IMDB entry:
Born at Queens Hospital on April 14, 1940. As the son of actors Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, Robert Walker Jr. certainly had the right pedigree to make the grade in Hollywood. His parents separated when Robert was only three, and at age 9 his stepfather became the powerful film mogul David O. Selznick who by this time had already taken firm control of his mother’s career.
Robert Walker Jr. began training at the Actors’ Studio in the early 1960s. He also married wife Ellie Wood in the early 60s and they had three children. Walker Jr. preferred to find his own place in the entertainment field and tried to avoid the obvious comparisons, but his startling resemblance to his late father made it extremely difficult for film audiences to separate the two. He started his film career in good company and with two strong roles in The Hook (1963), a morality story set during the Korean war starring Kirk Douglas and Nick Adams, and The Ceremony (1963) in which he received a Golden Globe Award for “promising newcomer” as Laurence Harvey‘s brother. Walker Jr. also worked on TV and earned a Theatre World Award for his two 1964 off-Broadway roles in “I Knock at the Door” and “Pictures in the Hallway.”
Of slight build and boyishly handsome, Robert seemed on his way when he was handed the biggest challenge of his film career taking over Jack Lemmon‘s Oscar-winning role as Ensign Pulver (1964) in the sequel to the popular service comedy Mister Roberts(1955). Unfortunately, his comparison to Lemmon paled significantly and the script had neither the charm nor wit of its predecessor. The film and Walker were torpedoed by the reviewers and Walker lost major ground in Hollywood. Despite his obvious talent, his subsequent films lacked the quality and promise of his first two, which included The Happening (1967), The Savage Seven (1968), Killers Three (1968) and the title role in Young Billy Young (1969) starring Robert Mitchum. He and his wife Ellie appeared in roles in the hit cult film Easy Rider (1969).
Robert had guest roles in many popular television series during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. In The Big Valley episode, “My Son, My Son,” aired on November 3, 1965, Walker portrayed Evan Miles, an emotionally disturbed college dropout who becomes obsessed with childhood friend Audra Barkley. He played the title role and another emotionally disturbed character, a troubled actor who lived and performed on the streets and in circuses, in The Naked City episode “Dust Devil on a Quiet Street” from Nov. 28, 1962. He had a memorable role in Star Trek as “Charles ‘Charlie’ Evans” in the episode “Charlie X”, which aired 15 September 1966. In addition, he played Billy the Kid in episode 22 of The Time Tunnel, which originally aired on February 10, 1967, and also portrayed Nick Baxter, an ill alien who caused the deaths of humans by touch, in the episode “Panic” in the television series The Invaders, which aired on April 11, 1967. He played Mark Cole in the October 29, 1967 episode of Bonanza titled ‘The Gentle Ones’. He also had a role in an episode of Columbo, “Mind Over Mayhem”, (1974) and in the 5th season of the series Combat! in the episode “Ollie Joe”. In later years, Walker maintained on TV episodes, his final appearances occurring in 1991 with L.A. Law and In the Heat of the Night.
Robert Walker died in 2019 at the age of 79.
– IMDb Mini Biography By: JT Atkin
The above IMDB entry can also be accessed online here.
Variety obituary in 2019:
Robert Walker Jr., son of actors Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones, died Thursday, his family confirmed to the official website for the television show “Star Trek.” He was 79.
Walker Jr. is best remembered for playing the titular Charlie Evans in the “Star Trek” episode “Charlie X” from the show’s first season in 1966. His character was a teenage social misfit with psychic powers. The episode was written by D.C. Fontana who also died earlier this week.
Walker Jr. also starred in a handful of 1960s pictures including “Ensign Pulver” with Burl Ives and Walter Matthau, and “Young Billy Young.”
He was born in Queens, New York in 1940, by which time his father was just launching his career as an actor. Walker Sr. was of course best known for playing the role of murderous psychopath Bruno Antony in Alfred Hitchcok’s “Strangers on a Train.” The film was released shortly before his death of a suspected overdose in 1951. Jones was also a highly successful actress who was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for playing Bernadette Soubirous in 1943’s “The Song of Bernadette.” Walker Sr. and Jones divorced in 1945, with the latter re-marrying “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca” producer David O. Selznick.
In 1967, Walker Jr. starred in “The War Dragon” with John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. His career throughout the ’80s and ’90s mostly consisted of guest appearances in TV shows, including two cameos in “Murder, She Wrote” opposite Angela Lansbury. Later on in his TV career, Walker Jr. appeared in “L.A. Law” and “In the Heat of the Night,” both in 1991.
His final screen credit was a small role in the 2018 thriller “Beyond the Darkness.”
Robert Walker Jr. (1940–2019) occupied a unique and somewhat haunted space in Hollywood. As the son of two icons—the sensitive, tormented Robert Walker and the luminous Jennifer Jones—he carried a physical resemblance to his father that was both a professional asset and a personal burden.
A critical analysis reveals an actor of quiet, soulful intensity who excelled at playing the “alienated youth” and the “gentle dreamer.” While he never achieved the supernova stardom of his parents, he became a beloved figure in cult cinema and television, often providing the moral “heart” of a story.
I. Career Overview: The Gentle Rebel
1. The Television Apprenticeship (1960s)
Walker Jr. began his career during the transition from the studio system to the gritty realism of the 60s. He was a frequent guest star on classic Westerns like The Virginian and The Big Valley.
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The “Kook” Archetype: He often played characters who were slightly “off”—not villains, but sensitive outsiders. His breakout was the title role in the Star Trek episode “Charlie X” (1966), where he played a lonely teenager with god-like powers.
2. The Counterculture Era (1967–1972)
Critically, this was his most significant period. He became a face of the “New Hollywood.”
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The War Wagon (1967): Alongside John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, he played Billy Hyatt, a young explosives expert with a drinking problem. He held his own against these titans by playing “vulnerability” rather than “toughness.”
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Easy Rider (1969): He had a brief but memorable role as Jack, part of the hippie commune. He embodied the peaceful, idealistic side of the 60s counterculture.
3. The Cult and Western Veteran (1970s–1990s)
In his later career, he moved into genre films and continued to be a prolific guest star in shows like Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and L.A. Law.
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The Legacy Connection: He often appeared in roles that mirrored the “sensitive loner” roles his father had played, but with a more grounded, 1970s sensibility.
II. Detailed Critical Analysis
1. The “Charlie X” Performance: A Study in Pathos
Critically, “Charlie X” is considered one of the finest guest performances in Star Trek history.
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The Unsettling Youth: Walker Jr. utilized his “soft” features to create a character who was simultaneously terrifying and heartbreaking. He didn’t play Charlie as a “monster”; he played him as a boy who lacked the emotional tools to handle his power.
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Physicality of Loneliness: Analysts point to his slumped posture and darting eyes—he looked like a person who had never been hugged. This ability to project deep-seated isolation was his greatest dramatic gift.
2. Subverting the “Western” Youngster
In the 1950s Westerns you love, the “young gun” was often cocky and aggressive. Walker Jr. changed that in the late 60s.
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The Fragile Gunslinger: In The War Wagon, his character is an alcoholic who is scared. Critics note that Walker Jr. brought a “modern anxiety” to the Western. He didn’t try to out-macho John Wayne; instead, he played the “human cost” of the frontier. He was the “Kitchen Sink” actor of the Wild West—bringing realistic, messy emotions to a genre that was often mythic.
3. The Burden of the Face
A significant critical theme in his career was his resemblance to his father. * Ghostly Resonance: When he appeared in The Day of the Wolves or Young Billy Young, audiences couldn’t help but see the elder Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train).
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Independent Spirit: Despite the resemblance, critics praised him for his lack of artifice. He was a much more “natural” actor than his father; he lacked the manic edge of the elder Walker, replacing it with a “mellow, grounded” presence. He was a man who seemed more at peace with the camera than his parents ever were.
Iconic Performance Highlights
| Work | Role | Year | Critical Legacy |
| Star Trek | Charlie X | 1966 | Defined the “Tragic All-Powerful Child” trope. |
| The War Wagon | Billy Hyatt | 1967 | Reimagined the “Western Sidekick” as a vulnerable human. |
| Easy Rider | Jack | 1969 | Became a visual symbol of the 60s “Commune” ideal. |
| Young Billy Young | Billy Young | 1969 | A rare lead role that showcased his “Quiet Hero” potential. |
Robert Walker Jr. was the “Gentle Soul” of a turbulent Hollywood. He lived in the shadow of giants but managed to carve out a career defined by its own quiet, unpretentious integrity. His legacy is one of “Sincere Presence”—he was an actor who reminded us that even in the middle of a Western shootout or a Space epic, the most important thing is the human heart
