Robert Fuller Net Worth

What is Robert Fuller Net Worth?

Robert Fuller Net Worth is US$ 5 Million as of 2022.

Biography

Robert Fuller (Born Leonard Leroy Lee Jr.) is an American actor and horse rancher. He is best known for his performances during the 1960’s in the Western series Laramie and Wagon Train. He is also renowned for his character — Dr. Kelly Brackett, in Emergency! Robert was last seen in two roles in the last episode of Walker Texas Rang. Robert played Ranger Wade Harper and an old West Town Sheriff. He retired shortly after the show, so it was fitting that his last role was in a western part.

Early Life

Leonard Leroy Lee Jr. was the birth name of Robert Fuller, born in Troy, New York, on Jul 29, 1933. He was born to Betty Simpson, who was a dance teacher. She married a Naval Academy officer, Robert Simpson, Sr. Robert Fuller was given the nickname “Buddy” by his friends, and he adopted the name Robert Simpson Jr later. His early highlights involved dancing and acting. Fuller’s parents had a Florida dancing school. His family later shifted to Chicago, Illinois.

They lived there for one year before returning to Florida. He went to Miami Military School in 5^th and 6^th grade and changed his school in 9^th grade (Key West High School). He was known as Simpson Jr. (his formal name back then). In 1948, when he was 14 years of age, he left school due to his dislike for school and poor performance. When he turned 16, he went to Hollywood with his family. In California, he had his first job as a stagehand. In addition to his work at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, he was a doorman, rising to Assistant Manager at 18. At the suggestion of his friends, Simpson Jr. joined Screen Actors Guild. He began as a doorman and worked his way up to become the Assistant Manager by age 18.

Career

Fuller’s debut was a small role in the 1952 film Above and Beyond. Fuller’s career was put on hold while serving in the US Army. After a tour of service in Korea, he returned to the US for good in 1955. Fuller had considered giving up acting, but at the suggestion of Chuck Courtney, he enrolled in Richard Boone’s classes. Richard suggested Fuller take Sanford Meisner’s acting classes at New York City’s Neighborhood Theatre.

Fuller played the role of an ex-soldier in “The Comeback,” the 1956th episode of the religion series, Crossroads.

Fuller was the first cast in the 1957 film Teenage Thunder. Also, he was featured in the 1957 science fiction film A Brain from Planet Arous.

Television Time in the 1950s and 1960s

Fuller became a famous character actor, as he guest-starred in many television programs, like Buckskin, US Marshal, Panic!, and M Squad. He played a role in Broderick Crawford’s Highway Patrol, where he was accused of arson.

Fuller played Cooper Smith in Wagon Train.

Fuller starred as a guest in “Blind Is the Killer”— an episode in NBC’s Cimarron City TV show. He got a leading role in Laramie 7 months later. Fuller was Joe Cole, a young gunfighter looking to make a name for himself. George Montgomery played fuller. Fuller’s co-star in Laramie was John Smith. Both of them regularly worked together in Cimarron City. The two appeared briefly together in this episode.

Fuller starred as a guest – Buck Harmon in 1959 on an episode “The Friend” on a Lawman series.

Fuller was not the first choice of David Dortort but second for the role as Lorne Greene’s youngest, mischievous son, and cocky Joseph “Little Joe” Cartwright. He refused an offer to co-star with Ray Milland on Markham (CBS detective series) in 1959. Fuller wanted to be in westerns. But, his opportunity was lost to the actor Michael Landon. During the same period, Fuller and John Smith were cast together. John Smith was one of his closest friends. Fuller was a struggling actor, not very well known at the time. Hence, he was asked to audition for the play to get the role of Slim Sherman. John Smith was initially supposed to play the role of Jess Harper. But Fuller stated that Harper was a better role for him, and he won the screen test and was cast as Jess Harper.

Laramie eventually aired across more than seventy countries.

Fuller acted in a few nondescript movies during the six years. Fuller’s career slowed as the Western was slowly withdrawn from American film.

Fuller starred in the Incident at Phantom Hill in 1966. The same year, he acted as Captain William Judd Fetterman (a western soldier).

Emergency!

Jack Webb first saw Fuller in The Hard Ride in 1971. He insisted Fuller appear in Emergency! Webb already had Julie London signed as his ex-wife and 1950s/1960s star. Julie was to portray Nurse Dixie McCall, alongside Bobby Troup, her husband in real life, as Dr. Joe Early. Fuller was reluctant to portray a doctor in a series that featured a modern urban setting. However, Webb persuaded him to accept the role of Dr. Kelly Brackett, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Rampart General Hospital. Fuller admitted in a 2009 On Screen interview and Beyond that Brackett had been rejected twice. Fuller was then reminded, by Webb, of the fact that Western shows were being canceled more often over the last five years and that this genre was in decline.

In the 1980s and 1990s

Fuller appeared in the pilot of Jake’s Way, a CBS Western series, in 1980. Fuller played the lead character role with Ben Lemon, Kristin Griffith, and Stephen McNaughton. Chuck Norris and Clarence Gilyard joined him. During the last days of his career in acting, Fuller had a recurrent role-playing Jess’s supposed great great-grandson Wade Harper on Walker, Texas Ranger. Before he became Wade, he portrayed another character in “Last of a Breed,” the second part of the episode.

Awards

• Best Actor Award; the Japanese Golden Order of Merit, In 1961.
• In 1970, 5 Ottos — the German equivalent of the Emmy Awards.
• The Buffalo Bill award, Outstanding Western Entertainment, in 1970
• In 1974, the Outstanding Service Award from the Huntsville Fire Department.
• Robert Fuller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6608 Hollywood Blvd.
• In 1989, the Golden Boot Award.
• A bronze sculpture of Jess Harper on Traveller was awarded to him by The Robert Fuller Fandom and The National Festival of the West in 2006
• The Spirit of the Cowboy Lonestar Legacy Award, in 2013

Highlights

Here are some of the best highlights of Robert Fuller’s career:

• Jess Harper in the Western series Laramie (1959 – 1963)
• Cooper Smith in Wagon Train (1957 – 1962)
• Dr. Kelly Brackett in Emergency! (1972)

Hobbies

• Fishing
• Playing tennis
• Golfing
• Gardening
• Horseback riding
• Traveling
• Taking care of farm animals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

American actor Robert Fuller is best known for his role in the Western series Laramie and Wagon Train. Robert Fuller was born Leonard Leroy Lee Jr. on Jul 29, 1933, in Troy, New York. His parents were Robert Simpson, Sr., and Betty Simpson.

Robert Fuller net worth was estimated at US$ 5 million as of September 2022.

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