IMDB

Actor

1933-09-28 · New York City, New York, USA · Male

57 series in the catalog

Robert Joseph Hogan (September 28, 1933 – May 27, 2021) was an American actor who worked mainly in television. While he was never a member of the main cast of a critically successful television series, he portrayed numerous recurring characters on programs such as Alice; Another World; As the World Turns; Days of Our Lives; Deadline; General Hospital; Law & Order; Murder, She Wrote; One Life to Live; Operation Petticoat; Peyton Place; The Wire, and many others. His guest star appearances on television series encompassed more than 90 shows over five decades. The character of US Army Air Forces Colonel Robert Hogan on Hogan's Heroes (portrayed by Bob Crane) was named after him by friend and series creator Bernard Fein.

Early years

Hogan was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York on September 28, 1933. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and after being honorably discharged, studied engineering at New York University. While he was a student, one of Hogan's professors suggested that he take an aptitude test to find the right career path, and the test results steered Hogan to the arts. Subsequently, Hogan went on to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Early: 1961–1979

Hogan began his acting career in theater, making his professional debut as Elliot in the original 1961 Off-Broadway production of Michael Shurtleff's Call Me by My Rightful Name with Robert Duvall and Joan Hackett. He relocated to Los Angeles shortly thereafter to pursue a career in television and film. Soon after his arrival, he appeared as a guest star in episodes of 77 Sunset Strip and Cheyenne in 1961. He appeared in guest roles throughout the 1960s in television series such as Batman; Bonanza; Fair Exchange; Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.; Hawaiian Eye; I Dream of Jeannie; Hogan's Heroes; Twelve O'Clock High; and The Twilight Zone, among others. He appeared in two films: FBI Code 98 and Greenwich Village Story. In 1967, he was cast as Reverend Tom Winter on the soap opera Peyton Place, whom he portrayed for two seasons.

In 1969, Hogan joined the cast of Days of Our Lives for a short time, portraying the character of Will Austin; in 1970, he returned to the show in the recurring role of Scott Banning Sr., which he held for two years. He continued to be active as a guest actor in television series throughout the 1970s, including The F.B.I., Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, Mission: Impossible, Mork & Mindy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Rockford Files, and Barnaby Jones, among others. From 1974 to 1975, he was in the main cast of the short-lived series The Manhunter as Sheriff Paul Tate. He also played the recurring characters of Burt Marshall on General Hospital (1973), LCDR Sam Haller on Operation Petticoat (1978–1979), and Greg Stemple on Alice (1977–1982). He also appeared in several television movies, including Heatwave! (1974) and Roll, Freddy, Roll! (1974), and on the big screen as Jake Lingle in The Lady in Red (1979).

Middle: 1980–1999

Hogan continued an active television career throughout the 1980s, appearing as a guest actor on such series as Airwolf, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, Laverne & Shirley, Magnum, P.I., Quincy M.E., Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, T.J. Hooker, and Murder, She Wrote, among others. He had a recurring role as Vince McKinnon on Another World (1987–1989, 1991). He also appeared in a number of television movies including Natalie Wood's final completed film The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980), and in the role of John F. Kennedy in the film Prince Jack (1985).

During the 1990s, Hogan returned to working in the theater. He made his Broadway debut in November 1989, as Capt. Matthew A. Markinson in the original production of Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men, and he remained with the show for more than a year. He returned to Broadway in 1992 to portray the roles of the Ghost and the Player King in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He also appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including Neal Bell's On the Bum (1992), Mark R. Shapiro's The Shattering (1996), Frank Pugliese's Hope is the Thing with Feathers (1998), William Kennedy's premiere of Grand View and John Logan's Never the Sinner (1998). For his performance in the latter play he won an Outer Critics Circle Award.

Having refocused his career to theater, Hogan made fewer television appearances during the 1990s. However, he portrayed the recurring roles of L.J. McDermott on As the World Turns (1991–1992) and Charles Briggs on One Life to Live (1995–1998, 2000). He also appeared as a guest actor on the shows Remember WENN (1997), Cosby (1997), and Now and Again (1999), and in feature films such as Species II (1998) and Advice from a Caterpillar (1999).

Later: 2000–2019

Hogan continued to remain active in television, film, and theatre. He notably portrayed the recurring roles of Phil Carbone on Deadline (2000), Louis Sobotka on The Wire (2003), and Judge Hugo Bright on Law & Order (2003–2006). He appeared in the films Maze (2000), Cupid & Cate (2000), Brooklyn Sonnet (2000), The Sleepy Time Gal (2001), Sweet Land (2005), Day Zero (2007), Universal Signs (2008), and Welcome to Academia (2009). He also appeared Off-Broadway in the plays Further Than the Furthest Thing (2002), Boy (2004), The Accomplices (2007), and Mourning Becomes Electra (2009).

Hogan's appearance in a 1965 episode of The F.B.I. titled "All the Streets Are Silent" was briefly featured during a scene in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019.

Personal life and death

In 1957, Hogan married Sharon Harper; they had three children together before divorcing in 1982. In 1983, Hogan married Mary Barbera, and they remained married until his death.

Hogan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2013. He died from complications of pneumonia at his home in Maine on May 27, 2021, aged 87.

Robert Hogan at the Internet Broadway Database

Robert Hogan at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)