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His work as police undercover agent, plus service with the U.S. Marines and pro football experience, have honed and toughened him to such physical perfection that when he sticks out his hand, it's a problem whether to shake it or sidestep. Phillips is the perfect Hollywood "heavy." Robert Phillips was born in Chicago, April 10, son of Robert and Etta Phillips. He grew up in one of that city's seamier sections, where crime was common place, street fighting a daily habit, and only sissies had all their teeth. He was graduated from Austin High, where he made the All-State Team, winning an athletic scholarship to the University of Indiana. Though active in football, wrestling and swimming, Phillips majored in criminology. His prowess on the gridiron caused him to be drafted by the Washington Redskins as a defensive end. During World War II he served with the U.S. Marines (1943-46), working for a time as a swimming coach and teaching the new Leathernecks the art of self defense. He finished his service in the Far East and China. On discharge, Phillips returned to Chicago, where he played professional football briefly for the Chicago Bears until a knee injury caused his retirement. With his interest in criminology, Phillips went into law enforcement work as a member of the Illinois State Police (1949). He rose in the department, becoming personal bodyguard to the then Governor Adlai Stevenson. Due to his father's illness on the West Coast, Phillips left for California, where he joined the Los Angeles Police Department as an undercover agent, operating out of Police Chief William Parker's office. (So secret was his work, mingling and making friends with the crooks and grafters, that no files were kept on him in the department, only the F.B.I. in Washington having his records.) Phillips was so convincing in his "undercover" role, posing as an ex-con for whom Chicago had grown too hot, that he was arrested several times by the police! His exploits and adventures were subsequently to become the basis for the highly successful TV series, "Tightrope." Oddly enough, when casting for the series began, Phillips was rejected by the sponsors as not being the type. A chance meeting with writer Clarence Greene led to an offer to work toward a screen career, which Phillips accepted, spending a year rehearsing and studying acting on the Goldwyn Studio lot.
Phillips, six feet and 185 pounds of lean muscle, with a ruggedly handsome face bearing records of his service, is happy with his decision. "Hollywood," he beams,"will always be needing Indians." The
Wild Wild West Episodes Filmography |
Some
time ago Robert Phillips made an interesting discovery -- that changing
from gumshoes to moccasins was a more lucrative way of making a
living. Not as exciting though. Most of his adult life had been
connected with violence and crime -- preventing it, of course, not
committing it.
In
1963, by which time he had retired from his undercover work -- that
old knee again and a broken jaw suffered in line of duty -- Phillips
got a small role in the remake of "The Killers." More
recently his roles have been in television -- "Dragnet,"
"Bonanza" "The F.B.I.," etc. In films, each
role growing progressively more important, Phillips has appeared
in"Cat Ballou," "The Dirty Dozen," and just
prior to "Mackenna's Gold," in "The Law and Tombstone
"
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