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Robert John Wagner (born February 10,
1930) is a Golden Globe- nominated prolific American film and television
actor of stage and screen, who starred in movies, soap operas and
television. In his early days in Hollywood in the 1950s, he was mentored
by the legendary Spencer Tracy.
Wagner starred in three popular American television series that spanned
three decades: as playboy-thief-turned-secret-agent, Alexander Mundy, in
It Takes a Thief (1968–1970), as Eddie Albert's ex-con man turned
crime-fighting partner, Det. Pete T. Ryan, in the con-artist-oriented
drama Switch (1975–1978), and as Stefanie Powers's super-rich husband and
private-eye partner, Jonathan Hart, in the lighthearted crime drama Hart
to Hart (1979–1984). In movies, Wagner is best known for his role as
Number Two in the Austin Powers films of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
He also had a recurring role as Teddy on the popular TV sitcom Two and a
Half Men.
Wagner's autobiography, Pieces of My Heart: A Life, written with author
Scott Eyman, was published on September 23, 2008.
Having long considered himself a film
actor, Wagner was convinced by Lew Wasserman in 1968 to make his
television series debut starring in It Takes a Thief. While the success of
The Pink Panther and Harper began Wagner's comeback, the successful two
and a half seasons of his first TV series completed his comeback. In this
series, most notably, he acted with Fred Astaire, who played his father.
Astaire was a long-time friend of Wagner's, who had gone to school with
Astaire's eldest son, Peter.
In 1972 he produced and cast himself opposite Bette
Davis in the television movie Madame Sin, which was released in foreign
markets as a feature film.
By the mid-1970s, Wagner's television career was at its peak with the
popular television series Switch opposite Eddie Albert.
His third successful series was Hart to Hart with Stefanie Powers. Before
those roles, Wagner also made guest appearances in the pilot episode of
The Streets of San Francisco and as a regular in the UK World War II drama
Colditz. He would later be nominated for an Emmy Award for Best TV Actor
for his performance in It Takes a Thief and for four Golden Globe awards
for his role as Jonathan Hart in Hart to Hart.
Wagner's film career received a revival after his role in the popular Mike
Myers's Austin Powers, as Dr. Evil's henchman Number 2, as well as
becoming the host of Fox Movie Channel's Hour of Stars, featuring original
television episodes of The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955), a series which
Wagner had appeared on in his early days with the studio.
In 2007, Wagner had a role in the [BBC/AMC] series Hustle. In its fourth
season premiere, Wagner played a crooked Texan being taken for half a
million dollars. As Wagner is considered "a suave icon of American caper
television, including It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart,[8] Robert
Glenister (Hustle's fixer, Ash Morgan) commented that "to have one of the
icons of that period involved is a great bonus for all of us".
Recently, Wagner played the pivotal role of President James Garfield in
the comedy/horror film Netherbeast Incorporated (2007). The role was
written with Wagner in mind.
In the April 28 and May 5, 2008 episodes of Two and a Half men, Wagner
reprised the role of a rich suitor to the main characters' mother. |
