Probably the first time I've seen Robert Stack was when he portrayed Rex Kramer in the 1980 disaster parody Airplane!. I didn't realize who he was at the time until I started watching "Unsolved Mysteries" in fall 2002, almost around the same time I started watching one of my fave shows "Alias". I got interested in "Unsolved Mysteries" when, during an online chat in mid-2002, a friend of mine mentioned "Unsolved Mysteries" as one of his favorite shows. I have heard of that show but never watched it. So, one night on a lark, I watched the show on Lifetime and I've been hooked ever since.
I began to look up on all things related to "Unsolved Mysteries" from what cases have been solved or yet to be solved to the show's host Robert Stack. On the latter, I was amazed to learn how a versatile actor he was. Upon learning this, I finally realized that I did actually see him in Airplane! and when I rewatched the film, not only did it become one of my favorite movies, I found him hilarious!
Last November, when my parents and I visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I bought Stack's 1980 autobiography "Straight Shooting" at a bookstore that specialized in movie-related books. I read it and loved it instantly. (As of this writing, I'm nearly finished reading the book.) By that time, I was so caught up on "Unsolved Mysteries", every time I watched it, even if it was a rerun, I would get chills from some of the cases on the show, the eerie music, and most of all, the voice and presence of Stack. Sometime ago, when my mum and I watched "Unsolved Mysteries" during my spring break this year, I told her that his voice is the kind that (as a newspaper article put it) brings up images of bench warrants bearing your name. I added that considering he is best known as Eliot Ness in tv's "The Untouchables", that's very appropriate. Mum told me she was going to say that, since she had seen him in "The Untouchables" long time ago.
Then, on the morning of May 15, 2003, I went to Sitcoms Online Message Boards -- Unsolved Mysteries and the first topic posted was Robert Stack died. At first, I thought I read it wrong but I soon learned otherwise. I cried for several minutes but it seemed like a long time. I was able to get through the rest of the day but I was still devasted by the loss. It was very hard to tell my family and friends about this.
Even if I never had the chance to meet you, I feel I've known you for a long time. I miss you very much, Robert Stack. We will remember you.
"Join me, for an intriguing edition of 'Unsolved Mysteries'." -- Robert Stack
Quotes on Robert Stack
“The truth is he lived 84 golden years....
He was a golden boy who became a golden man. Nobody lived a better life that I know of than Bob."
"[He had a] wonderful sense of absurd humor. His greatest laughs were always at himself.
There was a lightness to him that was just remarkable."
-- both quotes said by John Milius, writer-director and long-time friend of the Stacks
"[Bob was] a consummate professional. He was very admired by his fellow actors. You knew he was going to
give you everything he could give you. He was raised the standard in every way. As a human being,
he was a true gentleman and a man of great integrity."
-- actor Robert Wagner
"[Bob] had an extraordinary career in both movies and television. Just when it seemed he was ready
to retire, he always found a new project that kept him busy and filled with wonderful stories.”
-- Nancy Reagan
"Bob inhabited that role. It was flawless. He was Eliot Ness, and we just followed his lead."
"He's one of the last great stars of Hollywood. He remained on top all
those years and was well respected."
-- both quotes said by Paul Picerni, who portrayed federal agent Lee Hobson in the tv series, "The Untouchables"
"He was crucial to the show ["Unsolved Mysteries"], an element as integral to it as the color blue to the sky."
-- John Cosgrove, "Unsolved Mysteries" creator and executive producer
Quotes from Stack himself
Excerpt from Robert Stack's autobiography "Straight Shooting"
"If you're a star you go through the front door carrying the roses, instead of through the back door carrying the garbage."
"As a matter of national survival, we need to do the best we can to sponsor the good guys and to do something active about bringing down the bad guys."
"I think there's a definite carry-over from Eliot Ness. Somebody once said, 'You really think you're Eliot Ness.' No, I don't think I'm Ness, but I sure as hell know I'm not Al Capone.'"
"It's not what you are in Hollywood - it's what people think you are."
(on being in show business) "It's tough. It's like being a member of a club, this profession. And you're kind of invited in and you hope that your invitation holds out for good."
"If I were missing and if I were to describe myself to investigators, well, the guy looks like Eliot Ness, he's driving a '32 Ford, and he's carrying a machine gun."
(on being presented the Hollywood Legend Award in 2001) "I'm no legend. When I hear the word legend, I think about the guys I knew and respected mightily when I
grew up: Clark Gable, who was basically my surrogate father after my dad died when I was 9, and Gary Cooper and Spencer
Tracy. These guys were legends."
(when mobster Sam Giancana mistakened Stack as Eliot Ness) "If you play a character long enough, you become that character in the eyes of viewers.
But here's Public Enemy No. 1, head of Murder, Inc., and he thinks I'm the real Eliot Ness! It can't get any
goofier."
Tribute Ads and Links
Tribute from Cosgrove-Meurer Productions
Cosgrove-Meurer Productions is the production company for "Unsolved Mysteries"
Tribute from NBC
NBC is the television studio that carried "Unsolved Mysteries" from 1987 to 1997. Please note this ad was
scanned at very low resolution, giving it a low quality apperance and the actual ad is in much better quality.
If anyone has a high quality scan of NBC's memoriam to Robert Stack, please email me.
The quote right under the main picture on this page is taken from that memoriam.
Fan Art
Eliot
June 28, 2004
Medium: Pencil
One of three drawings of Robert Stack as Eliot Ness. The first two attempts were not quite as good as the
third attempt linked here.
