guy, hang on to his hand, and draw on him," Robertson told the Toronto Star in 1987.
 
After that series ended, Robertson appeared in "Iron Horse" from 1966 to 1968 as a ladies' man who wins a railroad in a poker game. The actor then was a host on the anthology series "Death Valley Days" from 1968 to 1970.

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RIP

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I don't remember him, but if he was a "no-nonsense" Okie who could school a polo pony, I bet I would have liked him.  Interesting about his drawing a gun with his left hand because the camera couldn't capture the action if he drew with his right.

My sympathies to his family and friends.

[thundley4]

I don't remember him, but if he was a "no-nonsense" Okie who could school a polo pony, I bet I would have liked him.  Interesting about his drawing a gun with his left hand because the camera couldn't capture the action if he drew with his right.

My sympathies to his family and friends.

I don't remember him either, but looking at the list of shows he was in, I'm pretty sure that I saw him a lot of times.  I used to watch a lot of westerns with my dad when I was younger.