Robert Lowery (actor)

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Robert Lowery
Publicity photograph of Robert Lowery for Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise (1940)
Born	Robert Lowery Hanks (1913-10-17)October 17, 1913 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died	December 26, 1971(1971-12-26) (aged 58) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Bob Lowery Bob Lowry
Education	Paseo High School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1936–1967
Known for	The Mark of Zorro The Mummy's Ghost Dangerous Passage Batman and Robin The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond Circus Boy
Spouse(s)	Vivan Wilcox (1941–1944) (divorced) Rusty Farrell (1947–1948) (divorced) Jean Parker (m. 1951); 1 child

Robert Lowery (born Robert Lowery Hanks,^[1][2] October 17, 1913 – December 26, 1971) was an American motion picture, television, and stage actor who appeared in more than 70 films. He was the second actor to play Batman, appearing as the character in the 1949 film serial Batman and Robin.

Lowery was born in Kansas City, Missouri.^[3]

Syndicated newspaper columnist Harrison Carroll reported that Lowery was "a direct descendant of Nancy Hanks" (Lincoln).^[4]

He graduated from Paseo High School^[5] in Kansas City, and soon was invited to sing with the Slats Randall Orchestra.^[3]

Lowery debuted in motion pictures in Come and Get It (1936).^[6]

During his career, Lowery was primarily known for roles in action films such as The Mark of Zorro (1940), The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and Dangerous Passage (1944). He became the second actor to play DC Comics' Batman (succeeding Lewis Wilson), starring in a 1949's Batman and Robin serial.^[2]

Lowery also had roles in a number of Western films, including The Homesteaders (1953), The Parson and the Outlaw (1957), playing Gangster-mastermind Arnold Rothstein in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960), Young Guns of Texas (1962), and Johnny Reno (1966). He was also a stage actor and appeared in Born Yesterday, The Caine Mutiny, and in several other productions.

On television, Lowery was best known for the role of Big Tim Champion on the series Circus Boy (1956–1957).^[7] In 1956, he guest starred in "The Deadly Rock," an episode of The Adventures of Superman (which was the first time a Batman actor shared screen time with a Superman actor, although Lowery and Reeves had appeared together in their presuperhero days in the 1942 World War II anti-VD propaganda film, Sex Hygiene.) Lowery also had guest roles on Perry Mason, featured as murder victim Amos Bryant in "The Case of the Roving River" and as Andrew Collis in "The Case of the Provocative Protégé", Playhouse 90 ("The Helen Morgan Story"), Hazel, Cowboy G-Men, as Foxy Smith on Maverick in the 1959 episode "Full House" starring James Garner with Joel Grey as Billy the Kid, Tales of Wells Fargo, Rawhide, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, and Pistols 'n' Petticoats.

He made his last on-screen appearance in the 1967 comedy/Western film The Ballad of Josie, opposite Doris Day and Peter Graves.

He was married three times, to three actresses. Jean Parker and he had a son, Robert Lowery Hanks II, in 1952.^[5]

His other wives were Vivan Wilcox and Barbara "Rusty" Farrell, whom he married on March 21, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[8]

Lowery died of heart failure at the age of 58 in his Los Angeles apartment on December 26, 1971.^[9][10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Lowery.

• Robert Lowery at IMDb
• Robert Lowery and Jean Parker in The Navy Way from YouTube