ROBERT, TOUGH AND TENDER

Bob told me that Laughton, who spent years concealing his homosexuality, chided him gently over the publicity he had received from the "hamburger" article. "Bobby," he wheezed, "all of us have skeletons in our closets, but most of us stand by the closet humming a distracting tune while trying to edge the skeletons back into hiding by pushing them ever so surreptitiously with a foot. But you, Bobby! You drag your skeletons into the open and rattle them so all the world can see. You, Robert, must stop rattling your own skeletons."

***

Bob showed me a letter he had received from a man in Marked Tree,Arkansas. The writer told Bob that he needed $10,000 immediately.

"If you don't send it to me," the letter continued, "I hope you die of the cancer."

That's a hell of a way to start your day. Bob had no connection whatsoever with the sick bastard whom I considered ripe for a mental institution. So much for the "glamour" of having a great deal of money.

***

In 1957, Bob did a memorable John Huston movie with Deborah Kerr, "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison." Bob played a tough Marine stranded on a Japanese-held island with Deborah, who portrayed a nun. Bob genuinely loved Deborah for her innate gentility and her inner beauty. After working with her in the mid-1980s in the TV-cable movie "Retum to Fairborough," he told me that he still considers her the apex of the many stars with whom he has starred.

"Heaven Knows" was made on Tobago in the West Indies on very rough terrain. At one point Bob noticed that Deborah's feet were hurt­ing her painfully. He knelt down, un­tied her shoes, took them off and kneaded her feet tenderly. She almost wept when, after gently replacing her shoes, he said, "Gotta have you around for the next shot."

This was after he crawled four times through stinging nettles to get a shot John Huston wanted done to perfec­tion. Bob's bare chest and arms oozed with blood; Huston wanted to know why in hell he hadn't told him of the ordeal.

Bob's reply was terse: "That's the shot you wanted, wasn't it?"

Huston marvelled at him. Bob was matter of-fact; he wasn't play­ing to an audience. He was just doing his job.

***

In 1956 Bob went to Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean with Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth to make "Fire Down Below," a Colum­bia picture sandwiched between "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" and "The Enemy Below." Brother Robert started going on one tear after another, and got so drunk that he beat the hell out of two American sailors. Dorothy flew down to Tobago to put the lid on his roistering. It was no small chore for her to settle him down, but she accomplished it well enough to get the show finished-without any more head bashings and bloody knuckles.

***

When we were children in Delaware, our uncle would often take us to the

Atlantic Ocean at Bowers Beach, twelve miles from the Woodside Farm. Once, on the beach, I saw a small sand shark lying dead near the water's edge. Brimming with scientific curiosity, I thrust a small stick into its anal aperture-an incident that years later Bob would retell, his imagination truly reaching Andean heights.

In 1957 I played a very small part in "Operation Mad Ball," a zany military comedy starring Jack Lemmon. I wondered why Lemmon was always staring at me. I should have known: Brother Robert. A few months earlier, while shooting "Fire Down Below," he had walked the white coral sands of Tobago with Lemmon on a beautiful Sunday morning.

"Look at all of this," crowed Robert. "Azure sky, cobalt sea, white sands, green palms. Why, we're doing what we like to do, getting paid well, and working in Paradise."

Jack wasn't buying it. He offered guardedly, "We have to do water scenes.

At night."

"So?"

"There're sharks out there," Lemmon quavered. 'We have to work in the water with sharks."

Bob waved that off. "Sharks, schmarks. I've got a brother who screws 'em!

"My God!" Jack was astounded. 'You're kidding!"

"No I'm not." Bob had him now. "My brother and I were at a party on Catalina Island and it got to be dullsville. I suggested we swim ashore to Malibu and catch some action there. We dove into the water and, several hours later, were within sight of the Malibu pier. Suddenly, in the moonlight, I saw a great dorsal fin appear and head straight for my brother. 'Oh, dear God,' I prayed, 'save him!'

"Not to worry. Brother John reached up with his left hand, grabbed that big fin and hauled himself aboard the shark. He started diddling the beast with his right hand and-before you knew it-the two were in love. A great wave caught them offguard, heaving them onto the sand. When I got ashore, John was astride the creature in full control. I swear the great shark tumed her head back to him and grinned her approval."

I had forgotten Bob's tall tale until Lemmon's attomey called me on the phone to ask verification for Jack's autobiography. He wanted to know if the tale was true. I laughed and set the record straight.

I've kicked myself ever since then. I could have set another record: In "The Guinness Book of Records."

***

While in the Caribbean, Bob, as usual, spent most of his spare time with the native people. The recording world was delighted to find that he could sing calypso like a native, and Capitol recorded a disc that was very successful. It was no great surprise to me. After all. we had harmonized our way into the hearts of those Alabama folks on Shades Mountain.

***

"The Enemy Below" (1958), directed by actor Dick Powell, was a tremen­dous picture in that Bob and Curt Jurgens brought the sea war of World War II into a microcosm of human courage and valor under great stress. Bob portrayed the commander of a U.S. destroyer in pursuit of a U-boat captained by Jurgens. It was the first picture of Doug McClure (who would later star on TVs "The Virginian"), whom Bob had affectionately dubbed "Hammerhead." Around the set Bob quietly became a mentor for the neophyte actor.

When they were returning by car to their respective hotels one evening, an assistant director turned abruptly to McClure, informing him that he was finished with his scenes and that his plane was leaving Honolulu Airport at eight o'clock that night. Bob looked at Doug to see tears coming into his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Doug cried. "My parents are flying in tonight to spend my birthday with me."

'Tough shit," snarled the assistant. 'You're through, and that's that." "Driver, stop the car," ordered Bob.

"What?"

"Stop the car!"

The car lurched to the curb.

"You," Bob said, "get out!"

"What?" The assistant couldn't believe it.

"Get out before I knock you out!"

The assistant got out.

When the car moved on, Bob turned to Doug and handed him a set of keys. "Here," he said. 'These're to my suite. Use 'em as long as you like." "What about you?" McClure asked.

"Oh," Robert answered cheerily, "I imagine that somewhere on this island, someone might take in a stranger."