{{Short description|American actor (1923–2010)}} {{more citations needed|date=March 2013}} {{Use American English|date=May 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert Ellenstein | image = Robert Ellenstein in One Step Beyond (Message from Clara).jpg | caption = Ellenstein in the ''One Step Beyond'' episode "Message from Clara", 1959 | birth_name = <!-- if different --> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|6|18|mf=y}} | birth_place = Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|10|28|1923|6|18|mf=y}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | other_names = Bob Ellenstein | occupation = Actor, director | years_active = 1954–1998 | spouse = {{marriage|Lois Sylvia Stang|1952|2010}} (his death) | alma_mater = University of Iowa }} '''Robert Ellenstein''' (June 18, 1923 – October 28, 2010) was an American actor. The son of Meyer C. Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Ellenstein grew up to see his father become a two-term mayor from 1933 to 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, earning a Purple Heart during his service.<ref name="opa">{{cite book|last1=Lentz|first1=Harris M. III|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2010|date=March 21, 2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786486496|pages=119–120|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UX_GCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Robert+Ellenstein%22+actor&pg=PA119|accessdate=April 27, 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Early years== Ellenstein's parents were Meyer C. Ellenstein and Hilda Ellenstein.<ref name=":0" /> After attending New York University he graduated with a degree in theater<ref name="LATobit" /> from the University of Iowa in 1947.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Lois S. Stang Betrothed; To Be Wed to Robert Ellenstein, Son of Newark Ex-Mayor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/01/29/archives/lois-s-stang-betrothed-to-be-wed-to-robert-ellenstein-son-of-newark.html |access-date=May 2, 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=January 29, 1952 |page=19 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> His interest in acting began while he was a prep school student<ref name="tc"/> at Mercersburg Academy,<ref>{{cite news |title=Ellenstein's son stars on stage |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-ledger-robert-ellenstein/196777850/ |access-date=May 3, 2026 |work=The Newark Star-Ledger |date=October 31, 1947 |page=6|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref> and after his university years he studied theater in New York with Stella Adler.<ref name="tc">{{cite news |last1=Keating |first1=Micheline |title=Actor Robert Ellenstein cloaks 'self' on stage |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tucson-citizen-robert-ellenstein/196774193/ |access-date=May 3, 2026 |work=Tucson Citizen |date=December 14, 1978 |page=B 1|via = Newspapers.com }}</ref>
==Film and television career== A veteran of the "Golden Age" of live television (he played Quasimodo in a live ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' (1950) version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hawes |first1=William |title=Live Television Drama, 1946–1951 |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-14-76608-49-5 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l8z-CgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Robert+Ellenstein%22+actor&pg=PA119 |accessdate=April 27, 2017}}</ref> for the same show played the lead in "A Case of Identity", later turned into the film ''The Wrong Man'' (1956), he was the first actor to play Albert Einstein on television. Ellenstein made his first film in 1954 (MGM's ''Rogue Cop''). He was featured in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North by Northwest''. In 1961, he played the mobster Legs Diamond in an episode of NBC's 1920s crime drama ''The Lawless Years'' with James Gregory.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
Among his television appearances, Ellenstein guest starred in three episodes of ''Perry Mason''. In 1957 he played defendant John Addison in "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen." In 1959 he played murder victim Arthur Cartright in "The Case of the Howling Dog," and in 1960 he played Medical Examiner Dr. McBride in "The Case of the Madcap Modiste." In 1965 he played a character curiously of 65 years of age (in obviously inadequate makeup) in a second-season episode of ''The Man From U.N.C.L.E.'' He appeared in two episodes of the WWII drama, ''Combat!'', first in 1965 in "The Tree of Moray" and in 1966 he was in the episode "Counterplay". He also made three guest appearances on ''The Untouchables'', five appearances on ''The Wild Wild West'', four on ''Ironside'', and five on ''Mission: Impossible''. He also directed television with an episode of the 1960s sitcom, ''Love on a Rooftop'', and many live television episodes.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}
Ellenstein had over 200 television appearances.
== Stage == Ellenstein's career began on stage in 1947 at the Cleveland Play House.<ref name="LATobit" /> He performed hundreds of stage roles as an actor. He directed many theatre productions in New York, Los Angeles and in regional theater. He was artistic director of The Company of Angels and Founding Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Repertory Company.<ref name="opa" /> He co-starred in a national tour of ''Irma La Douce'' in the 1960s.<ref name="LATobit" />
==Personal life and death== Ellenstein was married and had two sons and a daughter.<ref name="tc" /> He died in Los Angeles of natural causes on October 28, 2010, at age 87.<ref name=LATobit>{{cite news |last1=Thursby |first1=Keith |title=Robert Ellenstein dies at 87; actor and director |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-robert-ellenstein-20101104-story.html |access-date=May 3, 2026 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226113616/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-robert-ellenstein-20101104-story.html |archive-date=February 26, 2025}}</ref>
== Partial filmography == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1954|| ''Rogue Cop'' || Det. Sidney Y. Myers || |- |1955|| ''Illegal'' || Joe Knight || |- |1956|| ''Gunsmoke '' || Tewksbury || Episode: "Prairie Happy" |- |1957|| ''The Garment Jungle'' || Fred Kenner || |- |1957|| ''3:10 to Yuma'' || Ernie Collins || |- |1957|| ''The Walter Winchell File'' || Melk || Episode: "Where Is Louise Melk?" |- |1958|| ''The Young Lions'' || Rabbi Joseph Silverstein || Uncredited |- |1958|| ''Too Much, Too Soon'' || Gerald Frank || |- |1959|| ''One Step Beyond'' || Captain Peabody || Episode: "The Navigator" |- |1959|| ''One Step Beyond'' || Mr. Tomachek || Episode: "Message from Clara" |- |1959|| ''North by Northwest'' || Licht || |- |1959|| ''The Gazebo'' || Ben || |- |1960|| ''Pay or Die'' || Luigi Di Sarno || |- |1961|| ''The Big Bankroll'' || Lenny || |- |1965|| ''Deathwatch'' || Guard || |- |1965|| ''The Wild Wild West'' || Luis Vasquez || Episode: "The Night of the Flaming Ghost" |- |1966 |''Get Smart'' |Alex |Episode: "Double Agent" |- |1966|| ''Bonanza'' || Harry Fitts || Episode: "The Code" |- |1968|| ''The Wild Wild West'' || Dr. Occularis Second || Episodes: "The Night of the Winged Terror – Parts I & II" |- |1968|| ''The Legend of Lylah Clare'' || Mike || |- |1969|| ''The Big Valley'' || Dr. Amos Pearce || Episode: "Top of the Stairs" |- |1972|| ''Mission: Impossible'' || Vincent Vochek || Episode: "Stone Pillow" |- |1978|| ''Hawaii Five-O'' || Bart Warren || Episode: "Death Mask" |- |1979|| ''Love at First Bite'' || VW Man || |- |1981|| ''Magnum, P.I.'' || Saul Greenberg || Episode: "Never Again...Never Again" |- |1985|| ''Brewster's Millions'' || Mr. Carter || |- |1986|| ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' || Federation Council President || |- |1987|| ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' || Steven Miller || Episode: "Haven" |- |1989|| ''L.A. Law'' || Dr. Peter Lacker || Episode: "I'm in the Nude for Love" (uncredited) |} {{Incomplete list|date=October 2025}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|254006}} {{Memory Alpha}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellenstein, Robert}} Category:1923 births Category:2010 deaths Category:20th-century American Jews Category:Male actors from Newark, New Jersey Category:American Ashkenazi Jews Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American male television actors Category:Jewish American male actors Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:University of Iowa alumni