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Robert Brubaker, born on October 9, 1916, in Robinson, Illinois, was the son of George Brubaker and a descendant of Jonas Sparks, a friend of frontiersman Daniel Boone. Robinson, a small town located 210 miles south of Chicago and seven miles from the Wabash River, is best known as the home of the Heath Candy Company. Bard Heath, who developed the English Toffee that became the Heath Candy Bar, was the best man at Bob’s parents’ wedding. Bob attended Robinson Township High School, where he developed an interest in theater, participating in every production from his freshman year onward. Unlike many children who aspired to be soldiers or firemen, Bob always wanted to be an actor. He captained the high school debating team and won the State Oratory contest. His public speaking teacher, Helen Mowry, encouraged him to pursue acting and suggested he attend Northwestern University’s Annie Mae Swift School of Speech in Evanston, Illinois.
Bob enrolled at Northwestern in September 1934 but felt the program was geared toward training teachers rather than actors. While there, he starred in a revival of the musical comedy "Good News," playing the comedic lead. The Chicago Tribune praised his portrayal of "Bobby," favoring it over that of Jack Haley, which Bob considered a significant achievement. After two years, he left school to gain practical experience. Martin Burton, a producer who, alongside George Condoff, led the first musical by the Federal Theater, had seen Bob's performance in "Good News" and offered him a role. The Federal Theater was the only government-subsidized theater during the Works Progress Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In the summer of 1936, Bob joined the Federal Theater production "Oh Say Can You Sing, Dance or Act," which featured a 17-year-old tap dancer named Buddy Rich. Bob worked there until September 1937, when he faced a choice between moving to New York or Hollywood. Drawn to Hollywood, he arrived there in 1937, though the industry at the time favored actors trained in New York. Upon arrival, Bob enrolled at the Bard Dramatic School, where notable students included Alan Ladd, Jack Carson, and Gig Young. He studied there intermittently for over two years and eventually taught to help cover tuition. Among his students was Turhan Bey, whom Bob helped learn English.
While attending Bard, Bob also performed on radio shows at KMPC on Wilshire Boulevard, working alongside Clete Roberts and William Conrad. His talent caught the attention of the head of Paramount Studios during a Bard talent show. Bob performed a scene as a young drunk, and the Paramount executive saw potential in him as their answer to John Garfield, a recent breakthrough leading man. However, a studio leadership change halted the contract negotiations, marking one of Bob's early near-breakthroughs.
In 1939, Bob participated in the radio talent show "Gateway to Hollywood," produced by Jesse L. Lasky of RKO. He reached the finals alongside Gale Storm, who won the female prize under the name Josephine Cottle, and Lee Bonnell, who won the male prize and later married Gale Storm.
After leaving Bard, Bob worked briefly with the Bliss-Hayden Theater before moving to New York in 1941, where he secured the male lead in "Days of Our Youth," staged for the opening of The New School of Social Research off-Broadway. Directed by John Baird, one of Bob’s former Northwestern instructors, the play received excellent reviews and attracted investment interest from famous comics Olsen and Johnson, who planned to bring it to Broadway. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, led to the cancellation of these plans.
Returning to Hollywood in early 1942, Bob enlisted in the US Army Air Force, entering the cadet program and becoming a pilot. He served as an instructor and aircraft commander of B-24 bombers. Although his group was selected twice to deploy overseas, both missions were canceled, and he remained stateside until his discharge on December 15, 1945. Afterward, Bob resumed his entertainment career, doing radio work before moving back to New York. There, facing limited opportunities for Hollywood actors, he worked in the men's department at Lord and Taylor to support himself.
Bob was recalled to active duty in 1949 as an airlift pilot, flying 130 missions into Berlin during the Berlin Airlift. Upon returning, General Curtis LeMay assigned him to the Strategic Air Command, where Bob flew B-29s and completed nearly 100 missions during the Korean War. He finally left the service in February 1954.
Back in Hollywood, Bob restarted his acting career with help from friend Eve McVeagh, who introduced him to agent Leon O. Lance. Bob quickly found work in television, appearing on Reed Hadley's "Public Defender" (1954) and then on "Gunsmoke" (1955), where he played the stagecoach driver Jim Buck for the first five years. Later, he made many guest appearances and eventually replaced Glenn Strange as Floyd the bartender. He also co-starred as Deputy Blake in the 1958 season of "U.S. Marshal" with John Bromfield and appeared on numerous other shows, including "Mr. Lucky," "Broken Arrow," "I Love Lucy," "Tombstone Territory," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "The Deputy," "Tales of Wells Fargo," "The Rough Riders," "The Invaders," "Wanted: Dead or Alive," "The Andy Griffith Show," "Bonanza," "The Texan," "Kojak," "The Rebel," "The Untouchables," "The Man from Blackhawk," "Dragnet," "Two Faces West," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Death Valley Days," "Cheyenne," "The F.B.I.," "The Twilight Zone," "Navy Log," "Daniel Boone," "My Three Sons," "Tarzan," "Perry Mason," "Wide Country," "Dr. Kildare," "Kung Fu," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Barnaby Jones," and was a regular on "Days of Our Lives."
Bob was signed by MGM to star in the series "The Asphalt Jungle" (1961), which eventually starred Jack Warden. However, network resistance to New York actors and preference for known names led to Bob being sidelined and paid off instead of airing.
His film appearances included minor roles such as Major Hap Arnold in "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955) with Gary Cooper, a director opposite James Cagney in "Man of a Thousand Faces" (1957), the airport doctor in "Airport" (1970), a ferryboat operator in "Barquero" (1970) with Lee Van Cleef, and a memorable role in "My Man Godfrey" (1957) where he carried a chimp across a crowded dance floor. His last significant film was "The Sting" (1973), featuring in the famous train gambling scene with Robert Redford and Robert Shaw. He also appeared in two Audie Murphy westerns: "Apache Rifles" (1964) and "40 Guns to Apache Pass" (1967).
One of Bob's favorite roles came in the summer of 1954, after his Air Force discharge, when Bob Porterfield invited him to the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. There, Bob performed in "Stalag 17" and "Mister Roberts," but his favorite was playing Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman." He recalled the thrill of opening night and the thunderous applause that followed the final curtain, as well as positive critical acclaim.
Bob cherished his time on "Gunsmoke," developing friendships with cast members such as Dennis Weaver, whose son attended school with Bob’s. He had worked with James Arness before Arness assumed the role of Matt Dillon. Bob also participated in NBC’s first experiment with live color productions, "Matinee Theater," performing alongside Arness in "Damian and Phythias."
In the late 1970s, Bob worked as Director of Training for before-needs salespeople at Forest Lawn. After retiring, he moved from Los Angeles to a smaller community in California, where he lived until his death in 2010.
