Effective light comedian of '30s and '40s films and '50s and '60s TV series, Robert Cummings was renowned for his eternally youthful looks (which he attributed to a strict vitamin and health-food diet). He was educated at Carnegie Tech and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Deciding that Broadway producers would be more interested in an upper-crust Englishman than a kid from Joplin, Missouri, Cummings passed himself off as Blade Stanhope Conway, British actor. The ploy was successful. Cummings decided that if it worked on Broadway, it would work in Hollywood, so he journeyed west and assumed the identity of a rich Texan named Bruce Hutchens. The plan worked once more, and he began securing small parts in films. He soon reverted to his real name and became a popular leading man in light comedies, usually playing well-meaning, pleasant but somewhat bumbling young men. He achieved much more success, however, in his own television series in the '50s, The Bob Cummings Show (1955) and My Living Doll (1964).
Cummings was born June 10, 1910, in Joplin, Missouri, and he died of kidney failure December 2, 1990, in Woodland Hills, California. He is interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, in the Great Mausoleum, Columbarium of Sanctity.
Movies
Dial M for Murder
Mark Halliday
What a Way to Go!
Dr. Victor Stephanson
Saboteur
Barry Kane
Princess O'Rourke
Eddie O'Rourke
It Started with Eve
Johnny Reynolds Jr.
Beach Party
Professor Sutwell
Lucky Me
Dick Carson
Reign of Terror
Charles D'Aubigny
Rio
Bill Gregory
The Chase
Chuck Scott
One Night in the Tropics
Steve Harper
The Accused
Warren Ford
The Carpetbaggers
Dan Pierce
My Geisha
Bob Moore
Souls at Sea
George Martin
The Devil and Miss Jones
Joe O'Brien
Moon Over Miami
Jeffrey 'Jeff' Boulton II
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Harry Loren
Paid in Full
Bill Prentice
Stagecoach
Henry Gatewood (as Bob Cummings)
The Lost Moment
Lewis Venable
Kings Row
Parris Mitchell
Sleep, My Love
Bruce Elcott
Five Golden Dragons
Bob Mitchell
Promise Her Anything
Dr. Philip Brock
For Heaven's Sake
Jeff Bolton
The Texans
Alan Sanford
Wells Fargo
Dan Trimball, prospector
The Accusing Finger
Jimmy Ellis
Everything Happens at Night
Ken Morgan
College Swing
Radio Announcer
The Petty Girl
George Petty, aka Andrew 'Andy' Tapp
How To Be Very, Very Popular
Fillmore 'Wedge' Wedgewood
Flesh and Fantasy
Michael (segment 1)
And One Was Beautiful
Ridley Crane
Desert Gold
Fordyce 'Ford' Mortimer
The Bride Wore Boots
Jeff Warren
The First Time
Joe Bennett
Gidget Grows Up
Russell Lawrence
Tell It to the Judge
Pete Webb
The Last Train from Madrid
Juan Ramos
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
Scotty Hamilton
So Red the Rose
George Pendleton
Spring Parade
Corporal Harry Marten
The Under-Pup
Dennis Lane
You Came Along
Maj. Bob Collins
The Barefoot Mailman
Sylvanus Hurley
Let's Live a Little
Duke Crawford
Free For All
Christopher Parker
The Great American Beauty Contest
Dan Carson (as Bob Cummings)
Touchdown, Army
Cadet Jimmy Howal
Sons of the Desert
Steamship Announcement Witness (uncredited)
Seasoned Greetings
The Beau/Husband in 'Sunny Weather' Number (uncredited)
Arizona Mahoney
Phillip Randall
Hollywood Boulevard
Jay Wallace
Free and Easy
Max Clemington
Twelve Angry Men
Juror #8
Between Us Girls
Jimmy Blake
Forever and a Day
Ned
Marry Me Again
Bill
Heaven Only Knows
Michael, aka Mike
Border Flight
Lt. Bob Dixon
The Virginia Judge
Jim Preston
Hideaway Girl
Mike Winslow
Gala Day at Disneyland
Himself
Disneyland's Opening Day Broadcast
Private Affairs
Jimmy Nolan
Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Special
Self
Disneyland '59
Self
Screen Snapshots (Series 23, no. 3)
Himself
Partners in Crime
Ralph Elsworth
Breakdowns of 1942
Self
Sophie Lang Goes West
Curley Griffin
Romeo and Juliet
Friar Lawrence
You and Me
Jim
I Stand Accused
Frederick A. Davis
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Self
Three on a Date
Cab Driver
Bomber's Moon
Colonel Culver
Holiday Time at Disneyland
Self
Shows
Here's Lucy
Bob Collins
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Robert Cummings
The Beverly Hillbillies
Self
Studio One
Juror #8
Bewitched
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Host
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Your Show of Shows
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Lt. Charles Gatewood
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest
Robert Montgomery Presents
My Hero
Robert Beanblossom
Arnie
Green Acres
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
The Great Adventure
Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse
Love, American Style
General Electric Theater
Russ Baker
The Twilight Zone
James Embry
The New Bob Cummings Show
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self
The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
The Bob Cummings Show
Bob Collins
The Love Boat
Eliott Smith
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
What's My Line?
Self - Panelist
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Spencer O. Spencer
Robert Montgomery Presents
Sawyer
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self (archive footage)
Studio One
George Lumley
The Elgin Hour
Jeff Clark
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Love That Bob
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Self
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
Self
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Self - Host / Narrator / Interviewer
Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color
Self - Host / Narrator / Self
The Bob Hope Show
Self
Here's Lucy
Robert Henning
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Harvey Hines
My Living Doll
Dr. Robert McDonald
Lux Video Theatre
Wally