RIP Cliff Robertson

POSTED BY: cljohnston108
UPDATED: Monday, September 12, 2011 01:46
VIEWED: 5910
PAGE 1 of 1

CLJOHNSTON108

Sunday, September 11, 2011 6:01 PM

Okay, this is spooky: Cliff Robertson turned 88 on 9/9/11, died on 9/10/11, and had been flying his plane directly over the WTC on 9/11/01 when the first plane hit!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Robertson

http://www.cliffrobertson.info/aviation2.htm

Quote:
However, when he's not in a hurry, he prefers flying his twin-engine Baron, which he's had for over 20 years, because he can give himself two days, taking time to stop along the way at "a little pokey airport" to reacquaint himself with his country. He happened to be flying the Baron on Sept. 11, 2001.

" I was the only guy flying right over that holocaust, at least that I know of, when it all happened," he said. "I was flying alone, on the way to the West Coast. I got right over the World Trade Center, climbing at 7,000 feet. I looked down and suddenly saw this great big column of smoke puff up. I didn't see the plane, because by that time it was inside the building. I just thought it was an explosion of some kind."
Robertson said that after he had climbed to 8,500 feet, and leveled off, the other plane hit.

" Again, I didn't see what caused it, but the air traffic controller came on and I gave my call number," he said. "They said, 'We have a national emergency. Land at the nearest available airport.' I'd never heard that in all the years I'd been flying. I was hermetically sealed for three and a half days in beautiful downtown Allentown. I couldn’t take my plane out. I finally got out on a commercial flight. Later, my buddy Craig McCaw had one of his pilots, who was out on the East Coast, fly the airplane back to me. I was up giving a talk at an aviation conference in Oregon.”

________________________

"Spry for a dead fella!"

MALSDOXY

Sunday, September 11, 2011 6:34 PM

was a big fan ever since Autumn Leaves and PT-109
He will be missed

"Haven't you killed me enough for one day ?"
- Mal, War Stories

WHOZIT

Sunday, September 11, 2011 7:19 PM

WOW! I'm sorry to read this, RIP Cliff

PIRATENEWS

Sunday, September 11, 2011 10:43 PM

Funny how Cliff wasn't dodging F16s with 10 airliners reportedly hijacked at that time.

If it weren't for Cheney/Rummy's stand down order, Cliff might have been shot down in the kill zone.

As a pilot, I wonder what Cliff had to say about that?

TWO

Monday, September 12, 2011 12:05 AM

Relevant to Firefly fans, Cliff Robertson, in Brainstorm (1983), was sneakily developing telepathy as a military weapon. There was also a Brainstorm tape recording that would reveal an awe inspiring secret, same as the Miranda recording.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

CLJOHNSTON108

Monday, September 12, 2011 12:26 AM

Wow, all these replies and I never got a single email notification.
Been watchin' my Inbox the whole dang day!

JONGSSTRAW

Monday, September 12, 2011 12:47 AM

Cliff did a great job in the pilot episode of the original Outer Limits which aired 9/16/63.

He also had a great role in the original Twilight Zone as an un-suspecting time traveller.

BUP

Monday, September 12, 2011 1:27 AM

RIP Mr. Robertson.

ECGORDON

Monday, September 12, 2011 1:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cljohnston108:
Wow, all these replies and I never got a single email notification.

That's funny, since I get notification even when I unclick the "Notify Me" box when I post anything.

Cliff Robertson was one of those actors that did great work throughout his career and yet never quite made it to true star status. I think he deserved the Oscar he received for Charly, and in case anyone hasn't read the story it's based on, you need to check out the original novella version of Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon." It was later expanded to novel length, but I think the shorter version is superior. Cliff also played the same character on TV in 1961's "The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon."

Quite a few other SF and Fantasy roles in his career. Rod Brown of the Rocket Rangers, two episodes of Twilight Zone, one each for the original and the revived Outer Limits, four episodes of Batman as the villain Shame, Brainstorm, Escape from LA, The 13th Child, along with the Spider-Man films.

Oh, and thanks to MalsDoxy for mentioning Autumn Leaves. I don't know anyone else who has ever seen that.