{{short description|American television director, writer, and actor}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert Totten | birth_name = Robert Charles Totten | birth_date = {{birth date|1937|02|05}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|01|27|1937|02|05}} | death_place = Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. | years_active = 1961–1990 | organization = *Directors Guild of America *Writers Guild of America *Screen Actors Guild }}

'''Robert Charles Totten''' (February 5, 1937 &ndash; January 27, 1995)<ref name="Variety" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWVZAAAAMAAJ|title=Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903-1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers|page=994|first=Harris|last=Lentz|publisher=McFarland|date=1996|isbn=9780786402175 |via=Google Books}}</ref> was an American television director, writer, and actor, best known for directing 25 ''Gunsmoke'' episodes, Henry Fonda's adaptation of ''The Red Pony'', and Louis L'Amour's ''The Sacketts'' miniseries.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dHcXb9V_2kMC|title=Duke, We're Glad We Knew You: John Wayne's Friends and Colleagues Remember His Remarkable Life|page=115|first=Herb|last=Fagen|publisher=Kensington Publishing Corporation|date=1998|isbn=9780806520568|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICrqx0NOLjoC|title=Louis L'Amour on Film and Television|page=140|first=Ed|last=Andreychuk|publisher=McFarland|date=March 2010|isbn=9780786457175|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Career== In addition to directing, Totten also co-starred in ''Gunsmoke'' playing the role of Corley, opposite of Nehemiah Persoff, in the 1969 episode "The Mark of Cain." He also played Cleavus Lukens, the childhood friend of Festus in an episode named for his role.

As director, writer, and actor, Totten is a member all three guilds; the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild.<ref name="Variety" />

==Awards== Totten was nominated at the 25th Primetime Emmy Awards for ''Outstanding Writing in Drama - Adaptation'' for his work on the 1973 television film, ''The Red Pony''.<ref name=Emmy>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1973/outstanding-writing-achievement-in-drama-original |title=Nominees/Winners &#124; Television Academy |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |access-date=August 1, 2022}}</ref>

==Death== Totten died at the age of 57 on January 27, 1995, from a heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, California.<ref name="Variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1995/scene/people-news/robert-totten-99124835/|author=Dan Cox|title=Robert Totten|publisher=Variety.com|date=February 12, 1995|access-date=August 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWKJMgEACAAJ|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1995|page=192|first=Harris|last=Lentz|publisher=McFarland|date=July 1996|isbn=9780786402533|via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Filmography== A partial filmography follows. ===Film=== '''Director''' {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role |- | 1963 | ''The Quick and the Dead''<ref name="Variety" /> | |- | 1969 | ''Death of a Gunfighter'' | Credited as Alan Smithee |- | 1970 | ''The Wild Country'' | |- | 1976 | ''Pony Express Rider'' | Also writer |}

'''Actor''' {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Role |- | 1979 | ''The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again'' | Blainey |}

===Television=== ;Writer * ''Gunsmoke'' (1968) - "Nowhere to Run" (S13E18)

;Director {{Div col|colwidth=30}} ''Gunsmoke''<ref name="Variety" /> (1966–71) * "My Father's Guitar" (S11E21) * "My Father, My Son" (S11E30) * "Prime of Life" (S11E32) * "The Good People" (S12E5) * "The Wrong Man" (S12E7) * "The Newcomers" (S12E11) * "Saturday Night" (S12E16) * "Mail Drop" (S12E19) * "Mistaken Identity" (S12E26) * "Nitro!" (S12E28 & S12E29) * "The Wreckers" (S13E1) * "A Hat" (S13E6) * "Major Glory" (S13E8) * "Blood Money" (S13E19) * "Hill Girl" (S13E20) * "The First People" (S13E23) * "Waco" (S14E11) * "Stryker" (S15E2) * "A Matter of Honor" (S15E9) * "Stark" (S16E3) * "The Scavengers" (S16E10) * "Jenny" (S16E15) * "Murdoch" (S16E20) * "The Lost" (S17E1) {{div col end}} {{hr}} Other shows (1962–90) {{Div col|colwidth=30}} * ''The Gallant Men'' (1962) - S1E13 "Advance and Be Recognized" * ''Hawaiian Eye''<ref name="Variety" /> (1962-1963) ** "Lament for a Saturday Warrior" (S4E5) ** "To See, Perchance to Dream" (S4E9) ** "Two Too Many" (S4E16) ** "The Long Way Home" (S4E19) * ''Temple Houston'' (1963) ** "Letter of the Law" (S1E3) ** "Gallows in Galilee" (S1E6) ** "Jubilee" (S1E8) ** "Seventy Times Seven" (S1E11) * ''The Virginian''<ref name="Variety" /> (1964) - "The Secret of Brynmar Hall" (S2E26) * ''Bonanza''<ref name="Variety" /> (1965) ** "Dead and Gone" (S6E27) ** "A Natural Wizard" (S7E13) * ''The Legend of Jesse James''<ref name="Variety" /> (1965-1966) * ''Daniel Boone''<ref name="Variety" /> (1966) - "The Gun" (S2E20) * ''Iron Horse''<ref name="Variety" /> (1966) - "Cougar Man" (S1E7) * ''The Monroes'' (1966) - "War Arrow" (S1E9) * ''The Wackiest Ship in the Army''<ref name="Variety" /> (1966) ** The Lamb Who Hunted Wolves (S1E16 & S1E17) ** Brother Love (S1E21) * ''Mission: Impossible''<ref name="Variety" /> (1968) ** The Phoenix (S3E23) ** Recovery (S3E25) * ''Dan August'' (1970) - "When the Shouting Dies" (S1E10) * ''Bearcats!'' (1971) * ''Kung Fu''<ref name="Variety" /> (1973) ** "The Tong" (S2E7) ** "The Hoots" (S2E10) * ''The Red Pony''<ref name="Variety" /> (1973) * ''Huckleberry Finn'' (1975) * ''The Fitzpatricks'' (1977) - "Say Goodbye to Buddy Bonkers" (S1E10) * ''The Sacketts''<ref name="Variety" /> (1979) * ''Enos'' (1981) - "House Cleaners" (S1E7) * ''Magnum, P.I.''<ref name="Variety" /> (1981) - "Double Jeopardy" (S2E19) * ''The Young Riders'' (1990) - "The Man Behind the Badge" (S1E21) {{div col end}}

'''Actor''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Episode |- |rowspan=8|1969-1974 |rowspan=8|''Gunsmoke''<ref name="Variety" /> | Corley | "The Mark of Cain" |- | Ben Miller | "The Long Night" |- | Tully | "Hackett" |- | Abner | "Gentry's Law" |- | Blacksmith | "Captain Sligo" |- | Cleavus Lukens | "Cleavus" |- | Josh Walker | "Alias Festus Haggen" |- | Eli Snider | "Talbot" |- | 1970 | ''Cutter's Trail'' | Thatcher | TV movie |- | 1974 | ''Dirty Sally'' | Cave | "My Fair Laddie" |- |rowspan=2|1983-1987 |rowspan=2|''Simon & Simon'' | Mechanic Feltzer | "The Secret of the Chrome Eagle" |- | Man #1 | "Lost Lady" |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|0869427}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, Robert}} Category:1937 births Category:1995 deaths Category:People from Los Angeles Category:Male actors from Los Angeles Category:American male television actors Category:American male film actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:American male screenwriters Category:American television directors Category:20th-century American male writers