Leonard Leroy Lee was born on 29 July 1933, in Troy, New York State USA, to mother Betty Simpson, a dance instructor. Robert Fuller is a former actor, probably most famous for his roles in the TV series “Laramie”, “Wagon Train” and “Emergency!”
So just how wealthy is Robert Fuller? Sources state that Fuller has acquired a net worth of over $5 million, as of mid-2016. He established his fortune during his long acting career.
Robert Fuller Net Worth $5 Million
Before Fuller was born, his mother married a Naval Academy officer Robert Simpson. The family moved to Key West, Florida where Fuller’s parents opened a dancing school. Being nicknamed ‘Buddy’, Fuller changed his name to Robert Simpson, Jr. He attended Miami Military School but dropped out at the age of 14.
Two years later, his family moved to Hollywood, California, where Fuller worked as a stuntman. At the same time, he worked at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, first as a doorman and later as an Assistant Manager. He joined the Screen Actors Guild and changed his name to Robert Fuller.
In 1952 Fuller got a minor role in the film “Above and Beyond”. This led the young actor to land several other minor roles, such as in the 1953 films “I Love Martin” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondies”. After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War, in 1955 Fuller attended Richard Boone’s acting classes and studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City.
He got his first speaking role in the 1956 Civil War film “Friendly Persuasion”. The same year he appeared in an episode of the television series “Crossroads” as a former soldier. In 1957 Fuller got a major role in the film “Teenage Thunder”, while also taking a role in the science fiction film “The Brain from Planet Arous” the same year.
Opportunities continued to come his way and Fuller made guest appearances in numerous television programs of the 50s such as “Buckskin”, “The Big Valley”, “The Californians”, “The Lawless Years”, “The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin” and “Lux Playhouse”.
During this time he also appeared in the series “Strange Intruder”, “Highway Patrol”, “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp” and “Mike Hammer”, which enabled him to established himself as a popular character actor. In 1959 Fuller was cast as a young gunfighter Joe Cole in the NBC television series “Cimarron City” and made a guest appearance as a young outlaw Buck Harmon in the Western series “Lawman”. His net worth was growing steadily.
The same year brought him the role which has remained one of his most memorable ones. He was cast as Jess Harper in the Western television series “Laramie”. The show made him a sex symbol, appearing on numerous magazine covers. It became highly popular during its first season, however few years later its popularity fell and the series was canceled in 1963. Nevertheless, the role shot Fuller to fame and greatly contributed to his net worth.
After “Laramie”, Fuller joined the cast of another popular Western series called “Wagon Train” as Cooper Smith. The series, which ran until 1965, greatly added to his wealth. The following year saw Fuller in the Western films “Return of the Seven” and “Incident at Phantom Hill”.
Once he found his calling in the Western genre, for some time Fuller rejected all offers for different, contemporary roles. However, after realizing that the Western genre was facing decline during the early ’70s, Fuller found himself taking the role of head physician Dr. Kelly Brackett in the 1972 NBC medical/crime drama series “Emergency!”, the first one to focus on the lives of paramedics. It became highly popular and led Fuller to enjoy rising popularity with audiences around the world, and amass considerable wealth. After eight and half seasons the series ended in 1979.
During the ’80s and ’90s, Fuller appeared in over 20 television series, including “The Love Boat”, “The Fall Guy”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “JAG”, “Diagnosis Murder” and many others. He had a recurring role in the 1993 series “Walker, Texas Ranger” as retired ranger Wade Harper, after which he retired from his acting career being aged 67, and with significant net worth.
Aside from his acting career, Fuller has also been a singer. Back in 1967 he recorded an LP in Germany, with most of the songs in the German language. He also did several bandstand gigs with Bill Aken’s rock band, called Los Nomadas at holiday festivities in California and performed a vocal rendition of the ’50s song “Carrebean” at the Memorial Day Parade.
In his 50-year career, Fuller has won a number of awards, the most important ones being the Golden Boot Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was also inducted into the Western Heritage Museum.
In his private life, Fuller married Patricia Lee Lyon in 1962, and the couple had three children before divorcing in 1984. Lyon was later diagnosed with cancer and died in 1994. Since 2001, Fuller has been married to actress Jennifer Savidge. The family currently resides in Texas, where the actor takes care of farm animals on his ranch. His hobbies include fishing, hunting, and horseback riding. He often attends western heritage festivals.
