‘Night Court’ and ‘Buffalo Bill’ actor was 75 – deadline

Charlie Robinson, a prolific actor who played the Clerk on NOTcourt for most of the NBC sitcom series and before that he was a regular on his praised series Buffalo Bill, died of cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 75 years old.

Her manager, Lisa DiSante, told Deadline that Robinson died of cardiac arrest with multisystem failures due to septic shock and metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Robinson racked up more than 125 TV and film credits, including five impressive regular roles on the series, over a half-century career that spanned until 2021. Canon, White shadow, Lou Grant, Saint-Elsewhere and Hbad street blues and the mini-series continued Roots: the next generation. Her first recurring role was on the short-lived NBC prime-time soap opera. Route of the Flamingos.

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In 1983, Robinson was cast in Buffalo Bill, the sitcom starring Dabney Coleman as the despicable host of a local talk show in titular New York City. Robinson played Newdell, a makeup artist who didn’t laugh at anyone, including the irascible host. The series won Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy names for its two seasons, but failed to gain large audiences and was canceled in 1984.

Turns out that was just the career break Robinson needed.

That fall, he returned to the Peacock Network as Mac Robinson, the new clerk of Night court. He would stay with the series for the remainder of its nine seasons. Unlike its previous series, Night court was an early success, landing in the top 20 year-end among prime-time shows in its first season in 1984-85. Aerate in the plum post-cheers At 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, it ranked in the seasonal top 10 for the next three seasons, eventually ending in 1992.

But Robinson would return in the fall of 1992 with a regular role on the series in another sitcom, this time alongside Jay Thomas and Susan Dey in Fox’s. Love & War. The Comedy That Draws Opposites spanned three seasons – – giving Robinson a remarkable 12-season TV series as a regular series spanning three different shows.

And he was back the following TV season as a regular at Ink, the 1996-97 CBS sitcom starring Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. On it, Robinson played Ernie Trainor, a police reporter who has seen it all. It lasted a season.

Robinson continued to work primarily in television until the end of his life. He did it again on ABC Home improvement from 1995 to 1999 before landing another regular role on the series – time in the CBS crime drama Friend Faro, with Dennis Farina. Robinson played El Jefe, who followed the lead character from Mexico to Los Angeles and became a member of his crime-solving team. The show had a brief airing in the fall of 1998.

On the big screen, he appeared in films such as Apocalypse Now, The River, Gray Lady Down, Beowulf, Trigger It, Antwone Fisher, Even Money, Jackson and Steam.

After the turn of the century, Robinson landed another regular role in the series – as Wilfred, the keeper of Froggy Cottage in Greg Garcia’s anthology comedy. The guest book.

Over the past two decades, Robinson has reappeared as Sgt. Jeffries on the CW comedy-drama Dixie Hart and as Mr. Munson on CBS ‘ Mom. He has also been a guest in popular series such as Ma femme et mes enfants, The Bernie Mac Show, Charmed, House, How I Met Your Mother, My Name Is Earl, 30 Rock, Big Love, Key and Peele, Grey’s Anatomy and It’s us.

One of his last roles was recurring in Freeform’s 2020 pandemic-themed limited series Love in Corona’s time.

Robinson also enjoyed an acclaimed stage career. He won an Ovation Award for Best Actor for playing Troy in Fences and a NAACP Theater Award for playing Simon in The whips the man.

His widow, Dolorita Noonan-Robinson, paid tribute to the actor today:

“Once referred to by Martin Landau as ‘Hollywood’s greatest underrated actor,’ Charles Robinson was the love of my life, my husband, my father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather. He was truly the actor of the working actor, and with all his passions his profession took center stage, his family being the wind under his wings, so that he could ascend to incredible heights! On behalf of my husband and family, thank you for being part of the audience.

His representatives at Artists & Representatives also issued a souvenir today.

“We are saddened by the loss of our dear friend and longtime client, Charlie Robinson. Charlie was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. Her beautiful spirit defined her life and guided her prolific artistic journey. Our hearts go out to her loved ones in their mourning. “

With his wife, Robinson is survived by the children Luca, Charlie, Christian and Byron; and grandchildren, great grandchildren. Plans for the funeral were incomplete.