Sam Fuller cast him in the lead of House of Bamboo (1955), shot in Japan for 20th Century Fox. The film was a hit and Stack received good reviews. Stack was back in "A" pictures when he appeared opposite John Wayne in The High and the Mighty (1954), playing the pilot of an airliner who comes apart under stress after the airliner encounters engine trouble. He continued making similar low budget action fare: Conquest of Cochise (1953) for Sam Katzman Sabre Jet (1953), playing another pilot, this time in the Korean War The Iron Glove (1954), a swashbuckler where Stack played Charles Wogan, for Katzman. It was released by United Artists who also put Stack in a Western, War Paint (1953). Stack supported Mickey Rooney in My Outlaw Brother (1951) and had the lead in the adventure epic Bwana Devil (1952), considered the first color, American 3-D feature film. He had an excellent role in Bullfighter and the Lady (1951), a passion project of Budd Boetticher for John Wayne's company. Stack was in two films at Paramount: Miss Tatlock's Millions (1948) and Mr. Stack resumed his career after the war with roles in such films as Fighter Squadron (1948) at Warners with Edmond O'Brien, playing a pilot A Date with Judy (1948) at MGM, with Wallace Beery and Elizabeth Taylor. He then made a Western, Men of Texas (1942).ĭuring World War II, Stack served as an Aerial Gunnery Officer and gunnery instructor in the United States Navy. Stack played another pilot in Eagle Squadron (1942), a huge hit. Lombard was killed in a plane crash shortly before the film was released. Stack admitted he was terrified going into this role, but he credited Lombard-who he'd known personally for several years-with giving him many tips on acting and with being his mentor. He was borrowed by United Artists to play a Polish Air Force pilot in To Be or Not To Be (1942), alongside Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. Stack then starred in a Western, Badlands of Dakota (1942), co-starring Richard Dix and Frances Farmer. Stack was reunited with Durbin in Pasternak's Nice Girl? (1941). He played a young man who joins the Nazi party.īack at Universal, Stack was in Pasternak's A Little Bit of Heaven (1940), starring Gloria Jean who was that studio's back-up for Deanna Durbin.
Stack won acclaim for his next role, The Mortal Storm (1940) starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and directed by Frank Borzage at MGM. He was the first actor to give Durbin an on-screen kiss. This film was considered controversial at the time.
Stack's first film, which teamed him with Deanna Durbin, was First Love (1939), produced by Pasternak. Recalled Stack, "He said, 'How'd you like to be in pictures? We'll make a test with Helen Parrish, a little love scene.' Helen Parrish was a beautiful girl. When Stack visited the lot of Universal Studios at age 20, producer Joe Pasternak offered him an opportunity to enter the business. His deep voice and good looks attracted producers in Hollywood. Stack took drama courses at Bridgewater State College. The High and the Mighty (1954), with John Wayne]] In 1971, he was inducted into the National Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame. He set two world records in skeet shooting and became National Champion. His brother and he won the International Outboard Motor Championships, in Venice, Italy and at age 16, he became a member of the All-American Skeet Team. He captioned it, "Me and my best girl." His maternal grandfather, the opera singer Charles Wood, studied voice in Italy and performed there under the name "Carlo Modini." On the paternal side of his family, Stack had another opera-singer relative: the American baritone Richard Bonelli (born George Richard Bunn), who was his uncle.īy the time he was 20, Stack had achieved minor fame as a sportsman. When he collaborated with Mark Evans on his autobiography, Straight Shooting, he included a picture of himself and his mother. He had always spoken of his mother with the greatest respect and love. His father, James Langford Stack, a wealthy advertising agency owner, later remarried his mother, but died when Stack was 10. His parents divorced when he was a year old, and he was raised by his mother, Mary Elizabeth (née Wood). He became fluent in French and Italian at an early age, and did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles. Robert Stack was born Charles Langford Modini Stack in Los Angeles, California, but his first name, selected by his mother, was changed to Robert by his father.
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