Monday, January 5, 2015

Pine-ing Away...

In 1977, I was ten years old and the new motorcycle cop series CHiPs, an instant hit, got my attention. True, I was enamored of darkly handsome Erik Estrada (as millions of others were), but in a surprising turn of events, I also found myself intrigued by Estrada's boss on the show, played by Robert Pine.

Robert Pine was born with the rather unwieldy family name of Granville Whitelaw Pine on July, 10th, 1941 in New York, New York. He was raised in Scarsdale, NY with a father who was a patent attorney. The family spent summers in Nantucket, Massachusetts where, in time, Pine worked on a summer musical and drew the attention of playwright Robert Anderson, who suggested he try a career in acting. Pine, however, had plans to attend med school after college and become a doctor.

Ultimately, he decided that he was pursuing medicine more for his parents than for himself and he turned to Anderson (and Anderson's wife, Oscar-winner Teresa Wright) for advice. Through that, he met with various agencies, eventually landing at Universal Studios, which had a large pool of young talent with which to fill out their movie and TV series needs.

After having suffered through the name Granville (though pals called him “Buzz'), he was happy to redub himself Robert Pine and embark on a career as a working actor. He began to study with esteemed teacher Jeff Corey while being assigned parts by the studio. First up was a role in an episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre in 1964, alongside James Whitmore and Tommy Sands. (As a hyper, teen troublemaker, he indulges in what can politely be described as overacting, though some might call it mugging!)
Pine worked several times on The Virginian from 1965 on, usually as troubled young men. He proceeded to parts on such series as Wagon Train, Broadside, Convoy and Run for Your Life. He got to work opposite Robert Taylor on Death Valley Days as seen here, playing a shanghaied sailor. The Audie Murphy western Gunpoint (1966) was his big screen debut, in which he played a member of an outlaw gang.
That same year, he was one of the young male leads in a teen rock 'n roll flick called Out of Sight. That's him in the hilarious pale gold jumpsuit!
He rounded out a trio of movies that year with Munster, Go Home!, in which he affected an English accent.
1967 brought more work his way including the WWII drama The Young Warriors, starring James Drury. (He's shown below as a bespectacled soldier.) He also worked on the series Lost in Space, Death Valley Days and even The Lucy Show, one in which Lucille Ball's character heads back to high school in order to get her diploma.(Lucy strongly considered using him as one of the many kids in 1968's Yours, Mine and Ours, but unfortunately he was already too mature.)
Journey to Shiloh (1968) was a Civil War drama that featured many young actors who would later gain fame including James Caan, Michael Sarrazin, Don Stroud, Jan-Michael Vincent and Harrison Ford (who I always felt a young Pine resembled more than a little bit.) (Someone needed to inform him that covering half his face with a hat – far left – was no way to gain fame!) Then there was The Counterfeit Killer (1968) with Jack Lord and Shirley Knight.

More appearances on hit TV westerns were in store including Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, Bonanza (as fellow guest Will Geer's brooding son) and The High Chapparal. Balancing these out were guest spots on Mannix, the little-known spy show called The Silent Force, Dan August, Medical Center, Cannon and Mod Squad. Robert Pine AND Larry Casey in the same episode of Bonanza? I'll have a scoop of each, please!
He costarred in the 1973 TV movie Incident on a Dark Street alongside James Olson and David Canary. It was a failed series pilot about fledgling Federal prosecutors and guest-starred William Shatner. That same year, he played one of several cavalrymen in the James Garner-Vera Miles family western One Little Indian. (Morgan Woodward, who had worked with Pine in Gunpoint and on Gunsmoke, was also on board. He would later pop up in a 1980 episode of CHiPs.)

A variety of work was still coming his way, though little of it important. He worked on shows as diverse as Love, American Style and The F.B.I. There was a role in the Patrick Wayne back-to-nature flick The Bears and I and a bit role in Day of the Locust. Having worked quite a bit for TV producer Quinn Martin, he signed on for the awkwardly-titled Bert D'Angelo/Superstar series in 1976, but the whole experience was unpleasant for him and the show, which starred Paul Sorvino, was cancelled after a dozen installments.
1977 would prove to be a key year in Pine's career. Not only was he guest-starring on several hot shows like Barnaby Jones, Charlie's Angels and even The Bob Newhart Show, but he took a role in a very low-budget thriller that has endured thanks to the born-again stardom of its leading lady, Joan Collins. 

Yes, Pine was in Empire of the Ants, a hilariously bad movie about giant ants taking over. His jerky, cowardly character got quite a come-uppance when he was bitten in the crotch by one of the enlarged creatures!
Besides all this, however, 1977 was also the year that he signed on to costar on CHiPs. The series featured California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox, but Pine was cast as their capable, wry, often no-nonsense Sergeant.
One of Pine's provisos when accepting the part was that he not just be background filler, supplying lackluster story information while the two leads shone every week. Thus, he was given the occasional wisecracky line and sometimes his own featured plot every so often. Still, his limited screen time afforded him quite a bit of time off, a luxury the leads never enjoyed (sometimes Pine would film during only one out of the allotted seven days per episode!)

The series was rife with problems,mostly concerning the egos of the two principle stars and their own personal conflict at times, but Pine always stayed firmly grounded in the middle, refusing to take sides in their spats or to inflame any of the issues with his opinions one way or the other. (This easy working relationship is part of what has assured him a steady, fifty-year career in the biz!)
Eventually, Wilcox left the show altogether and was replaced by, first Tom Reilly and then Bruce Penhall. There was also a stretch when a striking Estrada required his brief replacement with Bruce Jenner. (Despite imdb.com's records, Estrada did not appear in EVERY CHiPs episode.) Through all the turmoil, Pine was a reliable constant.

During CHiPs, he would sometimes pop up on games shows like Beat the Clock or Match Game, allowing us the chance to see him in a more frivolous, less buttoned-up light. (He was on Match Game the time a very haughty then-unknown Kirstie Alley won over $5,000, a nice chunk of change at the time.)

On several occasions, Pine's real-life wife (since 1969) Gwynne Gilford appeared as his character's wife. An actress in her own right, she had costarred on a couple of failed sitcoms (shown here) along with quite a few other TV gigs. One was The Waverly Wonders (1978) opposite Joe Namath and the other was A New Kind of Family (1979-1980) alongside Eileen Brennan. Once the couple's two children were born, she phased out of acting and became a psychotherapist.

Pine, however, kept plugging along. When CHiPs was cancelled in 1983, he continued to guest star on programs like Hotel, Knight Rider, Murder, She Wrote, Dynasty, Magnum, P.I. and others. He'd also played a devious cavalryman in 1979's The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again while working on CHiPs.
He'd also done the obligatory episode of The Love Boat, portraying a priest.
His steady employment continued all through the late-'80s and early-'90s with him popping up on practically every notable series of the era. He's shown here with Georgia Engel, with whom he costarred in the 1985 TV-movie Papa Was a Preacher.
Easily one of the most bizarre blips on his resume was the 1987 TV-movie Hoover vs The Kennedys: The Second Civil War, in which he was (horrendously mis)cast as President John F. Kennedy!! Nicholas Campbell played his brother Bobby Kennedy and I include this promo photo a) as proof that it happened and b) because he's sorta cute in his robe and I like the long-ish wig on him! (This pinnacle of miscasting also had the gall to present Marilyn Monroe as portrayed by The Fall Guy's Heather Thomas!! By way of what, Christina Applegate...?)
He's seen here with a young Jason Wiles during a 1993 episode of CBS Schoolbreak Special called "Big Boys Don't Cry," concerning allegations of child molestation.
He had a small role in Independence Day (1996) as a White House advisor and entered the sci-fi cult arena when he guest-starred on Star Trek: Voyager as an ambassador that same year. In 1998, most of the cast of CHiPs was gathered together for a reunion movie (a nostalgic trend that was happening for many long gone shows.) At this point, Pine was no longer a sergeant, but the highway patrol commissioner. CHiPs '99 was intended to be revived into a running series again, with two younger cops at the forefront, but that didn't materialize.
Occasional film appearances were balanced with TV work including But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), the 2001 TV series Black Scorpion, the 2001 Brian Bosworth movie Mach 2 (shown here) and the 2005 TV-movie Landslide (shown below.)
Then there was a recurring role on The Bold and the Beautiful and a part on another of the Star Trek series, this time as a Vulcan on Star Trek: Enterprise.
There was also a new arena to explore: the stage, with roles in “Viagra Falls” with '80s starlet Teresa Ganzel and “The Doctor's Dilemma” (shown here in 2011.) 
As a diverse, multifaceted performer, Robert Pine frequently pops up in unexpected places. For example, he provided the voice for the bishop in the recent Disney spectacle Frozen (2013) and is still very active today at age seventy-three.
Of course, he has a new claim to fame now as the father of hot young cinematic leading man Christopher Pine! Robert and Gwynne first had daughter Katie before little Chris came along in 1980. 
(It is occasionally misconstrued that Chris appeared on CHiPs in his mother's belly. While that was actually a plan, logistics pushed the filming back to where Chris was born and then Gwynne had to wear a pillow for the episode in question!) Katie went into the realm of psychology like her mother, while Chris followed in his father's footsteps.

Christopher, however, earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley before he ever pursued or accepted an on-screen acting role. Graduating in 2002, he landed his first role in 2003 on ER, with others in quick succession. A serious break came with The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement (2004.) He and his father even got to work together twice, in 2005's Confession and later in 2010's Small Town Saturday Night though the best was yet to come.

After several other movies and the occasional TV appearance, Chris Pine was chosen to play the young Captain Kirk in the 2009 re-boot Star Trek. The wildly popular movie was soon a burgeoning franchise and he shot to fame. In 2014, he was the star of another reboot Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Not content to restrict himself to action films, he recently proved himself a worthy singer in the big screen adaptation of Into the Woods (2014) as Cinderella's Prince, swaggeringly roaming through the trees in search of his lady love while belting out the audience favorite “Agony” (which, sadly, had its reprise from Act 2 cut in this adaptation.)


So while I always adored Robert Pine and still do, his handsome and talented offspring has now come along to carry the acting baton forward. Fresh-scrubbed and suited-up or scruffy and rumpled, he's one of my few contemporary crushes!

10 comments:

joel65913 said...

Fascinating as always Poseidon! I knew Chris Pine's father was an actor but hadn't realized he was this actor. I was never a CHIPS viewer but I've seen him in dozens of things. There is a resemblance, Chris is more striking I think. They definitely have the same smile.

Scooter said...

Wow, he really does look like a young Harrison Ford in that snap from The Young Warriors.

Poseidon3 said...

Joel, as much as I like Robert, I have to agree that Chris exceeds him, looks-wise, though Robert was pretty handsome as a youth. Chris seemed to have gotten the best of both parents!

Scooter, I completely agree with you. It's almost uncanny at times. I have yet to view "Journey to Shiloh," but when I do, I looked forward to seeing if they resemble each other, even when in the same frame. They are about a year apart in age, though for me Robert always seemed older for some reason.

BTW, I have tweaked this post a bit this morning, adding several more photos, including young ones, and an additional 1987 project. (I had the one photo yesterday, but didn't know what it was from until today, so I didn't put it in. Once I found out, I had to!) Thanks!!

NotFelixUnger said...

This came as a shock even though I do remember Chris referencing his father during an interview. It never really sunk in.

Given a choice between the two, I think I'll keep Robert. Chris is way too pretty for my tastes though the stubble he sports in "Into the Woods" goes a long way towards his redemption in my book.

As far as contemporary crushes go, I'm more the Armie Hammer type, myself.

Thinking back on ChiPs, there were several episodes where I noticed Robert hugging his pants beautifully.

I hope the hunky dad has taught his son enough to keep him grounded. Chris is super big time now.

angelman66 said...

Happy New Year Poseidon!!
Wow! That's Chris's dad? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! And Robert is still hot in his 70s!!

Unknown said...

Ha! I had no idea where Chris Pine came from though I vaguely thought his family were casting directors or something. When I was reading this post, that photo about five down with Robert Pine in the hat got my attention. I said to myself, gee, he sure has lips like Chris Pine. And I wondered all the way down to the end of the post.

I think I would like to choose Robert too. Maybe it's because he looks so different through all the years of his career. Nice to see someone age so beautifully.

Poseidon3 said...

It does my heart good to see some Robert Pine love from you all! :-)

NotFelix, I strongly suspect that Chris is grounded, both from his dad AND his mom. Not only was he a college grad before accepting ANY professional acting gigs, but he seems really humble and down to earth (and happy!) as far as I can tell in my limited viewpoint. (Oh, and if you haven't done so already, look carefully at Robert's photo from CHiPs with the helmet tucked under his elbow.)

Angelman and Dave, I figured that many people already knew this connection, but just in case, I kept it under the lid until the end of the post as a sort of pop-up surprise. I'm happy to see some of you getting a kick out of it.

I'm also happy to see Chris getting a lot of positive attention for "Into the Woods." He was initially cast in the slightly lesser role of Rapunzel's Prince with Jake Gyllenhall as Cinderella's, but Jake dropped the project. Chris moved up and then they recast his role with Billy Manussen (whose leather pants caused a stir in the audience the night I saw it.) With Depp as the Wolf (who I must say I LOATHED in the de-fanged part), the princes are closer to equal than they might have been otherwise, though Chris does have "Any Moment." I'd love to see him as the lead in another musical sometime.

GetraerGirl said...

Thank you very much for this blog and all the wonderful photos. I also think that Robert is a fabulous actor and do prefer him to his son. However, Chris did a brilliant job in Outlaw King. Being Scottish I was impressed by his accent (which few American actors can pull off) and he was one of the most gracious guests on the Graham Norton Show (a British talk show). That's a trait he takes from his Dad as he always comes over as being very down to earth and generally a beautiful human being. I was also wondering if Robert has actually directed multiple episodes of CHiPs. He implied in an interview that he had done more than one episode, but is only credited as doing one. Is it possible that he has done more than one, but been credited under a pseudonym? I was also wondering if you have his episode of Love Boat and the Kennedy mini series. If so would it be possible for you to share them? I have looked all over and can't find them on the likes of YouTube or Dailymotion or on any streaming service. If you could share them it would be hugely appreciated. Thanks again.

Poseidon3 said...

GetraerGirl, you've probably seen this, but there is at least a minute-long promo for "Hoover vs The Kennedys" which gives a little glimpse into what it was like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp2kIORa8Nk

As for his directing duties on "CHiPs," he is credited with TWO episodes and I think that was all he did. There was Overload (SE5 EP25) and Things That Go Creep in the Night (SE6 EP21.)

And when it comes to "The Love Boat," I think I may make your day... A pretty good copy of his episode was uploaded to YouTube just YESTERDAY! It's filled with ladies from daytime soaps. :-) Have fun. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-_8dzudMUw

GetraerGirl said...

Thank you very much for your reply. I downloaded his Love Boat episode onto my laptop using Internet Download Manager, but when I went to play it, most of the dialogue was out of sync with the video and when I went to try and download it onto my PC (which has an older and more reliable version of IDM on it), I noticed the video has been made private and I can no longer watch it. I also noticed that Robert's episode of Good Morning Miss Bliss was on YouTube, but it has been mangled. It is in slow motion, has the uploader talking instead of the actual dialogue and also has a 'host'. I complained in the comments section and the uploader doesn't care about the fact that they completely spoiled the episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8fx0hQ0_Y8&lc=UgwdKcj74lrQ0zNdC_l4AaABAg.9Lu9FDl-OxN9LuIEksSurb I also saw that his episode of Big Time Rush was on Dailymotion, but the video has been cropped and flipped. So, I am really annoyed about those things and really hope I have better luck at obtaining more of his work. I was also wondering if you know of anything in which he sings and/or dances. Would love to see him do those things. Thanks.