Character actor Jay Robinson owned a pair of the narrowest, cruelest-looking eyes in 1950s Hollywood. To compliment them was an evil-looking sneer, crisp and biting diction and a nefarious-sounding cackle. These were all draped upon a lean, bony physique that could slither about menacingly like a ready-to-pounce cobra. With that in mind, he made ...
In 1958, Robinson was arrested on a narcotics violation. His conviction was overturned, but he later served 15 months in prison after unknowingly missing a date for retrial.
5
His trademark "scary voice", which he developed in his elder years, became a mainstay of his post-retirement career. His voice is sometimes mistaken for that of the late Tony Jay, a brilliant British voice-actor. Jay has not been in the public light since his retirement from acting in 1994, aside from a brief stint as the host of Beyond Bizarre (1997). It was during this time that Tony Jay's voice talents became well-known in American media, as well as Jay Robinson's television series Beyond Bizarre (1997), hence the confusion that sometimes resulted when Tony Jay's voice was heard in video games or animated series.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Mad Jack the Pirate
1998
TV Series
The Nanny
1994
TV Series
The Maitre'd
Murder Between Friends
1994
TV Movie
Dying to Remember
1993
TV Movie
Dr. James Portman
Skeeter
1993
Drake
Ghost Ship
1992
Crusoe - pirate
Dracula
1992
Mr. Hawkins
Sinatra
1992
TV Mini-Series
Major Bowes
Murder, She Wrote
1987-1991
TV Series
Bishop Burkhardt / Paddock
Cheers
1989
TV Series
Larry
Transylvania Twist
1989
Uncle Ephram
Big Top Pee-wee
1988
Cook
Night Court
1987
TV Series
Roland Jeffries
The Malibu Bikini Shop
1986
Ben
Mr. and Mrs. Ryan
1986
TV Movie
Auctioneer
George Burns Comedy Week
1985
TV Series
The Taming of the Shrew
1983
Video
Pedant
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
TV Series
Wilson
Tales of the Gold Monkey
1983
TV Series
The Governor
CHiPs
1983
TV Series
Arms Buyer
Amanda's
1983
TV Series
Judge Leo Thornton
Richard II
1982
Video
Gardener
Memories Never Die
1982
TV Movie
Dr. Max Heilbrunn
Voyagers!
1982
TV Series
Cicero
Partners
1982
Halderstam
The Sword and the Sorcerer
1982
King Charles
Barney Miller
1976-1982
TV Series
Horace Sharp / Morton Hackler
Macbeth
1981
Video
The Porter
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice
1981
Video
Duke of Venice
The Man with Bogart's Face
1980
Wolf / Zinderneuf
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
TV Series
Cassius Thorne
The Secret Empire
1979
TV Series
Demeter
Born Again
1978
David Shapiro
The Bay City Rollers Show
1978
TV Series
Dr. Deathray / Igor Strange
The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars
1978
TV Movie
Count Dracula
A.E.S. Hudson Street
1978
TV Series
Pratt
The Waltons
1975-1976
TV Series
Professor Thaxton
Dr. Shrinker
1976
TV Series
Dr. Shrinker
The Krofft Supershow
1976
TV Series
Dr. Shrinker (in 'Dr. Shrinker') (1976-1977)
Phyllis
1976
TV Series
Maitre D
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
1975
Insane Actor
Harry O
1975
TV Series
Karl Singleton
Doc
1975
TV Series
Hollister
Train Ride to Hollywood
1975
Dracula
Shampoo
1975
Norman
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
1975
TV Series
Prof. Eli Strig
Mannix
1968-1974
TV Series
Lyle Kilburn / Eddie Richter / Overkill / ...
Planet of the Apes
1974
TV Series
Bandor
Nightmare Honeymoon
1974
Ruskin
Three the Hard Way
1974
Monroe Feather
Banacek
1974
TV Series
Bradley Merrick
She Lives!
1973
TV Movie
Dr. Mayhill
This Is a Hijack
1973
Simon Scott
Search
1973
TV Series
Claude Johansen
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask
1972
The Priest
Hawaii Five-O
1972
TV Series
Mingo
O'Hara, U.S. Treasury
1972
TV Series
George Cadlin
Room 222
1971
TV Series
Paul Freebush
Bunny O'Hare
1971
John C. Rupert
The D.A.
1971
TV Series
Cowan
The Virginian
1970
TV Series
Abel Hewitt
Bewitched
1969-1970
TV Series
Professor Poindexter Phipps / Julius Caesar
Judd for the Defense
1969
TV Series
D.A. Roberts
Star Trek
1968
TV Series
Lord Petri
The Wild Wild West
1968
TV Series
Dr. Maitland
Days of Our Lives
1965
TV Series
Monty Dolan (1988-1989)
Tell Me in the Sunlight
1965
Barber
My Man Godfrey
1957
Vincent
The Wild Party
1956
Gage Freeposter
Wire Service
1956
TV Series
Rod Usher
The Virgin Queen
1955
Chadwick
Demetrius and the Gladiators
1954
Caligula
The Robe
1953
Caligula
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Making of the Robe
2009
Video documentary short
Himself
Adventures Beyond: Chupacabra
1997
Video documentary
Host
Beyond Bizarre
1997
TV Series documentary
Host
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
20th Century-Fox: The First 50 Years
1997
TV Movie documentary
Actor 'The Robe' (uncredited)
Farewell to the Planet of the Apes
1981
TV Movie
Bandor
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1980
TV Series
Cassius Thorne
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1977
Golden Scroll
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA