Biography
Jay Robinson (14 April 1930 – 27 September 2013) was an American actor specialising in character roles. Born in New York City, he began his career in summer stock theatre and repertory companies before appearing on Broadway by the age of 19, including in productions of Shakespeare’s As You Like It and Much Ado About Nothing.
His film debut came as Emperor Caligula in The Robe (1953), a role he reprised the following year in Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954). He later appeared in films including The Virgin Queen (1955), My Man Godfrey (1957), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), Shampoo (1975) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Robinson also had guest roles in numerous television series such as Star Trek (1968), Bewitched (1964), Cheers (1982) and Murder, She Wrote* (1984–1985). A period of career difficulty followed an arrest and conviction on narcotics charges in the late 1950s; he resumed acting in the late 1960s and continued until his retirement around 2000.
