Robert Stack

He is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California. His daughter is actress Zoe Wanamaker. He died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles in May 2003. Sadly, he died of cancer before it opened in 1997. Stack had undergone radiation therapy for prostate cancer in October 2002. Wanamaker was instrumental in rebuilding the Globe Theatre in London. In 1996 he lent his voice as Agent Fleming in Beavis and Butthead Do America. He later began a long-standing affair with actress Jan Sterling.

He began hosting Unsolved Mysteries in 1988, where his deep, ominous voice and expressionless face lent an authentic seriousness to the show's dark subject matter. He settled in England, where he continued his career on the stage and in pictures. His role on the show brought Stack a best actor Emmy Award in 1960. Born in Chicago, Wanamaker left the States in the late 1940s because he thought he might be blacklisted due to his leftist convictions (see McCarthyism). The show portrayed the ongoing battle between gangsters and federal agents in a Prohibition-era Chicago. Sam Wanamaker (June 14, 1919 - December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director. Stack depicted the crimefighting Eliot Ness in the television drama The Untouchables from 1959 to 1963.

Known for his steadfast, humorless demeanor, he made fun of his own persona in comedies such as 1941 (1979), Airplane! (1980), Caddyshack II (1988), and Baseketball (1998). He starred in more than 40 films, including The Iron Glove (1954); Good Morning Miss Dove (1955) and Is Paris Burning? (1966). In 1957, Stack was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Written on the Wind. During World War II, Stack served as gunnery instructor in the United States Navy.

'Gee, that sounds keen,' I told him. I got the part.". Recalled Stack, "He said 'How'd you like to be in pictures? We'll make a test with Helen Parrish, a little love scene.' Helen Parrish was a beautiful girl. When Stack visited the set of Universal Studios at age 20, producer Joe Pasternak offered him an opportunity to enter the business. His deep voice and good looks attracted producers in Hollywood.

Stack took drama courses at the University of Southern California. He became fluent in French and Italian at an early age, but he did not learn English until returning to Los Angeles. Stack was born in Los Angeles, California but spent his early childhood growing up in Europe. Robert Stack (January 13, 1919 - May 14, 2003), born Robert Langford Modini, was an American actor famous for his film acting as well as his role in the television series The Untouchables and as host of Unsolved Mysteries.