Robert Osborne

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Robert Osborne (2007)

Robert Jolin "Bob" Osborne (born May 3, 1932 in Colfax , Washington , † March 6, 2017 in New York City , New York ) was an American film journalist, historian and actor . For more than 20 years he worked as a presenter for the television station Turner Classic Movies .

life and career

Raised in a small town in Washington State, Robert Osborne attended the Journalism School at the University of Washington . He had wanted to get into the film business since childhood, which is why he decided in the 1950s to try his hand at acting in Hollywood . He was under contract with television legend Lucille Ball and took on minor roles in several television programs from her. He starred in television programs such as The Californians and The Beverly Hillbillies , and he also appeared in television commercials for cars, coffees and insurance. The hoped-for breakthrough did not materialize, however. Lucille Ball encouraged him to pursue a career as a journalist in Hollywood instead. He then ended his acting career in the early 1960s.

In 1965 Osborne published his first book Academy Awards Illustrated . In the following years he wrote several works on the history of the Oscar awards and earned a reputation as the "official biographer of the Oscars". Osborne then worked for the Hollywood Reporter for decades . He became known there with his column "Rambling Reporter". Between 1981 and 1983 he served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association . From the 1980s he began to work as a television presenter, for example for The Movie Channel . In 1994 Osborne was hired because of his film history knowledge as the main presenter for the television channel Turner Classic Movies founded by Ted Turner . One of Osborne's tasks there included introducing the films shown by Turner Classic Movies and conducting interviews with filmmakers. He has also directed several film festivals, including the annual Robert Osborne's Classic Film Festival since 2006 and the TCM Classic Film Festival since 2010 . In the course of 2016, Osborne handed over his moderation at Turner Classic Movies to Ben Mankiewicz .

Osborne lived in New York City. He was considered one of the leading authorities in Hollywood history. In the course of his work he made friends with Hollywood legends such as Bette Davis , Hedy Lamarr , Dorothy Lamour , Lana Turner , Olivia de Havilland and Ingrid Bergman .

Awards

Robert Osborne received an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco . In 2006 he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his television work. In 2008 Osborne was awarded the William K. Everson Film History Prize by the National Board of Review .

In his honor, Turner Classic Movies established the Robert Osborne Award in 2018 , which is given to people who have made a contribution to the mediation and preservation of film history. Previous winners are Martin Scorsese (2018) and Kevin Brownlow (2019).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Sandomir: Robert Osborne, Turner Classic Movies Host, Dies at 84. In: The New York Times . March 6, 2017, accessed March 7, 2017 .
  2. ^ Adam Bernstein: Turner's Classic Host Robert Osborne Brings Film Gems to Life on TCM. In: The Washington Post . Nash Holdings LLC, August 14, 2005, accessed March 7, 2017 .
  3. ^ Robert Osborne: Biography. In: Internet Movie Database . IMDb.com, Inc, March 6, 2017, accessed March 7, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b Robert O. Bio. In: robertosborne.com. Robert Osborne, March 6, 2017, accessed March 7, 2017 .
  5. ^ A b Raha Lewis: Hollywood Star Walk: Robert Osborne. In: Los Angeles Times . tronc, Inc., June 21, 2010, accessed March 7, 2017 .
  6. ^ Dan Barry: Up Next, a Classic Who Loves Old Films. In: The New York Times . The New York Times Company, November 19, 2014, accessed March 7, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Osborne, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Osborne, Robert Jolin (full name); Osborne, Bob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film journalist and presenter
DATE OF BIRTH May 3, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Colfax , Washington , United States
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 2017
Place of death New York City , New York , United States