Made living off his knowledge of films
ROBERT Osborne, who displayed an encyclopedic knowledge — and love — of films and film history as the primary host of Turner Classic
Movies, has died in New York, aged
84.
Osborne was a former longtime columnist for the Hollywood Reporter and the author of the official history of the Academy Awards. The genial, silverhaired and dapper Osborne was a bonafide movie connoisseur, who displayed his wide knowledge of films on TCM since the 24hour commercialfree cable network’s launch in 1994.
‘‘Hi, I’m Robert Osborne,’’ he’d cordially greet viewers from a stylish living room set and quickly begin serving up fascinating information and insider trivia about the movie that was about to be shown.
With an extensive library of films spanning the decades, Osborne was clearly in his element.
Osborne never lost his enthusiasm for either the classics or the more obscure movies that aired on the TCM cable channel.
‘‘I do love it,’’ he told the Washington Post in 2010. ‘‘We show movies from all different eras, not just ‘old movies’, but I’ve often quoted something that Lauren Bacall said years ago: ‘If you’ve never seen Brief Encounter, then it’s not an old movie to you’.’’
A resident of New York City since the late 1980s, he would generally fly to Atlanta once a month to shoot a series of opening and closing segments for upcoming films.
Osborne had more than his share of movie star fans in Hollywood. Besides hosting movies seven evenings a week, Osborne hosted special oneonone ‘‘Private Screening’’ interviews with stars such as Tony Curtis, Esther Williams and Robert Mitchum — as well as directors, including Sidney Lumet, Stanley Donen and Norman Jewison.
He also cohosted films considered ‘‘The Essentials’’, most recently with actress Drew Barrymore. And he cohosted the ‘‘Guest Programmer’’ series, with guests such as Mia
Farrow, Buck Henry and Hugh Hefner.
Dubbed the ‘‘official biographer’’ of Oscar, Osborne wrote a series of books chronicling the annual Academy Awards. The most recent updated edition, 85 Years of the Oscar, was published in 2013.
Among his other books are Hollywood Legends: The Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart and Greta Garbo (1967) and a string of other Oscarrelated books.
Making a living off writing and talking about movies — not to mention being satirised on Saturday Night Live by Darrell Hammond and Jason Sudeikis and having a bobblehead made in his image — was a dream come true for Osborne.
He was born May 3, 1932, in Colfax, Washington, a small farming town, where he found escape at the movies.
Osborne majored in journalism at the University of Washington and then spent two years in the air force. While stationed in Seattle, he began acting in local theatre in his spare time. At the suggestion of Oscarwinning actress Jane Darwell, with whom he appeared in a play, he headed to Hollywood after completing his service in the late ’50s.
In Hollywood, Osborne quickly landed a sixmonth contract at 20th Century Fox and then joined a new contractplayer group at Desilu studios under Lucille Ball’s personal supervision.
Osborne had small parts in TV series such as The Californians, The Whirlybirds and Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, as well as playing banker Drysdale’s young assistant in the pilot episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in 1962.
He became close friends with Ball, who was impressed with both his education and his knowledge of movie history. But she ultimately advised him not to stick with acting.
Osborne’s first book, Academy Awards Illustrated, was published in 1965. — The Los Angeles Times