Saddle up for a trip through entertainment history with a weekly highlight from Santa Clarita’s Walk of Western Stars! This week, actor Dale Robertson!

Dayle Robertson, later changed to the more common spelling for his stage name, was born on July 14, 1923, in Harrah, Oklahoma. As he grew older, his family moved to Oklahoma City in 1927 where Robertson graduated from Classen High School. He then attended Oklahoma Military College (now Rogers State University) in Claremore, where he was named best all-around athlete and earned 32 athletic awards.

An athletic teen, Robertson had begun boxing professionally in high school, which prevented him from taking part in collegiate sports. His skill and looks soon attracted attention from Columbia Pictures, which offered Robertson a film test for the boxing film “Golden Boy” (1939).

Only 16 at the time, Robertson declined as he felt he was too young to leave home, and was dedicated to training polo ponies.

Robertson entered the Army in 1943, underwent  basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas, and became an enlisted cavalryman. In 1944 he was sent to Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

It was at this time that Robertson again attracted attention from the film industry. When he was stationed at San Luis Obispo, California for training, Robertson went with a group of friends to take professional portraits for their mothers. Robertson’s photo was used as a display piece in the photographer’s window, and agents began sending him letters.

During World War II, Robertson served in the U.S. Army’s 322nd Combat Engineer Battalion of the 97th Infantry Division.

He completed his service after being wounded twice, Robertson later told a military historian that he had been injured by shrapnel during service near the German-Czechoslovakian border, and returned home.

Later, when the U.S. Army tried to recall Robertson during the Korean War, a physical examination revealed his injuries, and he was deemed not qualified for active service. He was also unable to continue his boxing career. Instead, he turned to acting.

Robertson made his film debut in an uncredited role as a policeman in “The Boy with Green Hair” (1948). A confident horseman, he also quickly made a name for himself in westerns, with appearances in featured roles in two Randolph Scott Westerns: “Fighting Man of the Plains” (1949), where he played Jesse James, and “The Cariboo Trail” (1950).

After signing to 20th Century Fox, Robertson quickly advanced to leading “Take Care of My Little Girl” (1951) and “Golden Girl” (1951).

After several years of film roles, Robertson shot to real stardom with roles on television.

He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series “Tales of Wells Fargo” (1957 – 1962) and railroad owner Ben Calhoun in “Iron Horse” (1966 – 1968). In 1968, he succeeded Robert Taylor as the host of “Death Valley Days,” a role formerly held by Stanley Andrews and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Beginning in 1967, Robertson managed his Haymaker Farms, a quarterhorse operation, and the Dale Robertson Insurance Company, which he would continue to operate outside of his film career.

Robertson dipped his toes into international waters with a starring role in English-language Japanese film “The Walking Major” (1970), alongside Yujiro Ishihara, a popular young actor often referred to as the “Japanese Elvis Presley.”

Robertson played a U.S. Army Captain attempting to raise funds to rebuild an orphanage by walking the length of Japan, all the while pursued by a photographer, who believes the Captain is only attempting to absolve himself of guilt for shooting civilians during the Korean War.

The film was also significant for featuring Toshiro Mifune, who is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time.

In 1983, Robertson was inducted into the Hollywood Stuntman’s Hall of Fame and returned to television in 1987 in the starring role on “J.J. Starbuck.”

Robertson went on working in film and television for the next two decades, with appearances on primetime shows such as “Murder, She Wrote,” Dynasty,” and “Dallas.” In total, he is credited in more than 60 films.

Robertson received the Golden Boot Award in 1985, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is also in the Hall of Great Western Performers and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Additionally, Robertson won the 1999 award for film and television from the American Cowboy Culture Association.

Robertson died at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, California, on February 27, 2013, from lung cancer and pneumonia. He left behind his fourth wife of 33 years, Susan Robbins.

Where is Dale Robertson’s plaque on the Walk of Western Stars?

Dale Robertson was inducted into the Newhall Walk of Western Stars in 1989.

His plaque can be found on the west side of Main Street outside of GoodYear Tire Shop, just north of the roundabout.

Last week’s feature, Hoot Gibson.

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