Robert Lansing was an actor whose tall stature, tough looks and commanding manner belied an often thoughtful and introspective screen personality. Not that acting had necessarily been his only choice - there was jazz. As a youngster, he played drums with various dance bands and was bitten by the acting bug after performing in and directing high school plays, winning the Southern California Shakespearean Festival for dramatic acting at the age of fifteen. Then came two years of army service in Japan, where he worked with the Armed Forces Radio Service. After his discharge, he hitched a ride to New York, but stopped over in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to spend two years as a radio announcer and act in local theatre. Once finally arrived in the 'Big Apple', he became just another struggling hopeful, frequenting the soup kitchen on 6th Avenue and travelling to auditions. Like countless others in the same position, he had to do in-between jobs to make ends meet, which in his case meant, working in a plastics factory and as a hat check attendant at a Latin Quarter nightclub. His first big break came, when he was hired to play the part of Dunbar in 'Stalag 17' on Broadway in May 1951. This was followed by roles in several prestige plays, including 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Richard III', but resulted neither in recognition nor financial reward. By 1956, he was still living with his wife and child in a vermin-infested tenement on Second Avenue. Considering himself the last 'no-name leading man' in New York, Lansing decided to return to California and try his luck in films.
