A Ball State University acting professor says Robert Stack, who died Wednesday at 84, played a key role in elevating the status of television in the eyes of actors in the early 1960s.
Before Stack played tough guy Eliot Ness on "The Untouchables" from 1959 to 1963, few top movie actors and actresses would have considered doing a television show, said Rodger W. Smith, a theatre professor and acting option coordinator.
"His film acting brought to television a seriousness that I believe directly translated to an elevation of the status of the medium. At the time Stack came to television, reputable movie stars didn't do television, let alone star in a series. But Stack crossed that line, bringing with him his reputation in the industry, his history as a leading man and his seriousness about the craft."
Stack had a lengthy career beginning in 1939 with the the film "First Love," and concluding in the late 1990s as host of "Unsolved Mysteries," which featured true stories of crime and mysterious disappearances on the NBC television network.
Smith said Stack will be remembered most for "The Untouchables." Stack won a best actor Emmy in 1960 in the highly popular ABC network series set in the Prohibition Era that featured weekly violent battles between gangsters and federal agents.
"He set a new bar for television acting and one that allowed "The Untouchables" to compete with the serious moviedramas of the day as a viable entertainment form," Smith said.
After "The Untouchables" ended in 1964, Stack moved onto other television series, including "The Name of the Game," 1968-71; "Most Wanted," 1976-77; and "Strike Force," 1981-82." "Unsolved Mysteries" brought Stack back to television in 1988 and the popular show continued through the late 1990s.
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