Ann Robinson obit

Ann Robinson, Star of ‘The War of the Worlds,’ Dies at 96

The onetime stuntwoman got more mileage out of the 1953 sci-fi movie than "Vivien Leigh did on 'Gone With the Wind,'" she once said. 

She was not on the list.

Ann Robinson, the red-haired actress who was memorably menaced by Martians in the spectacular 1953 sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds, has died. She was 96.

Robinson died Sept. 26 at her home in Los Angeles, her granddaughter, Tori Bravo, told The Hollywood Reporter. Her death had not been publicly revealed until now.

Born in Hollywood, Robinson had broken into the movies as a stunt performer and was an inexperienced contract player at Paramount Pictures when she auditioned for producer and effects wiz George Pal and then cast as library science teacher Sylvia Van Buren in War of the Worlds.

In the Oscar-winning film, based on the H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel, Sylvia and Pacific Tech professor Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) try to figure out a way to defeat Martians who have landed in a small town outside Los Angeles and all over the planet, employing a fantastic heat-ray to inflict widespread destruction.

“The nations of the world mobilize their armed might rushing to defend the Earth against the unknown weapon of the super race from the Red Planet!” the narrator on the movie trailer exclaims. “Is there nothing that can stop the Martians’ death machines?”

In one creepy scene, a Martian places his long, skinny fingers on the shoulder of an unsuspecting Sylvia, but Clayton comes to the rescue and kills the creature with a hatchet.

“I always thought, ‘This guy might have been nice! Maybe we ruined a chance for peace because Gene Barry got overzealous and threw that hatchet,'” a playful Robinson told Tom Weaver in an interview for his 1994 book, Attack of the Monster Movie Makers.

“This Martian was just coming up behind me to tap me on the shoulder — he wasn’t aggressive, he wasn’t mean. Of course, the Martians had blown my uncle apart, along with a bunch of other people, but maybe this guy was the nice one who wanted to negotiate.”

Steven Spielberg invited Robinson and Barry to reprise that scene in his 2005 version of War of the Worlds, starring Tom Cruise.

“Steven was just so adorable,” she told Nick Thomas in 2016. “He came up behind me, squatted down and placed three fingers on my left shoulder and yelled, ‘Someone take my picture!’ Apparently, War of the Worlds was one of his favorite films growing up.

“They treated me like royalty,” she added. “My son, who was with me, told me he heard people saying, ‘She’s here, she’s here!’ after we arrived on the set. Then for the Ziegfeld Theater premiere, they flew me to New York first class, put me up in a beautiful hotel overlooking Central Park and arranged for a limousine to drive my family around. I waited 60 years to get that treatment!”

Robinson also played Sylvia on a few episodes of a 1988-90 War of the Worlds syndicated TV series.

“I’ve gotten more mileage out of War of the Worlds than Vivien Leigh did on Gone With the Wind,” she told Weaver.

 

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Poster for 50th anniversary rerelease, 1 sheet movie poster app. 27" x 40"

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Thanks

The Sky Is Falling: Making 'the War of the Worlds' (2005)

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special thanks

2005

 

Self

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6.1

Video

Self

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Self

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7.2

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1995

 

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8.8

TV Series

Self

1995

1 episode

 

The Famous Monsters 1993 World Convention Souvenir Video (1993)

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Video

Self

1993

 

John Matuszak in Hollywood Beat (1993)

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Self

1993–2005

 

Amazing Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy (1991)

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Video

Self

1991

 

The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1986)

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Self

1986

 

A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954)

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Self - Host Assistant

1954

 

Lux Video Theatre (1950)

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7.4

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1953

1 episode

 

Archive Footage

UFO Files (2004)

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6.9

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2005

1 episode

 

Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005)

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6.8

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2005

 

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8.2

Video

(archive footage)

1985

 

The Horror Show (1979)

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7.7

TV Movie

Self (archive footage)

1979

 

The Cold Sun

4.3

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Queen Juliandra (archive footage)

1956

 

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2.7

TV Movie

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1956

 

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3.9

TV Movie

Queen JuliandraNoviandra (archive footage)

1956