Rex McNicol Robbins was a renowned American character actor, whose impressive career spanned both stage and screen. He made his Broadway debut in 1963, playing the role of a doctor in the production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and went on to appear in over 30 plays and films.
Robbins' notable stage credits include his role as the Narrator/Mysterious Man in the first national tour of Into the Woods, opposite Angela Lansbury in the 1974 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and alongside John Lithgow in several British plays, including The Changing Room (1973) and Comedians (1976). He was also directed by Lithgow in the 1976 production of Boy Meets Girl, based on the 1938 film of the same name.
Robbins' film credits include his role as Roger Sherman in the 1972 film version of the musical 1776, as well as his portrayal of an openly gay bartender in Shaft. His last film appearance was a brief role in The Royal Tenenbaums.
Throughout his career, Robbins appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, including Urban Blight at Manhattan Theatre Club, A.R. Gurney's The Dining Room at Playwrights Horizons, and Henry IV, Part I at the Public Theater. His last stage appearance was as Mr. Brown in the musical adaptation of James Joyce's The Dead in 2000.
Born in Pierre, South Dakota, to Lucy Geraldine (McNichol),a journalist, and Clarence Edward Robbins, a doctor, Rex McNicol Robbins was an alumnus of Yale University and was married with three children. He passed away on September 23, 2003, at the age of 68, due to complications from a stroke.
