Paul Roebling

Paul Roebling (March 1, 1934 – July 27, 1994) was an American actor born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose career spanned stage, film, and television. He appeared on Broadway between 1955 and 1963, with credits including The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, A Desert Incident, The Lark, and The Dark Is Light Enough. His stage work earned him a Theatre World Award in 1959. Off Broadway, Roebling received the 1962 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor for his role in This Side of Paradise. He also directed his wife, actress Olga Bellin, in the production Zelda.

Roebling's screen credits included the films Blue Thunder, Prince of the City, and Carolina Skeletons. He became particularly associated with the documentary work of filmmaker Ken Burns, serving as a voice actor in two of Burns's PBS productions. In the 1990 documentary The Civil War, Roebling voiced Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and delivered the reading of the letter written by Sullivan Ballou. In Burns's earlier documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge, he served as the voice of Washington Roebling.

That connection carried personal significance: Roebling was a descendant of John Roebling and Washington Roebling, the engineers responsible for designing and building the Brooklyn Bridge. He and Olga Bellin had one son, Kristian Roebling, who later had two sons of his own, Augustus and Patrick Chase Roebling. Olga Bellin died from cancer before her husband. Paul Roebling died by suicide on July 27, 1994, in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona.