Robert Edward "Reb" Brown (born April 29, 1948) is an American actor. Born in the Los Angeles area, Brown played football in high school and college. He first appeared on film and television in the early 1970s, playing minor or supporting roles up until 1979, where he played Captain America in two made-for-TV films.
Following this, Brown played supporting roles in major Hollywood productions, his most notable being Ted Kotcheff's Uncommon Valor which was a box-office success. Also during this time Brown played many lead roles in genre films including: Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983), Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf (1985), Strike Commando (1987), Space Mutiny (1988), Robowar (1988), Flight of the Intruder (1991), among others. Brown's most significant role of that era was in Philippe Mora's Australian film Death of a Soldier. Based on a true story, he plays Private Edward Leonski. His performance was critically acclaimed, and was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Dramatic Role by the Australian Film Institute.
In the 1990s, Brown went on a hiatus and started to act again in 2012.
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Early life and education
Brown's father was a policeman who had also been a singer. He grew up in the Los Angeles area and played football at Temple City High School. After graduating in 1966, he received a scholarship to play fullback at the University of Southern California during the 1967 season. He ended up losing the starting running back position to another student, O. J. Simpson, and Brown decided to transfer to another college in the Los Angeles area.
Career
When he began acting, there was already a Robert Brown in the Screen Actor's Guild, so he took his initials, Reb, as his first name for acting.
In 1973, Brown acted in Bernard L. Kowalski's film Sssssss.
Also that year, he acted in the made-for-television film The Girl Most Likely to...
He later appeared in guest starring roles in several Universal Studios-produced television series, including Emergency!, Marcus Welby, M.D., Kojak, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, and The Rockford Files. He also appeared as Rebel, a southern boy who has a fight with Ralph Malph in Happy Days, and played Jim Bridger in the all-star miniseries Centennial. He also appeared in Three's Company as Elmo, a date for Chrissy Snow.
In 1978, in John Milius's Big Wednesday, Brown played the role of "Enforcer."
In 1979, he also played Captain America in two made-for-TV films, Captain America and Captain America II: Death Too Soon. It was part of the same development deal that yielded the Lou Ferrigno vehicle, The Incredible Hulk.
Also that year, he had a supporting role as an intimidating football player who joins a basketball team in Jack Smight's sport comedy Fast Break. Furthermore, he played a role in Paul Schrader's film Hardcore.
In 1982, Brown acted in Albert Pyun's The Sword and the Sorcerer.
In 1983, Brown played the lead role in Antonio Margheriti's Science fiction film, Yor, the Hunter from the Future. The film was poorly reviewed. However, the film was a financial success. The director stated that Columbia distributed 1400 prints of the film and that it was "one of the most successful pictures of my life." The film grossed $2,810,199 at the US box office and ranked 121 as one of the top earners of that year.
Personal life
Brown married actress Cisse Cameron in 1979.