One multiplication knows him as Eliot Ness , the relentless literal - aliveness lawman pursuingAl Caponein the popular 1960s idiot box dramaThe Untouchables . Another might recognize him as one of several spectacular histrion used to great amusing consequence in 1980’sAirplane!But for most mass , Robert Stack will forever be known as the server ofUnsolved Mysteries , the compelling true criminal offence serial publication that ran on NBC from 1987 to 1997 and then in various iteration on other web .
For all his art as the fount and voice ofUnsolved Mysteries , Stack , who died in 2003 , was a career actor with a long and storied ground . As fan of his trademark show gear up fornew installmentson Netflix beginning July 1 , we ’re have a look at some of the most compelling Stack facts .
1. Robert Stack didn’t learn to speak English until he was 7 years old.
Robert Langford Stack was bear in Los Angeles on January 13 , 1919 to father James and mother Elizabeth , Stack was a fifth - generationCalifornianbut became a vernal man of the world early . After his parentsdivorcedwhen he was 3 years old , he stay on with his female parent and moved with her to Europe so she couldstudyopera . There , he learned both French and Italian as a nestling . English was his third language , one he did n’t learn until he was 7 year sure-enough after return to California when his parent had resign .
2. Robert Stack was a national skeet shooting champion.
In high school , and later while see the University of Southern California , Stack was heavilyinvolvedin athletic contest . He was on the school ’s polo squad and had also established himself as a internal champ in skeet shot , the sport that call for using firearms to target clay skeets . At 16 , Stack was amemberof the All - American Skeet Rifle Team , setting two world records and becoming the National Skeet Champion . At USC , Stack affix his sports pursuit with drama classes , give him his first taste of performing . While stand off to one side of the stage at a talent show , a endowment picket for Universal draw close Stack andsignedhim to a studio apartment contract bridge .
Later , actor and category friendClark Gableencouraged Stack to get into acting and to utilise any index or influence drawn from the profession to help people . “ If you kick people around , ” Gable told him , “ I ’m going to kick you . ”
3. World War II changed Robert Stack’s career.
Stack made his filmdebutin 1939’sFirst Love , give popular adolescent actress Deanna Durbin her first onscreen kiss . Because of Durbin ’s fame , the romantic interludecreateda lot of promotion for Stack . Other function follow , including one as a Nazi in 1940’sThe Mortal Stormand 1942’sTo Be or Not to Be . While these early roles — even as a phallus of the Reich — feature Stack ’s boylike demeanor , serving as a gunnery police officer and teacher during World War II shaved much of the teenaged spell off his screen presence . When he returned to oeuvre following the war , Stack settled into his now - familiar screen persona of a strong say-so figure .
4. Robert Stack was in the very first 3D movie.
Though stereoscopic movie thatcreatedan illusion of astuteness had been in circulation since the turn of the 20th one C , 1952’sBwana Devilis believed to have been thefirstfeature - distance 3D color movie , a exploit accomplished by using engineering dubbed " Natural Vision . " InBwana Devil , Stack playact Jock Howard , a railroad worker desperate to capture the man - eating lions menace the construction of a railway system in Africa . The film helped kick off the brief 3D picture furore of the fifties that take to audiences get into polarize genus Lens , often for horror film like André De Toth’sHouse of Wax(1953 ) .
5. Desi Arnaz asked Robert Stack to take on the role of Eliot Ness.
In the late 1950s , I Love Lucystar and Desilu carbon monoxide gas - owner Desi Arnaz , hubby of Lucille Ball , approachedStack to asterisk as famous 1930s lawman Eliot Ness inThe Untouchables . Stack , who felt doing television set might damage his moving-picture show career — he had evenearnedan Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1956’sWritten on the Wind — initially turned it down . Hethoughtthe title was “ unintelligent ” and interest what would become of the show once Ness captured nemesis Al Capone . But once he read scripts for the series , he changed his idea .
The tough , no - frills Ness at last became Stack ’s signature role . The show was so popular that a catch phrase , “ Call Eliot Ness ! , ” entered the dictionary . In the UK , where the show was extremely pop , teen take to wearing the pinstripe suits and fedoras favored by the onscreen gangsters . Stack was even approached on the street by multitude he assumed were actual criminals , whoinsistedthat they would make serious thespian on the show .
The series aired from 1959 until 1963 . Stack later reprize the character in an NBC goggle box flick , The Return of Eliot Ness , in 1991 .
6. Robert Stack wasn’t too thrilled about Kevin Costner playing Eliot Ness.
In 1987 , a few years before Stack return to the role of Ness , a big - concealment adaptation ofThe Untouchablespremiered with Kevin Costner as the peace officer andRobert De Niroas Al Capone . ab initio , Stack was slightly annoyed by the cast . “ They got a bright young actor to play Ness , which at first pee-pee me off , ” StacktoldThe Los Angeles Timesin 1991 . Stack eventually realized the photographic film kept Ness on the minds of the public , allowing him to revive his own version for the TV movie in 1991 .
7. Robert Stack once participated in a magic trick for David Copperfield.
Before his mullet - invest success in the 1980s , David Copperfield was still a bit of an unsung good in 1979 when he asked several renown , including Robert Stack , toparticipatein hisMagic of David Copperfieldspecial for CBS . In the cartridge clip above , you may see Stack being amazed by Copperfield force a cigarette through a coin .
8. Robert Stack got a little annoyed with NBC overUnsolved Mysteries.
Unsolved Mysterieswas an other and secure hit for NBC . With Stack host and narrating reenactment of tale involving offence , lost loves , miss heirs , amnesia , and the paranormal , spectator were addict on the show ’s ability to present a compelling write up and then romance their aid in solving a case . ( “ Perhaps you may help solve a closed book , ” Stack intoned . ) But in 1995 , Stack was annoyed to see thatUnsolved Mysterieswas being move from its Wednesday clock time slot to different evening , prompting muddiness among watcher who thought the show had been canceled .
Stack even sent in a response to theLos Angeles Timesreacting to a vital clause about the show winding down and charge to the programming confusion . “ The bottom descent is we unfeignedly have become an ‘ Unsolved Mystery ’ to our looker , ” Stack wrote . He also pointed out the show was up 43 per centum in viewing audience on Friday nights compared to prior NBC computer programming . Unsolved Mysteriesremained on the air with Stack host through 2002 .
