Richard Rober

• Name — Richard Rober • Birth Name — Richard Steven Rauber • Born — 14 May 1906 • Birthplace — Rochester, New York, U.S. • Died — 26 May 1952 • Place of death — Santa Monica, California, U.S. • Resting Place — Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, New York • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1936–1952 • Spouse — Mary Hay Barthelmess (m. married 1946; div. divorced 19??)

Richard Steven Rauber was born in Rochester, New York, on May 14, 1906. He was the son of Frederick S. Rauber, an attorney, and Elizabeth Ford.

Rober began his career as a stage actor in the mid-1930s under his real name, Richard Rauber. Penniless and looking for work after his graduation from the University of Rochester, he landed a small part in a play by the Lyceum Players starring Louis Calhern. He went on to act with nearly every repertory theatre company on the East Coast. He was part of the original Chicago company of Born Yesterday. He also performed in the long-running Oklahoma!. In 1947, Rober embarked on a career in Hollywood, appearing in his first film role in Call Northside 777 (1948). He appeared in many B-movies—including Sierra (1950)—and film noir drama films such as The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) and The Well (1951). In July 1951 it was reported that he had appeared in 26 films in his 3 1/2 years in Hollywood. While Rober mostly played supporting roles, his career began to go on the ascendancy before his death in 1952. He had a starring role in The Well (1951), and had traveled to Austria to play the lead in the MGM production The Devil Makes Three (1952). The week before his death, he played the lead in Corny Johnson, a television film produced by Bing Crosby Enterprises.

Rober was married twice. His second marriage, at age 40, was to Mary Hay Barthelmess, age 23, daughter of actors Richard Barthelmess and Mary Hay, in New York in January 1946. They later divorced.

Rober died after crashing his car in the San Fernando Valley on May 26, 1952. He had been driving with a passenger, actress Norma Britton. The car swerved off the highway in heavy fog and plummeted over a embankment, something which, three years earlier, in The File on Thelma Jordon, he actually depicted, sitting next to Barbara Stanwyck. Rescuers took the pair to Santa Monica Hospital, where Rober died a few hours later. Britton survived with rib injuries. Rober was eulogized in Rochester and buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

• Year || Title || Role || Notes • 1936 — Sheik to Sheik — Ali Bin Whoopsie, the Mad Sheik — Short (credited as Richard Rauber) • 1948 — Call Northside 777 — Sgt. Larson in Records Department — Uncredited • April Showers — Al Wilson • Embraceable You — Sig Ketch • Larceny — Max • Smart Girls Don't Talk — Lt. McReady • 1949 — Illegal Entry — Dutch Lempo • Any Number Can Play — Lew 'Angie' Debretti • Task Force — Jack Southern • I Married a Communist — Jim Travers • Port of New York — Jim Flannery • 1950 — The File on Thelma Jordon — Tony Laredo • Backfire — Solly Blayne • Sierra — Big Matt Rango • Deported — Bernardo Gervaso • Dial 1119 — Police Capt. Henry Keiver — Also known as The Violent Hour in the UK • Watch the Birdie — Mr. Hugh Shanway • 1951 — Father's Little Dividend — Police Sergeant • Passage West — Mike — Also known as High Venture in the UK • The Tall Target — Lt. Coulter • The Well — Sheriff Ben Kellogg • Man in the Saddle — Fay Dutcher • 1952 — Outlaw Women — Woody Callaway • Kid Monk Baroni — Father Callahan • O. Henry's Full House — Chief of Detectives — (segment "The Clarion Call") • The Rose Bowl Story — Coach James Hadley • The Savage — Capt. Arnold Vaugant • The Devil Makes Three — Colonel James Terry • 1957 — Jet Pilot — FBI Agent George Rivers — Delayed release, final film role

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1936 — Murder in the Old Red Barn — William Corder • 1938 — Richard II — Lord Ross • The Man from Cairo — Janos • 1941-2 — Banjo Eyes — Harry the Bartender • 1942-3 — Star and Garter — Narrator, District Attorney, Doctor • 1943-8 — Oklahoma! • 1944 — Ramshackle Inn — Dr. Russell • 1946 — Born Yesterday Sources: