Robert Osborne

Robert Jolin Osborne (May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

Prior to hosting at TCM, Osborne had been a host on The Movie Channel, and earlier, a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter.

Osborne was born on May 3, 1932, in Colfax, Washington.

His parents were Robert Eugene Osborne, a public school teacher, and Hazel Ida (née Jolin).

After appearing in a play with Oscar-winning actress Jane Darwell, Osborne followed her suggestion and moved to Hollywood in the 1950s.

Osborne began his career working as a contract actor for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's Desilu Studios.

Osborne became part of Lucille Ball's Desilu Workshop.

Osborne graduated from the University of Washington School of Journalism in 1954.

Osborne served two years in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Seattle, where he acted in local theater.

Osborne appeared in a 1959 episode of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse called "Chain of Command", starring Hugh O'Brian.

He was featured in the Desilu Playhouse installment "The Desilu Revue" in 1959.

He had roles in television shows The Californians and the pilot episode of The Beverly Hillbillies.

Ball encouraged Osborne to focus on becoming a journalist.

In 1965, Osborne had his first book published, Academy Awards Illustrated.

Osborne began working as a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter in 1977.

In 1978, he published 50 Golden Years of Oscar, which won the 1979 National Film Book award.

He served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association from 1981 to 1983.

Osborne worked as the entertainment reporter on KTTV in Los Angeles from 1982 until 1987.

He published the Rambling Reporter column for The Hollywood Reporter from 1982 to 2009.

In 1984, Osborne began hosting for The Movie Channel.

He won the 1984 Publicists Guild of America Press Award.

The following year, he began a relationship with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), when he hosted a tribute to Shirley Temple at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills.

Osborne wrote the official history of the Academy Awards, published in 1988.

In 1988, AMPAS commissioned him to write 60 Years of the Oscar. He wrote five updates to the volume, the latest being 85 Years of the Oscar in 2013.

In 1994, Ted Turner created Turner Classic Movies (TCM) as a competitor to American Movie Classics (AMC).

Osborne was selected as the host of its nightly broadcasts.

He hosted "Private Screening," featuring interviews with actors and directors.

From 2005 to 2010, Osborne hosted the annual "Robert Osborne's Classic Film Festival," a nonprofit festival hosted by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

In 2006, Osborne began co-hosting The Essentials with Molly Haskell (2006 to 2007), Carrie Fisher (2007 to 2008), Rose McGowan (2008 to 2009), Alec Baldwin (2009 to 2011), Drew Barrymore and Sally Field.

Osborne hosted the annual TCM Classic Film Festival from 2010 until 2014.

Osborne continued to appear on Saturday nights, hosting The Essentials with Alec Baldwin.

In 2012, Osborne began to share some of his hosting duties with Ben Mankiewicz.

Mankiewicz hosted primetime films two nights a week, as well as many daytime events.

Osborne stated that he would continue to work "as long as I have health, and as long as I think I look O.K. on camera."

He also said, "If I really couldn't do it with enthusiasm, that would be the time to quit."

In 2013, Osborne presented the Honorary Academy Award to Dame Angela Lansbury at the Fifth Governors Awards.

Osborne introduced Lansbury by saying he thought it was "one of the best decisions the Academy has ever made".

In Lansbury's acceptance speech, she made it known that she chose Osborne to present the Oscar to her, stating, "the one person who really knew about my early work was Robert Osborne".

She also thanked Osborne and TCM, saying, "Thanks to Turner Classic Movies and Robert, those great films are shown and studied and discussed by students everywhere, as well as seen by a huge general audience, so thank you TCM and thank you Robert for keeping me alive all these years."

In 2014, as part of an exclusive programming deal with Disney, TCM agreed to become the sponsor of The Great Movie Ride.