Robert Emhardt looked and sounded as if he had intentionally been
created by some perverse god to play villains. Though rotund, he had
hooded, lizard-like eyes and a drawling whine in his voice. The real
Robert Emhardt, however, was a well-educated, cultured, generous man,
not at all like the characters he often portrayed.
Robert Christian Emhardt was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father
was C.J. Emhardt, a lawyer, judge, and onetime mayor of the city. The
younger Emhardt received his early training as an actor in the theater
at Butler University. He then went to London, England, where he gained
experience at The London Academy of Dramatic Art in 1937-38, and
played in repertory with the British Broadcasting Company while there.
While in England, he met the woman who would become his wife, the
well-known English actress Silvia Sedeli. The couple would go on to have
four children. Eventually he found himself understudying Sydney Greenstreet
on an American tour. He stayed in the United States, debuting on
Broadway in 1942 in "The Pirate." He went on to win the Critics'
Circle Award as best supporting actor in "Life with Mother" (1948-49)
and appeared in eleven other plays in New York until his last in 1959.
He made his film debut in Im Banne des Teufels (1952), a fictionalized
life of Jim Bowie starring Alan Ladd. Among his other memorable movies
were Zähl bis drei und bete (1957), Alles auf eine Karte (1961), and Ein Mann geht über Leichen (1973) with Charles Bronson. His favorite and probably
best film role was as Shirley Knight's paunchy and gracious but
ultimately insane father in Die Clique (1966).
Emhardt had a busy career. He also acted in 125 summer stock
productions and 250 television programs, such as Have Gun - Will Travel (1957),
Die Unbestechlichen (1959), Perry Mason (1957), Bonanza (1959), and six episodes of
Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955). He had a recurring role on the soap opera
Another World (1964).
Emhardt was extremely active in St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in
Santa Monica and gave a great deal of support to The Boy Scouts of
America. In his spare time (Emhardt had spare time?) he followed sports
and enjoyed ballet.
Robert Emhardt died due to heart failure on December 26, 1994, in Ojai,
California.
