What happened to “Airplane!” Star – Robert Hays? Net Worth

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Where is Robert Hays now? Wiki Bio

Robert Hays was born in Bethesda, Maryland USA, on 24 July 1947 – his zodiac sign is Leo and he holds American nationality. He is an actor, perhaps still best known for his portrayal of the lead character Ted Striker in the parody movie “Airplane!” in 1980, directed and written by Jim Abrahams and which also starred Julie Hagerty and the late Leslie Nielsen. The film follows a man scared of airplanes who has to land a plane after its pilots pass out – it won two awards and was nominated for seven others, including one Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.

There have been rumors circulating the internet that Robert has retired from acting, but these have been proven false. However, he is offered only a few roles because of his age, 73 in 2020.

Early life and education

Robert was raised in Bethesda as an only child in a middle-class family – both his parents worked hard to put food on the table. Robert became interested in acting while attending high school, and was a member of the school’s drama club, while also practicing his acting skills at a local theatre. Although he hasn’t talked about his education, it is widely believed that Robert attended college and that he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in 1969. Before moving to Los Angeles, Robert was living in San Diego where he was acting at a local theatre, and appeared on the stage of the legendary Old Globe Theatre multiple times.

Robert officially launched his acting career in 1975, when he played Darren Weeks in the episode “The Deep Blue Sleep” of the TV detective series “The Rockford Files”.

Roles in TV series

The year 1976 saw him appear in single episodes of six TV shows, including the crime series “The Streets of San Francisco”, the comedy series “Laverne & Shirley” and another crime series “Most Wanted”. He gained recognition in 1979 when he was cast to play the main character Brad Benson in all 36 episodes of the comedy series “Angie”, which also starred Donna Pescow and Sharon Spelman, and was about the marriage between Angie and Brad Benson – the series won Donna a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical.

His next notable performance was in the romantic science fiction series “Starman” in 1984, in which he starred as Paul Forrester in all 22 episodes, while the series also starred Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, and followed an alien travelling in a car from Wisconsin to Arizona.

In 1989, Robert portrayed Ted Costas in 13 episodes of the comedy series “FM”, which follows a man who has problems with women – it won Patrick Williams (composer) a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. The year 1993 saw Robert portray the lead character Joe Polachek in the comedy series “Cutters”, but which ended after airing only five episodes, then in 1994 he voiced Tony Stark (Iron Man) in all 26 episodes of the animated superhero series “Iron Man”, created by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and which also starred John Reilly and Jim Cummings – although the series wasn’t successful, it later led to the creation of the today’s popular movie franchise “Ironman”.

Robert went on to star in the pilot episode of the series “Guys Like Us” in 1996, but which failed to be picked up by a network, then voiced Iron Man in the episode “Helping Hands, Iron Fist” of the animated superhero series “The Incredible Hulk”.

He reprised his role as Iron Man for the third time in six episodes of the animated superhero series “Spider-Man” in 1996, as well as in two episodes of “Superman: The Animated Series” in 1997. The following year saw him star as Doug Kelly in all seven episodes of the romantic comedy series “Kelly Kelly”, which also starred Shelley Long and Ashley Johnson and which follows a politician who falls in love with the woman who saved his life.

In 2000, Robert appeared as Bud Hyde in two episodes of the critically acclaimed period comedy series “That ‘70s Show”, which starred Topher Grace, Laura Prepon and Mila Kunis among others, and was about several teenagers spending most of their free time in one of their friend’s basement in the ‘70s – it was a huge success, winning 15 awards including a Primetime Emmy, while it was nominated for 77 others.

The following year saw Robert play Roy in the comedy series “Bette”, about a famous singer Bette living with her husband Roy, who is a professor – the series won four awards and was nominated for five others, including a Golden Globe.

Three of Robert’s latest roles in TV series have been in the episode “A Tale of Four Cities” of the comedy series “Spin City” in 2002, the episode “Hellbound Train” of the police procedural series “Robbery Homicide Division” in 2003, and the episode “Survival Trail” of the series “Shooting Gallery” in 2012.

Roles in movies

After becoming famous for his portrayal of Ted Striker in “Airplane!”, Robert was invited to star in many other movies, such as the comedy “Take This Job and Shove It” in 1981, the parody movie “Airplane II: The Sequel” in 1982, and the action comedy film “Trenchcoat” in 1983.

In the same year, Robert portrayed the main character of Bob Hunt in the comedy movie “Utilities”, which also starred Brooke Adams and John Marley, and is about a social worker who organizes a protest against the people who hold monopoly over gas and water.

The year 1984 saw him play Frank Swedlin in the British-American comedy movie “Scandalous”, directed by Rob Cohen and written by Larry Cohen and Rob, but which failed to gain much attention. In 1985, Robert appeared as Johnny Norris in the anthology horror movie “Cat’s Eye”, before he took four years off acting in movies, before being invited to play the lead character Sean McDonald in the comedy film “Honeymoon Academy”, which was directed by Gene Quintano, and which also starred Kim Cattrall.

Some of his following notable performances were in the action adventure comedy movie “Fifty/Fifty” in 1992, the adventure comedy movie “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” in 1993, and the action thriller film “Raw Justice” in 1994.

In 1995, Robert played Morgan in the science fiction movie “Cyber Bandits” which starred Martin Kemp, Alexandra Paul and Adam Ant, and is about a mogul boss’ girlfriend who steals his important device, and runs away with her lover. The following year saw Robert play the lead character Bob Seaver in the adventure comedy movie “Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco”, which also starred Michael J. Fox and Sally Field and was about three pet dogs who have to survive in the streets of San Francisco. Robert voiced his first movie character, Reed Daley in 1999, in the animated adventure film “An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster”, before he was cast to play the main character Harlan in the romantic comedy movie “Dr. T & The Women” also starring Richard Gere and Helen Hunt, and which follows the lives of a gynecologist (Richard) and his wife (Helen).

In 2001, Robert played the main character Dan in the comedy movie “Sex and a Girl”, which also starred Angela Gots, Ellen Greene and Sean Flynn, and some of Robert’s latest roles in movies have been in the “Superhero Movie” in 2008 which starred Drake Bell, Sara Paxton and late Leslie Nielsen, the parody comedy “Paranormal Movie” in 2013 which was directed by Kevin Farley, and the western film “Boonville Redemption” in 2016, which starred Pat Boone, Ed Asner and Diane Ladd.

Love life and relationships

Robert met his now ex-wife Cheri Currie on set in 1989; the two dated for less than a year before marrying in 1990 in a small ceremony attended by their closest friends and family. Cherie is a famous American musician and an actress, perhaps still best known for having been the lead vocalist of the rock band Runaways which performed in the ‘70s.

Cheri gave birth to their son Jake Hays several months after the wedding, but after seven years of marriage they divorced.

Before meeting Cheri, Robert dated Donna Pescow, an American actress and a film director, for several months in 1979, and went on to date Maureen McGovern who is a famous musician, and they were together for a year before splitting ways in 1981. He dated his next girlfriend Pam Dawber, another actress, in 1983, and from 1987 to December 1988 Robert was in a relationship with Canadian actress Catherine Mary Stewart.

It appears that he’s been officially single since his split from Cherie.

Hobbies and other interests

Robert was keen on playing sports during his 20s and 30s, and was also going to the gym around three times per week to maintain his physique. He also often played golf and tennis with his closest friends.

In 1986, he directed the episode “The Test” of the series “Starman”, but as he realized he was not that skilled in directing, Robert tried producing films, and went on to produce the series “Kelly Kelly” in 1998, the film “Sex and a Girl” in 2001 and the movie “Nicky’s Birthday Camera” in 2007.

His many hobby has been travelling since he turned 18 and Robert has been to each and every state in the US more than once, and has also been to South America, Europe and Asia on many occasions – two of his favorite cities among those he has visited are Paris in France and Rome in Italy.

Robert has his own favorite actor and actress, who are Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie, while some of his favorite movies are “The Terminal”, “Saving Private Ryan” and “Gone in 60 Seconds”.

Robert’s net worth

Robert’s net worth has been estimated at over $3 million as of June 2020. He has short brown hair and his eyes are blue while his height is 6ft (1.83m).

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia