Actor Robert Hays, an Air Force Brat, spent his seventh grade at Izmir American School in Izmir, Turkey. He later attended Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Nebraska, where his father was stationed at Offutt AFB, graduating in 1965.
Hays began his career in theatre, performing in plays such as Richard III and The Glass Menagerie at the renowned Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. After several years in the theatre, he moved to Hollywood to pursue his career in film and television.
He made his television debut in series like Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969),Wonder Woman (1975),Laverne & Shirley (1976),and Angie (1979). His feature-film debut was in the landmark comedy Airplane! (1980),where he played Ted Striker, a traumatized former pilot who must land the plane when the flight crew gets struck by food poisoning.
Hays later reprised his role as Ted Striker in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). After the massive success of Airplane!, he went on to star in many feature films, including Take This Job and Shove It (1981),Trenchcoat (1983),Cat's Eye (1985),Fifty/Fifty (1992),Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993),Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco (1996),Robert Altman's Dr. T & the Women (2000),and Alex in Wonder (2001),which he also produced.
He starred in over 20 made-for-TV movies, such as NBC's Mister Roberts (1984),CBS' Murder by the Book (1987),and Lifetime's The Abduction (1996). Hays also had a surprise appearance in Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014). He had numerous guest appearances on various television shows, including Touched by an Angel (1994),Promised Land (1996),and That '70s Show (1998).
