Published November 9, 2024
By Arlis Dittmer
Robert Edgar Randall was born in Quincy in 1904. His parents were from Quincy, but they ran away as teenagers and married in St. Louis. The marriage did not last. They divorced in 1913. His father later served as a Sergeant in the 331st Tank Corps Battalion in World War I, dying in 1928 of tuberculosis and the lasting effects of gas poisoning during the war.
He acted under the names, Robert Livingston, Bob Livingston, and Robert Randall. He was mostly known as Bob Livingston. As a child, he attended Chaddock Military School, later called Chaddock Boy’s School, until he and his mother moved to Chicago. California beckoned Robert as a teenager and he left Chicago. In California, he held various jobs. He worked on an oil tanker and as a cowhand in the Simi Valley before getting his start in movies.
Robert Livingston’s younger brother Addison Owen Randall, known as Jack, also became an actor. He remained in Quincy when his mother and brother moved to Chicago. He attended Chaddock and Quincy Public Schools. He worked as a “cub” reporter for the local newspapers with his sports writer father.
His good looks and personality plus his ability as a stunt rider got him movie work beginning in 1935. He was also well known romantically as he married beautiful famous women. In a 1939 visit to Quincy, the July 9 Quincy Herald Whig said, “Mr. Randall is a perfect type for the dashing hero roles which he plays.” His wife at the time, the actress Louise Stanley also had Quincy connections. Jack Randall acted in western movies and in some he was known as the singing cowboy. He was killed while riding his horse at a high speed on a movie set in Canoga Park, California in 1945.
According to eyewitness accounts he lost his hat, reached for it, his foot fell out of a stirrup, and he ran into a tree, dying almost instantly. The Associated Press as quoted in the July 17, 1945 Quincy Herald Whig said, ”Jack Randall rode to his death on a movie set… .” He appeared in 35 films.
Jack’s brother Bob Livingston was in many more films during his long career. Bob got his first film work as an extra at 17 in 1921. His early roles were often uncredited. His filmography lists 31 uncredited roles between 1921 and 1936. Several of those early films were silent even though talking pictures debuted in 1927 with the Jazz Singer. He played 11 small, credited roles during those years. He was “discovered” by MGM while doing a play at the Pasadena Playhouse. He had many film tests and small roles at MGM. He switched to Republic Pictures where he gained stardom in Westerns.
Republic Pictures was organized in 1935. It was composed of several smaller studios known as Poverty Row in Hollywood slang. Those studios produced films with smaller budgets and lower production values. Many of the films were serial westerns and crime dramas. The studio ceased production in 1967.
Many years later Bob expressed regret leaving MGM for Republic Pictures. He was at MGM for two years and appeared in 18 films, but he did not feel his career was going anywhere. He moved to Republic where he became well known as a cowboy hero. In hindsight, he wondered if he would have had more serious leading man roles at MGM.
At Republic, he starred as Zorro in the 1936 The Bold Caballero. He appeared in another largely forgotten 1936 film series called The Vigilantes Are Coming. The improbable story was about ranchers fighting Cossacks who were attempting to take over California and make it a Russian colony. The film serial appeared in twelve episodes. A serial is a motion picture form of short episodes that would play each week until the story is complete.
Bob Livingston is most famous for the serial Three Mesquiteers which was released in 1936 and continued to 1943. He played the first Stony Brooke in 28 episodes of the series which was later played by John Wayne in eight episodes.
Then came the role Bob liked the most when he played the Lone Ranger in the 1939 serial, The Lone Ranger Rides Again. There were 15 episodes to the serial running from 16 to 28 minutes each.
Bob Livingston was asked to be the parade marshal for the 10th Dogwood Festival in 1979. The committee held a reception for him on Wednesday evening at the Ramada Inn and an autograph session, held in Washington Park immediately after the Saturday parade. It was a busy week for him in Quincy. He also visited Chaddock, attended the Prairie Ball at the Quincy College Student Center, and the Bob Livingston Film Festival at Emerson School.
A surprise reunion occurred at the Prairie Ball when his former co-star June Travis appeared. Quincy friends had invited Miss Travis and her husband, Fred Friedlob, to the Ball to see Bob. They had appeared together in three films, Circus Girl in 1937, the Night Hawk, and Federal Man-Hunt in 1938. She retired from movies after 32 film roles but continued to do radio programs and plays until her death in 2008.
Bob received the Golden Boot award from his friend and fellow actor, Gene Autry in 1987. Beginning in 1983, the award went to people who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in films and television.
Bob retired in 1958 as his roles had turned him into an older character actor. He appeared in 136 films, 47 of which were leading roles and all, but a handful, were westerns. He also occasionally appeared on television and in the 1970s appeared in three sexploitation films. One Republic director said he was the best actor of all cowboy stars.
Bob Livingston was married five times, and he had one son whom he named after his brother. He died at 83 in 1988 and is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, near his brother Jack, in Glendale, California.
Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history.
Sources:
“Addison Randall Rides To His Death On A Movie Set.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 17, 1945, 10.
Bradshaw, Bill. “Surprise! Livingston Reunited With Former Co-star June Travis.” Quincy Herald Whig, May 5, 1979, 3.
“Dogwood Festival Opens Saturday.” Quincy Herald Whig, April 27, 1979, 8.
“Former Quincyan, Star Robert Livingston Dies At 83 in Tarzana.” Quincy Herald Whig, March 12, 1988, 8.
“Hollywood Stars Visit Here.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 9, 1939, 4.
“Hollywood’s Quincyans To Be Honored In Exhibit.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 5, 1978, 16A.
“The Lone Ranger Rides Again.” Quincy Herald Whig, April 29, 1979, 45.
Robert Livingston – Biography – IMDb
Rowen, Terry. Who’s Who in Hollywood. Lulu.com, 2015.
Sobol, Ronald L. “Robert Livingston, 83; 1930s Cowboy Film Hero.” Los Angeles Times, March 8, 1988.
