Richard F. Rober was born Richard Steven Rauber in Rochester, New York, on May 14, 1906, to Frederick S. Rauber, an attorney, and Elizabeth Ford. From the mid-1930s to the early 1950s, he appeared in numerous theatre productions and films. In 1937, Robert was elected to The Lambs.
A graduate of the University of Rochester, Rober began his acting career with a small role in a Lyceum Players production starring Louis Calhern. He later performed with nearly every major repertory theatre company on the East Coast. After joining the original Chicago company of Born Yesterday, he went on to appear in the original Broadway run of Oklahoma!, replacing Howard De Silva as Jud Fry.
In 1947, Rober moved west to Hollywood, making his screen debut in Call Northside 777 (1948). Over the next several years, he worked steadily—primarily in B-movies such as Sierra (1950)—as well as in notable film-noir dramas including The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) and The Well (1951). By July 1951, reports noted that he had appeared in 26 films in just three and a half years.
Rober was married twice. His second marriage, in January 1946, was to Mary Hay Barthelmess, the daughter of actors Richard Barthelmess and Mary Hay. He was 40 at the time; she was 23. The marriage later ended in divorce.
Rober died following a car accident in the San Fernando Valley on May 26, 1952. He had been driving with actress Norma Britton when the car swerved off the highway in heavy fog and plunged over a 75-foot embankment. Both were taken to Santa Monica Hospital, where Rober died a few hours later; Britton survived with rib injuries. The accident bore an uncanny resemblance to a car-crash scene Rober had filmed with Barbara Stanwyck in The File on Thelma Jordon.
Richard Rober is interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York.
–Researched by Lamb, Bruce Roberts