Charlie Robinson, who played the level-headed clerk Mac on
Night Court and appeared in such movies as
Sugar Hill (1974), died on July 11 2021 at the age of 75. The cause was a heart attack with organ failure brought on by septic shock and metastatic adenocarcinoma.
Charlie Robinson was born on November 9 1945 in Houston, Texas. When he was a teenager he sang with the Houston based R&B group Archie Bell and The Drells and afterwards a group called Southern Clouds of Joy. Mr. Robinson served in the Army and briefly attended the University of Houston. In the late Sixties, he studied acting at Studio 7, an acting school ran by Chris Wilson at the Houston Music Theatre. He later moved to Los Angeles where he joined the Actors Studio.
Charlie Robinson made his television debut in an episode of
Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law in 1971. In the Seventies he guest starred on such shows as
Firehouse,
Carbie,
Cannon,
The White Shadow, and
Lou Grant. He appeared in the mini-series
King and
Roots: The Next Generation. He appeared in the TV movies
Set This Town on Fire,
Nowhere to Hide,
A Killing Affair,
Buffalo Soldiers, and
Haywire. He made his film debut in
Drive, He Said in 1971. He appeared in the movies
Sugar Hill (1974),
The Black Gestapo (1975),
Gray Lady Down (1978), and
Apocalypse Now (1979).
It was in 1984, during the second season of
Night Court, that Charlie Robinson began played the character of Mac, the easy-going, sensible court clerk. He played Mac for the rest of the show's run. He was also a regular on the shows
Flamingo Road and
Buffalo Bill. He guest starred on the shows
Hill Street Blues,
St. Elsewhere and
Hotel. He appeared in the TV movies
Rehearsal for Murder,
Crash Course, and
Murder C.O.D. He appeared in the movie
The River (1984).
In the Nineties Charlie Robinson was a regular on
Love & War,
Ink,
Home Improvement, and
Buddy Faro. He guest starred on the shows
CBS Schoolbreak Special,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
The John Laroquette Show,
In the House,
The Crew,
Malcolm & Eddie, and
Touched by an Angel. He appeared in the TV movies
Project: ALF and
The Last Dance. He appeared in the movies
Set It Off (1996),
Land of the Free (1998),
Malevolence (1999),
Beowulf (1999), and
The Playaz Court (2000).
In the Naughts Mr. Robinson had a recurring role on the TV show
The Game. He guest starred on the shows
Soul Food;
First Years;
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place;
DAG;
The Trouble with Normal;
My Wife and Kids;
Miss Lettie and Me;
Yes, Dear;
Abby;
Andy Richter Controls the Universe;
Carnivàle;
The Bernie Mac Show;
Committed;
Charmed;
House M.D.;
Cold Case;
Still Standing;
How I Met Your Mother;
The Riches;
My Name is Earl;
30 Rock;
Big Love;
Hank;
The Secret Life of the American Teenager; and
$#*! My Dad Says. He appeared in the movies
Antwone Fisher (2002),
Break a Leg (2005),
River's End (2005),
Easy Money (2006),
Mercy Street (2006),
Stream (2007),
The House Bunny (2008),
Jackson (2008),
Natural Disasters (2008), and
Krews (2010).
In the Teens Charlie Robinson had recurring roles on the TV shows
Hart of Dixie,
The Guest Book,
Mom, and
Love in Time of Corona. He guest starred on the shows
Harry's Law,
The Soul Man,
Key and Peele,
Reed Between the Lines,
Grey's Anatomy,
K.C. Undercover,
Disjointed,
This is Us,
NCIS,
Better Things,
Raven's Home, and
Russell Maniac. He appeared in the movies
Light, Streets of Redemption (2011),
Falling Away (2012),
Hoovey (2015),
Russell Madness (2015),
Sweet Kandy (2015),
Heaven Sent (2015),
Pee-Wee's Big Holiday (2016),
Maybe Someday (2017), and
Blindfire (2020).
Charlie Robinson appeared in recurring roles on multiple shows, and there should be no surprise why he was. He was just such a very good actor. As Mac on
Night Court he was the show's one practical character among a cast of zany ones, the show's calm centre. On
Buffalo Bill he was the brutally honest makeup man Newdell, who tried to keep the show's title character in line. In
Sugar Hill he played a character about as far as Mac or Newdell as one can get, the gangster Fabulous, whose tastes in clothing leave a bit to be desired. Throughout his career Charlie Robinson played a wide variety of roles, from law enforcement officers to members of the military to judges. What is more, he did all of them well.
