{{Short description|American actor (1939–1983)}} {{about||the American bishop|Robert Francis Christian}} {{Infobox person | image = | name = Robert Christian | imagesize = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | caption = | birthname = | birth_date = December 27, 1939 | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = January 27, 1983 (age 43) | death_place = New York City, U.S. | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1960–1982 }}
'''Robert Christian''' (December 27, 1939<ref name=hollywood>{{cite web|title=Robert Christian|work=Hollywood.com|url=http://www.hollywood.com/celebrities/robert-christian-58991684/|accessdate=4 January 2017}}</ref> – January 27, 1983)<ref name=book>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SpizAwAAQBAJ&dq=robert+christian+actor&pg=PA116|last=Sweet|first=Jeffrey|title=The O'Neill: The Transformation of Modern American Theater|year=2014|publisher=Yale University Press|page=116|isbn=9780300195576}}</ref><ref name=nyt>{{cite news|title=ROBERT CHRISTIAN, 42; ACTOR WON AN OBIE IN 'BLOOD KNOT' ROLE|date=29 January 1983|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/29/obituaries/robert-christian-42-actor-won-an-obie-in-blood-knot-role.html|accessdate=4 January 2017}}</ref> was an American actor.
== Early life and education == Christian was born in Los Angeles, United States, and began acting as a child, appearing on ''Amos 'n' Andy'' and ''The Andy Griffith Show''.<ref name="nyt" /> He later moved to New York and studied at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg.<ref name="nyt" />
== Career == Christian was a member of the Negro Ensemble Company and appeared in numerous stage productions, winning an Obie Award in 1976 for his performance in Athol Fugard's ''Blood Knot'' at the Manhattan Theater Club.<ref name="nyt" /> Christian appeared as Detective Bob Morgan on ''Another World'' from January to December 1982.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fraser |first=C. Gerald |author-link=C. Gerald Fraser|date=28 May 1978 |title=Drama of Black Family Will Be TV Miniseries |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/28/archives/drama-of-black-family-will-be-tv-miniseries.html |access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref>
== Personal life == Christian left ''Another World'' before he died of cancerous complications of AIDS in January 1983.<ref name="nyt" />
==Filmography==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1962 |''Airborne'' |Pvt. 'Rocky' Laymon | |- |1964 |''The Patsy'' |Barbershop Porter | rowspan="2" |Uncredited |- |1968 |''Funny Girl'' |Messenger |- |1971 |''Some of My Best Friends Are...'' |Eric | |- |1979 |''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' |Arthur Briggs | |- |1979 |''...And Justice for All'' |Ralph Agee | |- |1979 |''Coriolanus'' |Tullus Aufidius | |- |1981 |''Bustin' Loose'' |Donald | |- |1981 |''Prince of the City'' |The King | |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1960, 1961 |''Lock-Up'' |Carl Norwood / Duke Joyce | rowspan="2" |2 episodes |- |1960, 1961 |''Sea Hunt'' |Charlie / USCG Radio Operator |- |1976 |''Search for Tomorrow'' |Lieutenant Frank |9 episodes |- |1978 |''King'' |Wallace |3 episodes |- |1978 |''Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'' |David Logan | rowspan="2" |Television film |- |1982 |''Muggable Mary, Street Cop'' |Joe Bell |- |1982 |''Another World'' |Bob Morgan |8 episodes |- |1984 |''Piaf'' |Marcel |Television film; posthumous release |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0160080}} * {{IBDB name|80505}} * {{iobdb name|5846}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Robert}} Category:1939 births Category:1983 deaths Category:20th-century African-American male actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:AIDS-related deaths in New York (state) Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:Obie Award recipients