Stage-trained character player of film and TV remains best known for one of his earliest feature roles: a hissable portrayal of the crazed hippie serial killer Scorpio in Don Siegel's genre landmark, "Dirty Harry" (1971). With his sharp nose, full lips, and small beady eyes which conveyed an incredible capacity for cruelty, Robinson crafted a villain so irredeemably bad that his mere existence justified the extreme techniques employed by Clint Eastwood's iconic tough cop. This role set the unpleasant tone for his more memorable subsequent feature roles: an unsavory lout who gets clobbered in Siegel's "Charley Varrick" (1973); in a rare lead as an unlucky householder and brother of a reconstituted monster in the attic in Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" (1987); and a sadistic military school barber in "Child's Play 3" (1991). In between, he often played cops and doctors in films including "Mask" (1985), "Cobra" (1986), and "Shoot to Kill" (1988).Robinson works regularly in TV perhaps making his strongest impression with a sympathetic portrait of "Liberace" (ABC, 1988) in the estate approved biopic. His other small screen movie credits include "The Atlanta Child Murders" (CBS, 1985) and "The Rock Hudson Story" (ABC, 1990). Playing against type, Robinson portrayed JFK in a time travel episode of the revival of "The Twilight Zone" (CBS, 1986) and did guest shots for the likes of "Cagney & Lacey", "Moonlighting" and "Matlock". He gained a cult following with his engaging portrayal, under heavy makeup, of Garak, a garrulous Cardassian tailor with a mysterious past on the sci-fi sequel "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (syndicated, 1993-99). Robinson was awarded Best Actor by the L.A. Drama Critics for his performance in "In the Belly of the Beast", a play by convicted killer cum writer Jack Henry Abbott.
Profession(s):
Actor, director, playwright
Sometimes Credited As:
Andrew J Robinson
Andrew Jordt Robinson
Andy Robinson
L.A. Ovation Award Director/Play "Yield of the Long Bond" 1998
Los Angeles Drama Critics Award Direction "The Homecoming" and "Endgame" 1996
Los Angeles Drama Critics Award Lead Performance "In the Belly of the Beast" 1985
2000 Staged a production of "The Glass Menagerie" at the Pasadena Playhouse featuring daughter Rachel and Susan Sullivan
1998 Appeared in the L.A. stage revival of "Death of a Salesman" with Jack Klugman as Willy Loman
1993 Made belated Broadway debut in the short-lived "Any Given Day" by Frank Gilroy
1993 Became involved with the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles; debuted in one-person show "Memoirs of Jesus", which he wrote
1988 Starred as "Liberace" in ABC-TV's "approved" biopic
1987 Played a rare feature lead in Clive Barker's directorial debut, "Hellraiser"
1975 Joined the cast of the ABC daytime series "Ryan's Hope" in the role of Frank Ryan; stayed with show until December 1977
1972 TV debut (as Andrew Robinson), "The Catcher", an NBC TV-movie
1971 While acting in "The Idiot" at the New York Shakespeare Festival, spotted by director Don Siegel
1971 Feature debut (as Andy Robinson), portrayed Scorpio, the serial killer, in Don Siegel's "Dirty Harry", directed by Siegel
1968 TV debut in an episode of "N.Y.P.D."
1967 Acted in the Off-Broadway hit "MacBird" alongside Stacy Keach, Rue McClanahan and William Devane
1965 - 1967 After studying at LAMDA, began career on stage in regional theater
Raised in Connecticut
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, wrote and/or performed in several theatrical productions at LaMama in NYC
Played the recurring role of Garak on the popular syndicated spin-off "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"; also directed episodes
