Son of stage and film star Jason Robards Sr.. After receiving the Navy Cross (the second highest decoration in the U.S. Navy) for his service in World War II, he struggled as a small-part actor in local New York theatre, TV and radio before shooting to fame on the New York stage in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" as Hickey. He followed that with another masterful O'Neill portrayal, as the alcoholic Jamie Tyrone in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" on Broadway. He entered films in The Journey and rose rapidly to even greater fame as a film star. Won consecutive Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for All the President's Men and Julia, in each case playing real-life perople. Has continued to work on the stage, winning continued acclaim in such O'Neill works as "Moon For the Misbegotten" and "Hughie." Died of lung cancer in 2000.


Recipient of 22nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contribution to arts and culture, presented by President Bill Clinton in Washington, DC, Dec. 5, 1999. Father, with actress Lauren Bacall, of actor Sam Robards. Was a Civil War buff in real life. He played President U.S. Grant in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), and was the voice of Gen. Grant in the PBS mini-series "The Civil War" (1990). In 1972, he was in a horrifying accident on a winding California road. He drove his car into the side of a mountain and nearly died. His acute drinking problem contributed to the accident. He slowly recovered after extensive surgery and facial reconstruction. Jennifer Jason Leigh added the Jason to her stage name in tribute to Robards, a long-time family friend. She said, "I like the way it sounds between Jennifer and Leigh.". Attended Hollywood High School in Hollywood, CA, and played on the football, baseball, basketball, and track teams, at one time entertaining the idea of becoming a professional athlete. First lead role was in the 1953 off-Broadway production of "American Gothic" directed by José Quintero. Received all of his Oscar nominations for playing real-life people: Benjamin C. Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), Dashiell Hammett in Julia (1977), and Howard Hughes in Melvin and Howard (1980). Won Broadway's 1959 Tony Award as best actor (dramatic) for The Disenchanted. He was nominated seven other times: as best supporting or featured actor (dramatic) in 1957 for Long Day's Journey into Night; as best actor (dramatic) in 1960 for Toys in the Attic, in 1964 for After The Fall, in 1965 for Hughie, in 1972 for The Country Girl and in 1974 for A Moon for the Misbegotten; and as best actor (play) in 1978 for A Touch of the Poet. With eight nominations, he holds the record for being the actor nominated the most times for the Tony Award, although he only won once. He and Leonardo DiCaprio both received Oscar-nominations for portraying Howard Hughes. Robards was nominated for Melvin and Howard (1980) and DiCaprio for The Aviator (2004). Played Hickey in three different productions of Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh -- off-Broadway in 1955, on television in 1960, and on Broadway in 1955. Also played Hickey in production of Iceman Cometh 1985/86 in NYC (Lunt-Fontane) and LA (James Doolittle Theater). He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1997 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC. He won an Oscar for playing Benjamin Bradlee in All the President's Men (1976), making him one of eleven actors to win the Award for playing a real person who was still alive at the evening of the Award ceremony (as of 2007). The other ten actors and their respective performances are: Spencer Tracy for playing Father Edward Flanagan in Boys Town (1938), Gary Cooper for playing Alvin C. York in Sergeant York (1941), Patty Duke for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker (1962), Robert De Niro for playing Jake La Motta in Raging Bull (1980), Sissy Spacek for playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Susan Sarandon for playing Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking (1995), Geoffrey Rush for playing David Helfgott in Shine (1996), Julia Roberts for playing Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (2000), Jim Broadbent for playing John Bayley in Iris (2001/I) and most recently Helen Mirren for playing Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen (2006). Katharine Hepburn was the godmother of his son Sam Robards. He was nominated for a 1976 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Guest Artist in a play, Hughie, at the Academy Festival Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Served as a radioman aboard the U.S.S. Northampton, which was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in the Battle of Tassafaronga.