Robert Ellis (actor, born 1933)


Robert Ellis was an American film and television actor in the 1940s and 1950s, who was the last actor to play Henry Aldrich on the radio series The Aldrich Family.

Early life

Ellis was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Fern Bloomfield. He was educated in professional children's schools in New York City and Hollywood and later studied theater arts at Columbia University.

Career

He made his acting debut at age 5 and appeared in some 50 movies and television shows, sometimes billed as "Bobby Ellis." In 1948, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences awarded him a special certificate for his acting and dancing role as Buster Tyme in the movie April Showers, which starred Ann Sothern and Jack Carson. He portrayed Ralph Grainger, a college friend of Ronnie Burns, on the final two seasons of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. He also appeared as Dexter Franklin in the Ziv Television production of Meet Corliss Archer.
He died of kidney failure at the age of 40 in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, he was a producer of educational films.

Filmography

Television roles