Cliff Robertson Died

Oscar-winning actor Cliff Robertson died Saturday at the age of 88, says the Hollywood Reporter.

Robertson earned a Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1968's "Charly," in which he played a disabled man who gets a miracle medical treatment that turns him into a genius before he regresses to his previous mental state.

Also among his hundreds of memorable movie and TV roles was his portrayal of John F. Kennedy in the WWII film "PT-109."Although he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as the mentally-impaired Charly, Robertson’s best-know role was, perhaps, in real-life. He was touted as a “profile in courage” for reporting that Columbia studio head David Begelman had forged his name on a $10,000 check in the late ‘70s. Begelman, who misappropriated more than $60,000 in studio funds, was later convicted in what the press deemed “Hollywoodgate.” Robertson was considered a hero by many for, essentially, putting his career on the line by taking on a powerful studio head.Robertson had the most success in war movies. His strong presence made him ideal for such films as "The Naked and the Dead," "Battle of Coral Sea," "633 Squadron," "Up From the Beach," "The Devil's Brigade," "Too Late the Hero" and "Midway."

He had a passion for flying, and he poured his movie earnings into buying and restoring World War I and II planes. He even entered balloon races, including one in 1964 from the mainland to Catalina Island that ended with him being rescued from the Pacific Ocean.

In 1957, Robertson married Lemmon's ex-wife, Cynthia Stone, and they had a daughter, Stephanie, before splitting in 1960. In 1966, he married Merrill and they had a daughter, Heather. The couple divorced in 1989.