Robert Fuller

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Robert Fuller born July 29 1933 is an American former television Western actor and current rancher In his five decades of television hes best known for starring roles on the popular 1960s western series Laramie as Jess Harper and Wagon Train as Cooper Smith as well as his work for his lead role Dr Kelly Brackett in the popular 1970s medical drama Emergency opposite his best friends Julie London and her husband Bobby Troup  Early life Robert Fuller was born Leonard Leroy Lee on July 29 1933 in Troy New York the only child of Elizabeth Lee a dance instructor Later in his childhood Betty married Robert Simpson Sr a Naval Academy officer In 1939 the family moved to Key West Florida where already known by the nickname of Buddy he took the name Robert Simpson Jr His parents owned a dancing school in Florida His family also lived in Chicago for a year before moving back to Florida Simpson Jr as he was then still formally known attended the Miami Military School for fifth and sixth grades and Key West High School for ninth grade He dropped out at age 14 because he disliked school and was doing poorly there In 1950 at the age of 16 he and his parents moved to Hollywood California where his first job was as a stunt man Television work in the late 1950s and 1960s Fuller was David Dortorts second choice for the role of Lorne Greenes youngest cocky impish son Joseph Little Joe Cartwright on NBCs Bonanza but the role went to Michael Landon Fuller then landed the role of Jess Harper on Laramie which ran from 1959 to 1963 Fuller was cast opposite one of his best friends John Smith Smith had already been cast as Jess Harper Fuller was asked to screen test for the character of Slim Sherman Fuller insisted he would be better as Harper and after the screen test he became Jess and Smith got the part of Slim Laramie eventually aired in more than 70 countries When it ended its run in 1963 Fuller jumped to another Western Wagon Train alongside John McIntire a veteran film actor a twotime gueststar on Laramie Frank McGrath and Terry Wilson According to an August 17 2009 interview for On Screen and Beyond Fuller noted that he was not brought in to replace Robert Horton a lifelong friend Fuller had met in 1954 as the wagon train scout He resembled Horton and the two shared the same birthday but Horton was nine years Fullers senior Horton had already departed from the cast a year prior to Fullers stepping in to complete the series final two seasons Personal life Fuller and Patricia Lee Lyon married on December 20 1962 and had three children The two divorced in 1984 Lyon died of cancer in 1994 By the 1990s Fuller had largely retired from the film business His last acting credit was in 2001 He married actress Jennifer Savidge known for her role on NBCs St Elsewhere series on May 19 2001 In 2004 Fuller and wife Jennifer Savidge moved from Los Angeles to a ranch in north Texas His neighbor and longterm friend Alex Cord had urged Fuller to move to Cooke County The two met in 1961 on the set of Laramie when Cord made his television acting debut CLR Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Fuller licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia