George R. Robertson fonds [multiple media]
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Hierarchy 
George R. Robertson fonds [multiple media]
Hierarchical level:FondsContext of this record:Fonds includes:6 lower level description(s)View lower level description(s) -
Finding aid Sound recording (Electronic) Please refer to the Film, Video and Sound (IMISACS) database for item level descriptions. (90: Open)Multiple Media (Electronic) Finding aid is a file list describing volumes 1 to 10. MSS2785 (90: Open)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf002/p000003827.pdf -
Record information George R. Robertson fonds [multiple media]
Date:[1950-2018].Reference:R18732-0-4-EType of material:Photographs, Moving images, Sound recordings, Textual material, Objects (including medals and pins), Art, Architectural and technical drawingsFound in:Archives / Collections and FondsItem ID number:6427858Date(s):[1950-2018].Bilingual equivalent:Place of creation:CanadaAdded country of publication:United States, ThailandExtent:0.72 m of textual records.
211 photographs : 39 b&w and 157 col.; 15 col. slides.
5 drawings : ink (copy).
4 print : posters.
4 postcards.
1 technical drawing.
2 plaques : wood and metal.
3 digital textual records (111.5 KB).
17 digital records] (186 MB) : used to create a newsletter
1 digital graphic record (331.4 KB) : used to create a newsletter.
25 audio reels (ca. 14 hrs.) : 1/4 inch.
3 film reels (ca. 12 min, 30 s.).
2 audio cassettes (ca. 1 hr, 40 min).Language of material:EnglishScope and content:This fonds holds documents relating to the life and acting career of George R. Robertson, dating from 1950 to 2020. The records include, but are not limited to screenplays written for film and television; radio play scripts; outlines and research for produced and unproduced teleplays and stage plays; drafts of talks and speeches; poetry; press clippings; show programs (Broadway musicals, stage plays and other performances); documents concerning Robertson's college and university education; professional correspondence; professional photographs for promotional purposes (modeling and acting career); photographs taken during film productions (notably The Dawson Patrol); informal photographs with his wife, family and friends; materials related to the Police Academy film franchise, such as photos, letters, fan letters and press clippings; files pertaining to Robertson's humanitarian work with UNICEF as well as the Harry's Kids' Charity project in Thailand (correspondence, photographs, newsletters and press clippings); files relating to Robertson's artwork; one file relating to his furniture design work; awards and honours received (including two wood and metal plaques); sound recordings of musical performances, radio dramas and broadcasts; film reels.Provenance:Additional name(s):Biography/Administrative history:Robertson, George R., 1933-2023 : George R. Robertson-Canadian actor, screenwriter, humanitarian
George R. Robertson was born in Brampton, Ontario, on April 20, 1933. His father was one of the founders of the Chainway stores in Toronto. His parents, Stuart H. Robertson and Mayme Kidd, moved every year with the opening of new stores in Ontario. Around 1942, the Robertsons settled in Montréal where his father was the senior buyer for the Chainway stores. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, George Robertson studied at West Hill High School, where he was awarded the Allan Hall Trophy in 1952 for his athletic abilities.
During subsequent years, Robertson attended McGill University for one year, studying mining engineering, before working for Trevor Peck Co. Limited. He continued his studies at Sir George Williams University and later earned a diploma from Carrier Air Conditioning Headquarters in Syracuse, New York.
In the late 1950s, after spending three months in Europe, Robertson pursued his post-secondary education at Columbia University in New York City. There, he met his wife, Adele Marie Probst, and earned a Bachelor of Science in 1958 and an MBA in 1959. His graduate thesis, which examined the decline of Broadway theatre ticket sales, was considered so significant that Columbia University issued it as a press release. As a result, critics (notably film critic Judy Crist) for daily newspapers such as the NY Journal-American and the New York Herald Tribune, wrote columns reviewing his research.
While living in New York City, Robertson became increasingly interested in the arts and pursued an acting career. He studied singing with opera coach Giuseppe Balestrieri and acting at the HB Studio with Uta Hagen. In 1961, he was accepted to the Actors Studio, but chose to continue studying with HB Studio. While in New York City, he appeared in various soap operas, such as Secret Storm and Love of Life, and worked as a print model during school for brands such as Celanese. He also travelled and played various roles in American regional theatres. From 1961 onward, he starred in many summer theatre productions and performed on Broadway in Venus Is.
In 1966, George and Adele moved to California with their first daughter, Sarah Kidd Robertson. While pursing acting, George ran a custom furniture business with a fellow actor, making tables from hatch covers from abandoned ships. During this time, their second daughter, Ellen Probst Robertson, was born. By 1972, increasingly interested in writing, Robertson returned with his family to Toronto, where his career as a writer and actor flourished.
During his career, Robertson appeared in approximately 59 films, three of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Airport (1970), Norma Rae (1979), and JFK (1991). Other notable films include Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Mad Trapper (1972), Paper Back Hero (1972), The Dawson Patrol (1978), Power Play (1978), and Escape from Iran: Canadian Caper (1981). Robertson's most iconic role came in the Police Academy franchise starring Steve Guttenberg, where he played Chief Henry Hurst in six of the seven films between 1984 and 1989.
He also made significant contributions to television, appearing in series such as CBC's House of Pride (1974-1976), CTV's acclaimed E.N.G. (1989-1994), and ABC's miniseries The Path to 9/11 (2006), in which he portrayed American Vice President Dick Cheney.
Alongside his acting career, Robertson worked as a screenwriter, radio writer, actor and narrator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board. He contributed to such docudramas as the award-winning The Dawson Patrol (1978), earning commendations from RCMP Commander Norman Inkster in the late 1970s. Other CBC docudramas include Ballad of the Bicycle, Down to the Sea (a history of Canada's sailing vessels), and From L'Anse aux Meadows On. Robertson also wrote and co-wrote numerous radio plays for the CBC, notably for the supernatural horror series Nightfall (1980-1983) and researched and wrote for CBC radio documentaries, such as The Bush and the Salon series based on Canadian history (1972-1975). He also wrote extensively for CBC's Morningside with Don Harron (1977-1982) and for Lister Sinclair's IDEAS (1994-2001). Robertson was also a successful writer of industrial business and training films.
For many years, Robertson was a noted UNICEF Canada Celebrity Ambassador, travelling across Canada to raise awareness about UNICEF's role in developing nations. His other humanitarian efforts included walking France's Canal de Midi to raise funds for an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Robertson's work earned him numerous accolades, including the Danny Kaye UNICEF Canada Award (1990), CBC's Margaret Collier Gemini Writing Award (1993), which recognizes Canadian writers for their outstanding body of work on film or TV, and the Gemini Humanitarian Award (2004) presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for "extraordinary compassion and community involvement [that has had] an enormous impact on the lives of children in Canada and around the world."
Later in his life, Robertson became an accomplished painter while continuing to write.
He died in Toronto on January 29, 2023.Additional information:General note:Records donated to LAC in 2024 by Adele Robertson.Subject heading:- Actors
- Moving-pictures
- Radio plays, Canadian, [between 1918 and 1974] "The Bush and the Salon," [between 1942 and 1973]
- Performing arts Canada
- Film - Canada
- Television - Canada
- Television
- Documentary films
- Radio Plays - Canada
- Actors - Canada - United States
- Theatre - Canada
- Actors - Television and Film
Source:Private -
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Graphic material (photo): Copyright applies.
Graphic material (art): Copyright applies.
Sound recording: Copyright applies.
Moving images (film): Copyright applies.
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