Other names Charlie Robinson Occupation Actor, Director Name Charles Robinson | Ethnicity African-American Years active 1971–present Role Television actor | |
Born November 9, 1945 (age 78) ( 1945-11-09 ) Houston, Texas, U.S. Spouse Dolorita Noonan-Robinson (m. 1996) Nominations NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series Movies and TV shows Night Court, The Black Gestapo, Beowulf, Sugar Hill, Buffalo Bill Similar People Richard Moll, Marsha Warfield, Harry Anderson, Markie Post, Reinhold Weege | ||
Charles "Charlie" Robinson (born November 9, 1945) is a critically acclaimed African-American theater and television actor. He is best known for his role as Mac Robinson in the NBC sitcom Night Court. He played Macintosh "Mac" Robinson (Seasons 2–9), a Vietnam War veteran. Easy going and pragmatic, he was probably the most "normal" character. He had a good sense of humor (frequently having the last laugh at Dan), and was a loyal friend to his coworkers. He always wore a cardigan, plaid shirt, and a knit tie (Dan stated in his will that Mac would get all of his suits, so "he would stop wearing those God-awful sweaters"). His catchphrase was the lament "It was my favorite sweater!" after one of his garish cardigans got ruined. If he witnessed a problem, his usual first words were "Oh, my dear Lord!"
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Early Career
He has also been performing since the 1960s, is a member of the Actors Studio, and is considered by playwright Lyle Kessler to be "one of the great American Actors."
In his early career, he was a singer; as a teenager with the group Archie Bell and the Drells, and later with a group called Southern Clouds of Joy.
In the late 1960's, Charlie attended, and was enrolled in, Studio 7, an acting school operated by Chris Wilson at the Houston Music Theatre. He stayed with Chris when the school was moved to another location in Southwest Houston where mainly children's theatre was presented. Charlie was cast in a made for TV production and soon moved to the Hollywood area where his career took off.
Later Career
Robinson's credits include appearances in Black Gestapo, The White Shadow, Flamingo Road, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, "The Game, "Touched by an Angel, and Antwone Fisher. Robinson was cast in the role on Newdell in the NBC comedy Buffalo Bill. Not the hit it was expected to be, Buffalo Bill was canceled after one season and replaced by Night Court. Robinson was cast as court clerk Mac Robinson, after the first season in 1984, when Karen Austin, who played the original court clerk, left the cast. Robinson played the role on Night Court from 1984 until its end in 1992. He also directed three episodes of the series. From 1992 to 1995, Robinson co-starred on the sitcom Love & War, replacing John Hancock who died a few episodes into the series run. Robinson played recurrent character Bud Harper in Home Improvement, and has appeared in many other television shows including House, The Bernie Mac Show, My Wife and Kids, Soul Food, Charmed, How I Met Your Mother and My Name Is Earl.
He has done commercial work for NEXTEL. He was asking a worker if he's "agitating my dots" after he walks in on two other dispatchers staring at the dots, which represented delivery workers, on a computer screen.
2000 - 2010
In 2010, Robinson worked at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and co-starred in the film on Jackson (2008) which was directed by J.F. Lawton. Robinson appeared as "Troy" in August Wilson's Fences at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, CA from January 22, 2010 until February 21, 2010.
In 2014 and 2015, Robinson appeared in television commercials for Aspen Dental as the "taco Tuesday" guy.
Awards & Nominations
Robinson received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.