For other people with the same name, see Robert Osborne.
Robert Jolin Osborne (born May 3, 1932) is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host of the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) television network since its inception in 1994. He formerly hosted films on The Movie Channel.
Born in the small town of Colfax, Washington, Osborne graduated from the University of Washington's School of Journalism. He began his career working as a contract actor for Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's Desilu Studios, becaming part of Lucille Ball's Desilu Workshop, in which Ball worked with and nurtured young performers such as Osborne and actress-singer Carole Cook. One of Osborne's early television appearances was in 1959 on an episode of 'Desilu Playhouse' called "Chain of Command," starring Hugh O'Brian. He was also featured on the special Christmas Day 'Desilu Playhouse' installment, "The Desilu Revue" in December of that year. He was also seen in small roles in such TV shows as The Californians and in the pilot episode of The Beverly Hillbillies.
Ball suggested that Osborne combine his love of film with his abilities as a journalist. Osborne took her advice, although he has continued to appear in a number of small parts in television and film, including an appearance parodying his TCM hosting job on Attorney at Law.
Osborne was a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter from 1982 to 2009. In 2008, Abbeville Press published his book 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards.
For TCM, in addition to hosting four primetime movies seven days per week, he has also been the host of special one-on-one "Private Screening" interviews featuring many familiar actors and directors. Since 2006, he has also co-hosted TCM's The Essentials, with Molly Haskell from 2006 to 2007, with Carrie Fisher from 2007 to 2008, with Rose McGowan from 2008 to 2009, and currently with Alec Baldwin.
Osborne has also participated in events at the Paley Center for Media in New York City saluting the television careers of Lucille Ball and Cloris Leachman. He recently served as moderator at the Paley for an evening celebrating the 100th birthday of Academy Award-winning songwriter Johnny Mercer.
Osborne also hosts the annual Robert Osborne's Classic Film Festival in Athens, Georgia. It began in 2005. The non-profit event is held by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2010 he hosted the very first TCM Classic Film Festival. The Film Festival takes place April 22 to April 25 in Hollywood.
Osborne won the Publicists Guild of America 1984 Press Award. In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Art University, and he was awarded a star on Vine Street as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. In 2008, he received the National Board of Review's William K. Everson Award.
