Jason Robards Sr.

Jason Nelson Robards Sr. was born on December 31, 1892, on a farm in Hillsdale, Michigan, to Elizabeth Robards, a schoolteacher, and Frank P. Robards Sr., a farmer and post office inspector who managed Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 presidential campaign in Michigan. Robards was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and received his theatrical training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He died on April 4, 1963, at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, at the age of 70.

Robards built a career as an American actor spanning stage, film, and television. His film work ran primarily from 1921 to 1961, during which he began as a leading man before transitioning to smaller parts. His final years in the profession were spent largely in television, including a 1958 appearance as Judge Hesby in the Colt .45 episode "Dead Reckoning" and a role on Leave It to Beaver in which he played an older gentleman whom the character Beaver believed was part Native American and capable of making it rain.

His Broadway career extended from 1918 to 1958 and included credits in Spite Corner, The Disenchanted, and the long-running production Lightnin', in which he played John Marvin. The latter role became so closely associated with Robards that his son Jason Robards Jr. drew a parallel between his father and the character of James Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night — a stage actor whose career became defined by a single part. Jason Jr. played Tyrone on Broadway in 1956 and on screen in 1962.

The Disenchanted, a play by Budd Schulberg inspired by the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald, marked the only occasion on which Robards Sr. and his son appeared on stage together. Jason Jr. received a Tony Award for his performance in that production. Robards Sr.'s Broadway credits also include the musical Turn to the Right in 1917.

Throughout most of his career, Robards was billed simply as Jason Robards. After his son began acting professionally, he came to be credited as Jason Robards Sr. to distinguish the two. Following Robards Sr.'s death in 1963, his son dropped the "Jr." suffix from his own name. Two of Robards Sr.'s grandsons, Jason Robards III and Sam Robards, also became actors.