Rob Stone (actor)

Rob Stone
OccupationActor/Director
Years active1983–present
SpouseMelissa Chan (1998–present)

Rob Stone is an American director and former actor, best known for playing teen Kevin Owens on the 1985–1990 sitcom Mr. Belvedere. He later became a writer and director of documentary films, and also performed as part of a band.[1]

Biography

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Stone is the son of Dr. Marvin and Jill Stone. His father was chief of oncology at the Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor University Medical Center.[2] Stone began acting at the age of 13, first appearing onstage in a production of "Santa Fe Sunshine" at the Dallas Theater Center.[3] In 1982, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting degree at the University of Southern California's drama school.[3][4] In addition to his role on Mr. Belvedere, Stone also appeared in an episode of the American television shows The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, 21 Jump Street and Matlock.

Andrew Greeley, writing in The New York Times, called Stone's acting in one episode of Mr. Belvedere "very sensitive". Discussing that episode, he wrote "The subtle interplay between the two young people (played by Rob Stone and Debbie Barker) provided some of the most touching and skillful scenes I've ever seen on television."[5]

In 1986, Stone established Vienna Productions to make documentary films.[6] The company's first project was a short film on homelessness called The Sidewalk Motel, made in 1990. The film starred Christopher Hewett and Caroline Lagerfelt.[7] Hewett and Stone had previously worked together on Mr. Belvedere, in which Hewett played the title role.[8] Bruce Springsteen performed Woody Guthrie's song "I Ain't Got No Home" for this film.[9] It "was shot under a Screen Actors Guild experimental letter agreement that is designed to help new directors with non-commercial projects."[10]

Also produced by the company was the two-hour Blue Angels documentary Blue Angels: Around the World At the Speed of Sound, hosted by Dennis Quaid. The film was shown on the Arts & Entertainment Network, and won a CableACE Award in 1995.[11]

Other documentaries directed by Stone or produced by his production company include Thunder Over the Pacific, hosted by Candice Bergen, and Into the Wild Blue, hosted by Tom Skerritt, both shown on The History Channel; The 30th Anniversary of Title IX, featuring Billie Jean King; and Sir William Osler: Science and the Art of Medicine, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss. In 1998, Stone directed One Vision, a documentary about film directing, which included interviews with Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Zemeckis, Sydney Pollack, Rob Reiner, Penny Marshall, and Ron Howard.[7]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1983 Malcolm Malcolm Unsold TV pilot
1984 The Facts of Life Harvey Episode: "Crossing the Line"
1984 V Movie Usher Episode: "The Sanction"
1985–90 Mr. Belvedere Kevin Owens 117 episodes
1985 CBS Schoolbreak Special Horace "Ace" Hobart Episode: "Ace Hits the Big Time"
1986 ABC Afterschool Special Jed Episode: "A Desperate Exit"
1986 Silver Spoons Frankie Episode: "Rick Moves Out"
1987 Rags to Riches Arnold Episode: "That's Cheating"
1987 21 Jump Street T.J. Caldwell Episode: "Two for the Road"
1987 Terminal Entry Tom Feature film
1988 Crash Course Chadley Bennett IV TV movie
1988 ABC Afterschool Special Chris Episode: "A Family Again"
1989 The Super Mario Brothers Super Show Rob Stone Episode: "Heart Throb"
1991 Revenge of the Nerds Lewis Skolnick Unaired TV pilot
1993 Matlock Clyde Eller Episodes: "The Fatal Seduction" (Parts 1 & 2)
2004 I Am Stamos Party Guest Short film

References

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  1. ^ Bobbin, Jay (November 15, 1987). "Tribune TV Log". The Modesto Bee. p. 87. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Peppard, Alan (March 12, 1994). "Rob Stone is flying high as a director". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "TV Spotlight". Lawrence Journal-World. July 17, 1987. p. 39. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  4. ^ Levine, Bettijane (May 11, 1986). "Rising Stars". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  5. ^ Greeley, Andrew (May 17, 1987). "TODAY'S MORALITY PLAY: THE SITCOM". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  6. ^ Sumner, Jane (July 27, 1986). "Rob Stone Keeping an Eye on Dallas". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "About Vienna". Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  8. ^ Vallance, Tom (August 9, 2001). "Christopher Hewett". The Independent. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  9. ^ "Tip of the Baton to Quincy Jones". Daily News of Los Angeles. November 30, 1989. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  10. ^ Broeske, Pat (February 3, 1990). ""Canned Film Fest" Aids Homeless". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2011.[dead link]
  11. ^ Margulies, Lee (January 16, 1995). "HBO Takes Bulk of Prizes at the CableACE Awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
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