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For other persons named Robert Wagner, see Robert Wagner (disambiguation).
Robert John Wagner (born February 10, 1930) is a popular American film and television actor, primarily in movies and television. In his early days in Hollywood in the 1950s, he was mentored by the movie actor Spencer Tracy. He also starred in three popular American television series that spanned three decades: as playboy-thief-turned-secret-agent Alexander Mundy in It Takes a Thief (1968–1970), as Eddie Albert's crime-fighting partner Det. Pete T. Ryan in the con-artist-oriented drama Switch (1975–1978), and as Stefanie Powers's super-rich husband and private-eye partner Jonathan Hart in the lighthearted crime drama Hart to Hart (1979–1984). He also starred as Number Two in the Austin Powers films of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Early careerBorn in Detroit, Michigan, Wagner moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, when he was seven. At an early age, Wagner became an aspiring actor was successfully employed in a variety of jobs, most prominently as a caddy for actor Clark Gable. However, it wasn't until he was dining with his family at a Beverly Hills restaurant that he was "discovered" by a talent scout. Making his debut in The Happy Years (1950), he would play minor characters in several military themed films until his performance in With a Song in My Heart (1952) starring Susan Hayward, which would lead to a contract with 20th Century Fox.
It was during his early career that he became the protégé of veteran actor Clifton Webb, appearing with him in Stars and Stripes Forever (1952). His performance earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer in motion pictures. According to Robert Hofler in The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson: The Pretty Boys and Dirty Deals of Henry Willson, his biography of Hollywood talent agent Henry Willson, Wagner was the most prominent client to break with Willson after the homosexuality of Willson and his top client, Rock Hudson, became a topic of Hollywood gossip. For the straight actors represented by Willson, to be represented by a gay man in the 1950s meant that they would likely be suspected of being gay by a homophobic society, so Wagner and others abandoned him to preserve the masculine images necessary for their careers.[citation needed] Personal lifeOn his way to becoming one of Fox's visible younger stars, Wagner began appearing in public with several young actresses including Debbie Reynolds, eventually becoming lifelong friends.
Wagner, reportedly distraught over the divorce, traveled to Europe and was working on The Longest Day (1962) when he met an old friend, actress Marion Marshall. After a brief courtship, Wagner married Marshall on July 22, 1963 and the following year had a daughter, Katie Wagner. The two divorced in 1970. TelevisionImage:Wagner, Berger survey Expo 67.jpg Wagner (right), with actress Senta Berger, at Expo 67. In 1968, Wagner made his television debut starring in the short-lived television series It Takes a Thief and, after a successful two and a half seasons, his career began to rise. By the mid-1970s, Wagner's television career was at its peak with the popular television series Switch and, most memorably, Hart to Hart (as well as appearances in the pilot episode of The Streets of San Francisco and as a regular in the UK World War Two drama, Colditz). He would later be nominated for an Emmy Award for Best TV Actor for his performance in It Takes a Thief and for four Golden Globe awards for his role as Jonathan Hart in Hart to Hart. He currently is in an advertisement for reverse mortgages. Remarriage to Natalie WoodDespite his divorce, Wagner continued to keep in contact with Natalie Wood and, in 1971, at a chance meeting with Wood in a restaurant, the two began to resume their relationship (despite her marriage to British producer Richard Gregson). Wood eventually divorced Gregson, and gaining custody of her daughter Natasha, they remarried on June 16, 1972 in a ceremony on their yacht Splendour. Two years later, along with Katie Wagner and Natasha Gregson Wagner, the couple had a daughter Courtney Brooke. Image:RobertWagner2.jpg Robert Wagner & Natalie Wood The two would later appear together in the television movies The Affair, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Wagner's own television series Hart to Hart. In 1973, with his wife Natalie Wood, Wagner arranged a deal with Aaron Spelling to submit ideas for pilots to ABC, one of which resulted in the TV series Charlie's Angels in which Wagner and Wood shared the profits with Spelling equally. On November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood drowned after falling off their yacht Splendour while sailing near Catalina Island with Wagner and Christopher Walken. Wagner, reportedly distraught over Natalie's death, would remain unmarried for almost ten years while continuing to raise their three daughters. After sister-in-law Lana Wood published her 1984 autobiography Natalie: A Memoir, Wagner broke off contact with his late wife's family. She would go on to produce the television movie The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004), starring Justine Waddell and Michael Weatherly as Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner. In 1991, he married actress Jill St. John. In the spring of 2000, St. John herself would become involved in an altercation with Lana Wood during a cover shoot for Vanity Fair featuring the actresses of the long running James Bond series. St. John and Lana co-starred in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are Forever. On September 21, 2006, he became a first time grandfather when his daughter, Katie, gave birth to a son, Riley Wagner-Lewis. Return to filmImage:RobertWagner3.jpg Robert Wagner as Number Two in New Line's Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). Wagner's film career received a revival for his role in the popular Mike Myers's Austin Powers series with his role as Dr. Evil's henchman known only as Number 2 as well as becoming the host of Fox Movie Channel's Hour of Stars, featuring original television episodes of The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955), a series which Wagner had appeared on in his early days with the studio. Aaron Spelling lawsuitIn June 2000, Wagner sued Aaron Spelling Productions for $20 million for breach of contract and fraud, claiming he had been cheated out of profits from the Fox television series Beverly Hills, 90210 regarding an agreement between the show's creator and producer Aaron Spelling and the Fox Network in conflict with his own business relationship with Spelling since the early 1970s. In 1988, Wagner agreed to become involved in Spelling's television series Angels 88, then in development, in which Spelling had agreed Wagner would receive a 7.5% gross profit for his participation, regardless of services rendered. However, when the series was initially picked up by Fox and then later dropped in favor of Beverly Hills, 90210, Wagner claimed he was entitled to the rights previously agreed upon their 1988 agreement. Friendship with Eddie AlbertWagner was a loyal friend to Eddie Albert for over 40 years and said Albert was a true blessing to him. Wagner was only 8 when he first watched his future mentor in the 1938 movie, Brother Rat, and was impressed. He first worked with the seasoned actor in the 1962 movie, The Longest Day. Shortly afterwards, they co-starred in Switch, and The Concorde: Airport '79. They kept in touch until Albert's death in 2005 where Wagner gave one of the eulogies. FilmographyWagner's career as a supporting player in movies was solid in the 1950s, but his film career petered out in the 1960s (as did his first marriage to Natalie Wood), and he turned to television with great success. His notable roles include:
Other roles
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