Biography for
Robert Wagner (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

10 February 1930, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Birth Name

Robert John Wagner

Nickname

RJ
The Brylcreem Kid

Height

5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

Robert Wagner was born in Detroit, and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was seven. Always wanting to be an actor, he held a variety of jobs (including one as a caddy for Clark Gable while pursuing his goal, but it was while dining with his parents at a restaurant in Beverly Hils that he was "discovered" by a talent scout. He had a bit part in The Happy Years (1950) but it was a small part as a crippled soldier in the Susan Hayward film With a Song in My Heart (1952) that got him attention. His fresh, all-American looks landed him a contract with 20th Century-Fox, which put him in a succession of undemanding roles in Technicolor pictures where his looks were more important than his talent (Beneath the 12-Mile Reef (1953), Prince Valiant (1954)), but he did manage to show that he was indeed an actor of talent in several showy roles in smaller pictures (A Kiss Before Dying (1956), Between Heaven and Hell (1956)). As he became one of Fox's rising young stars, the studio, as was customary back then, set him up with a host of nubile young actresses, among them Debbie Reynolds. While the pairing didn't lead to any romance, it did lead to a lifelong friendship. In 1957 Wagner fell in love with teenage actress Natalie Wood. They married on December 28, 1957, in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hollywood trumpeted their marriage as the most "glittering union of the 20th century". Robert (RJ to his friends) and Natalie quickly moved into a $150,000 mansion on Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. He and Natalie were deeply in love and appeared to be the perfect couple, but were actually living on the edge and were strapped for cash. RJ was being overshadowed by new male leads like Marlon Brando and Paul Newman. Natalie was placed on a 14-month suspension with Warner Bros. for refusing to do a movie in England. These problems led them to divorce after less than four years of marriage. He took the divorce hard.

Wagner appeared opposite Steve McQueen in The War Lover (1962), and still trying to escape his pain, he went to Europe to make the movie The Longest Day (1962). In Europe he met with his old friend Marion Marshall. They married on July 22, 1963 and he helped raise her two sons by director Stanley Donen. On May 11, 1964, the couple had a daughter, Katie Wagner. R.J. and Marion seemed to be very happy for the first few years, but Wagner's lagging career put stress on the marriage. In 1968 he reluctantly went into television to star in "It Takes a Thief" (1968) (later he would say it was the right move). Wagner briefly returned to the big screen opposite Paul Newman in Winning (1969). Wagner's career seemed to be thriving, but his personal life wasn't. He and Marion went their separate ways and divorced in 1971 after nearly a decade together.

He was still in love with Natalie Wood and kept in touch with her. However, she had just married British producer Richard Gregson and had a daughter Natasha (later Natasha Gregson Wagner) in the fall of 1970. In 1972 Natalie and RJ saw each other by accident in a restaurant and suddenly the old magic was back. Natalie divorced her husband and remarried R.J. on July 16, 1972, on their yacht "Splendour". On March 9, 1974, they had a daughter, Courtney Wagner. Their second marriage was full of love and happiness. They were a real family and loved raising their daughters. Wagner went on to appear in the blockbuster "disaster film" The Towering Inferno (1974), reuniting him with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and Faye Dunaway. He also starred in two successful television series. The first was the police show "Switch" (1975) with Eddie Albert, and the series lasted three years. The second was playing Stephanie Powers' husband in the hit "Hart to Hart" (1979)), which lasted five years.

His professional and personal lives seemed to be right on track. Then on November 29, 1981, his life was shattered when Natalie drowned in a freak boating accident. In 1982, Wagner began a relationship with a family acquaintance, actress Jill St. John. That same year he adopted Natalie's daughter Natasha and spent the next eight years raising her and Courtney as a single parent. He and Jill finally married on May 26, 1990.

Wagner has since revived his career with a recurring role as the eye-patch-wearing henchman Number Two to Mike Myers' sinister Dr. Evil in the spy spoofs Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). He also became the hose of Fox Movie Channel's "Hour of Stars" (2002), which shows recently discovered and restored episodes of the old TV anthology series "The 20th Century-Fox Hour" (1955), some of which Wagner himself had starred in. In 2008 he began a recurring role on the hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" (2003). Later that year he published his autobiography "Pieces of My Heart."

IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous

Spouse

Jill St. John	(26 May 1990 - present)
Natalie Wood	(16 July 1972 - 29 November 1981) (her death) 2 children
Marion Marshall	(22 July 1963 - 1970) (divorced) 1 child
Natalie Wood	(28 December 1957 - 27 April 1962) (divorced)

Trivia

Father of Katie Wagner (born 1964, with Marion Marshall) and Courtney Wagner (born 1974, with Natalie Wood).

Best known as Jonathan Hart on TV's "Hart to Hart" (1979)

Step-father of Natalie Wood's daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner

Made 3 movies with wife Natalie Wood: All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), The Affair (1973) (TV) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976) (TV).

Father of the TV hostess Katie Wagner.

He sued Aaron Spelling Productions for $20 million in June 2000, charging that he was cheated out of profits on the Fox series "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990). He claimed that he was entitled to profits as part of a ten- year-old settlement between producer Aaron Spelling and Fox that gave Aaron Spelling the right to produce "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) in exchange for "Angels 88", a never-produced series in which Wagner had a stake. According to the suit, the conflict dates back to 1973 when he and his wife, Natalie Wood, made a deal with Aaron Spelling to submit ideas for pilots to ABC. One idea that the couple submitted led to the show "Charlie's Angels" (1976). Following the terms of their deal, Aaron Spelling, Wagner and Natalie Wood equally shared profits from the series. In 1988 Aaron Spelling developed a new series, "Angels 88". According to the terms of their contract, Wagner was to receive 7.5% profit participation -- whether or not he rendered services. Fox committed to the series, without his knowledge, and then reneged, giving Aaron Spelling "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) instead. Since Aaron Spelling was given "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) in exchange for an asset in which Wagner had an interest, Wagner claimed that he is entitled to the same profit participation on "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) as he had on "Angels 88". The suit alleges breach of contract and fraud and seeks 7.5% of gross profits from "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) as well as damages of not less than $20 million.

Due to the publication of a memoir by Lana Wood on her sister's life, Wagner refuses to speak and/or communicate with his late wife's family, after it was implied in the book that Wagner probably played a role in Natalie Wood's tragic drowning off the coast of Catalina Island in 1981. In spring 2000, a Vanity Fair cover shoot featuring all actresses playing Bond girls in every Bond film was broken up after an encounter by Lana Wood and Wagner's present-day wife Jill St. John got into a major argument on the set.

Wagner's present-day wife, Jill St. John, starred in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971) which also starred his late-wife's real-life sister, Lana Wood.

After being submerged at one point in an industrial strength foaming agent during the bathtub scene in The Pink Panther (1963), went blind for four weeks. The studio wanted Wagner replaced, but director Blake Edwards stuck by him and he finished the picture.

Is portrayed by Michael Weatherly in The Mystery of Natalie Wood (2004) (TV)

Cooperated with Gavin Lambert (author of the novel and screenplay Inside Daisy Clover (1965) that starred Wagner's late wife Natalie Wood on Lambert's 2004 biography "Natalie Wood." A friend of Wood's, Lambert believed that Wood's memory was sullied by the tabloid headlines generated by her tragic death, with the result that no one remembers his friend as a human being, and so wrote the book to correct the public's misconceptions about Wood.

On September 21, 2006, he became a grandfather for the first time when his daughter, Katie Wagner, gave birth to her son.

Adopted father of Natasha Gregson Wagner.

The son of a wealthy steel executive.

When he was seven, his family moved to Los Angeles, where Wagner attended military academies and the Havard School. In 1949, he graduated Santa Monica High School as Senior Class President.

His first acting break came when one of his friends took him to Warner Bros. to meet the head of casting. After an interview and a reading, he was told that the studio would use him in two or three bit parts coming up in the near future. Two days later a strike postponed all production plans, so it was back to school for Robert Wagner.

For many years, his bungalow at Universal Studios was a stop on their tour. He was an important star at the studio with a successful run of three television series. Lucille Ball, another star with a long run of success on television had the same bungalow and tour stop prior to Robert Wagner.

Spokesman for the Senior Lending Network and the Guardian First Funding Group.

As a teenager, was in a ballet class with first wife Natalie Wood, third wife Jill St. John and TV wife Stefanie Powers.

He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard and for Recording at 7001 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Dedicated his autobiography, "Pieces of My Heart" to his mother and sister, daughters Katie Wagner and Courtney Wagner, former stepdaughter 'Natasha Gregson Wagner' (wv) and to his wife, Jill St. John. He thanked them for being, "the meaning of his life".

Became friends with Fred Astaire, long before he co-starred on "It Takes a Thief" (1968).

Had a long association with Eddie Albert, who was said to be one of his childhood television heroes.

Personal Quotes

About his grief on wife's Natalie Wood's death (1988). "When Natalie (Natalie Wood) died, I was embittered. I still get angry about it and I wonder why it had to happen. I have all those feelings of grief and anger that people who've lost someone they love always have. I had lived a charmed life, and then I lost a beautiful woman I loved with all my heart".

She's always been magical with me. (on wife Jill St. John)

We get up in the morning. I feed the birds. My wife feeds me. Together we feed the animals. (on his daily routine with Jill St. John ).

Life isn't full of 'what ifs'. Only 'what is'.

When I can't sleep, I'll start thinking about how many shows I've done, count up the number of television shows and movies.

My wife was a Bond Girl, so I play James Bond in real life every day.

2009, on the late Natalie Wood: I have talked to her on occasion - let's just say I feel her presence.

On writing his memoir, "Pieces of My Heart": I had a difficult time letting it go. I had such anxiety about it.

When Natalie Wood began dating Warren Beatty: I wanted to kill that son of a bitch . . . I was hanging around outside his house with a gun, hoping he would walk out. I not only wanted to kill him, I was prepared to kill him. [A friend talked Wagner into going into psychoanalysis, instead.]

I should have realised our marriage could have gone on a bit longer if she'd gone into therapy. Of course there was work to do in our relationship, but I wanted her attention to be with me and I thought this was another thing that would take her away from me. I was wrong. But when you are young you don't have that kind of perception. I wanted her to be with me. I wanted to be the one that could help her. "After the divorce I had to work on myself. I was a very jealous person and I had to address that.

[After Natalie Wood's death in 1981]: Jill St. John didn't try to put the lights on the Christmas tree; she was just there for me. I was shattered. I don't think our relationship could have gone anywhere until I put those pieces together again; and with Jill's help, and a lot of other people's help, I started to do that. It's still [as of 2009] in progress. But I'm very happy at the moment. I'm more down to who I really am. It's important to enjoy life as it comes and be able to see without tears in my eyes.

Jill is very bright, very caring, and has what I can only call a gift for life...Jill has always been there. You can't ask for more from any human being. Plus, there is the fact that she's loving, and caring, a wonderful wife, 100 percent for me. (on wife, Jill St. John.)

My daughters are my pride.

[on dating Elizabeth Taylor] It was like sticking an eggbeater in your brain.

[On his long-running professional friendship with Eddie Albert, who was one of his childhood television heroes, before co-starring with him on "Switch" (1975)]: Eddie was a very, very accomplished actor, I admired him tremendously. We had great fun together. I knew his wife, Margo, and before we worked together, and it was really an enjoyable time. We worked together for about 4 years on that. I really enjoyed it, I had a great deal of respect for Eddie, I thought the world of it.

Salary

All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960)

$75,000

Where Are They Now

(2006) Host of an infomercial for "Light Relief", infrared light therapy system for pain relief.

(1988) Release of the book, "Natalie & R.J.: Hollywood's Star-Crossed Lovers" by Warren G. Harris.

(2008) Release of his memoirs, "Pieces of My Heart: A Life" by Wagner with Scott Eyman.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z