Charlie Robinson, a Houston native who gained prominence in Hollywood with roles on stage, in films and the classic sitcom Night Court, has died. He was 75.
Robinson passed away Sunday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest and organ failure due to septic shock and cancer, a rep for the actor told The Hollywood Reporter.
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Robinson was best known for his role as court clerk Mac Robinson on Night Court, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1992. More recently he had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Mom, as a blind tenant in an apartment building managed by series star Allison Janney.
Earlier this year, he starred opposite Wendell Pierce in the James Anthony Tyler play Some Old Black Man, about an African-American college professor (Pierce), who moves his ailing father (Robinson) from Mississippi into his Harlem penthouse.
Pierce paid tribute to Robinson Monday on Twitter. “It only took 27 days and we created a lifetime. Charlie Robinson and I quarantined together during this pandemic to create a play and in that short time we created a lifetime of friendship. A special bond, like the father and son, we portrayed in the play. We had a mission,” Pierce wrote.
It only took 27 days and we created a lifetime. Charlie Robinson and I quarantined together during this pandemic to create a play and in that short time we created a lifetime of friendship. A special bond, like the father and son, we portrayed in the play. We had a mission. pic.twitter.com/hztMWY4J1W
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) July 13, 2021
Robinson was born in Houston in 1945, and attended the Studio 7 acting school at the Houston Music Theatre.
Often credited on screen as Charles Robinson, he had roles in the films Sugar Hill (1974), The Black Gestapo (1975), and Antwone Fisher (2002); as well as the television shows The White Shadow, Flamingo Road, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Game, and Touched by an Angel.
Charlie Robinson is survived by his wife Dolorita, children Luca, Charlie, Christian and Byron, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
