Robert Buckingham (born 12 August 1934; age 89) is an actor who appeared as an Augment in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "Space Seed" for which he filmed his scenes in December 1966. He then appeared as an Enterprise sciences crewmember in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. A short sleeved uniform top worn by him and mentioning his chest size as "42" was later sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1]
Robert Buckingham moved to California to pursue an acting career and made his first on screen appearance in the silent bit role of a waiter in Return to Peyton Place (1961, with Walter Bacon, Monty O'Grady, Arthur Tovey, and Robert Whitney).
Knowing he wouldn't memorize a lot of dialogue, Buckingham mostly worked as a background actor within the Screen Extras Guild and only occasionally had small speaking parts or upgraded and credited silent bit parts over the next seven decades such as in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis episode "Like Hi, Explosives" (1962, with Judi Sherven and Jerry Summers), The F.B.I. episode "The Target" (1970, with David Frankham and Bill Zuckert), The Wild Party (1975), New York, New York (1977, with Dick Miller, David Armstrong, Eddie Smith, Shirley Anthony, Jerry Best, Tony Dante, Bob Harks, Robert Strong, and Arthur Tovey), Downtown (1990, with David Clennon, Roger Aaron Brown, Ron Canada, Catherine MacNeal, Michele Gerren, Wren T. Brown, Ron Taylor, and Bob Harks), The Hunt for Red October (1990, with James Earl Jones, Timothy Carhart, Daniel Davis, Ned Vaughn, Ronald Guttman, Boris Krutonog, Ray Reinhardt, Gates McFadden, and Randy James), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992, with Winona Ryder, Billy Campbell, Jay Robinson, and Cully Fredricksen), and Nick of Time (1995, with Bill Smitrovich, C.J. Bau, Michael Chong, Isabel Lorca, Greg Bronson, Mike Satterfield, and Ray Uhler).
Among Buckingham's earlier appearances are Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961, with Michael Ansara, Robert Easton, Benjie Bancroft, Charles Dierkop, Paul Power, and Robert Strong), Critic's Choice (1963, with Lucille Ball, Stanley Adams, Walter Bacon, Dick Cherney, Charles Cirillo, Joseph Glick, Shep Houghton, William Meader, William H. O'Brien, Monty O'Grady, Paul Power, Frieda Rentie, Clark Ross, Arthur Tovey, and Grace Lee Whitney), Honeymoon Hotel (1964), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964, with Joseph Ruskin, Benjie Bancroft, Michael Cirillo, Walter Bacon, Billy Curtis, Joe Evans, Joe Garcio, Joseph Glick, Chester Hayes, Lars Hensen, Chuck Hicks, Alan Marston, Jim Michael, Paul Power, Clark Ross, Arthur Tovey, John Zimeas, and Bill Zuckert), Looking for Love (1964, with Susan Oliver and Joan Marshall), Strange Bedfellows (1965), I'll Take Sweden (1965), McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965, with Al Cavens, Michael Pataki, Allen Pinson, and Paul Power), The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966), Fireball 500 (1966, with Julie Parrish), Torn Curtain (1966), Hotel (1967), Thunder Alley (1967), Banning (1967), The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967), Countdown (1967, with Benjie Bancroft and Garrison True), The Boston Strangler (1968, with Jeff Corey, Sally Kellerman, William Marshall, David Armstrong, Benjie Bancroft, Bill Couch, Sr., Dick Dial, Bob Harks, Chuck Hicks, Shep Houghton, Victor Paul, Charles Picerni, George Sawaya, Walter Scott, Eddie Smith, Glenn R. Wilder, and Sally Yarnell), Hellfighters (1968), The Love Bug (1968), Pendulum (1969), Hook, Line & Sinker (1969), Justine (1969), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Cactus Flower (1969), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), and Gidget Grows Up (1969, with Davis Roberts, Lloyd Kino, Monty O'Grady, Clark Ross, and Robert Strong).
Also in the 1960s, he worked as background actor on episodes of Hank (1965, with Garrison True and Ron Stein), The Lucy Show (1966, with Lucille Ball and Joan Swift), Pistols 'n' Petticoats (1966, with Johnny Haymer), I Spy (1967, with Alan Oppenheimer, Fred Carson, Jack Perkins, Ricardo Montalban, France Nuyen, Roy Jenson, Kenneth Tobey, Jon Kowal, Robert Bralver, Tony Dante, Monty O'Grady, Walter Smith, Robert Strong, Nancy Kovack, David Armstrong, Paul Power, and John Zimeas), Batman (1967, with Yvonne Craig, Pete Kellett, Gene LeBell, and Mark Russell), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964-1968, with David Armstrong, Jason Wingreen, Tom Curtis, Tony Dante, Monty O'Grady, Kim Darby, Jill Ireland, Julie Johnson, Dick Crockett, Paul Baxley, Jerry Summers, Tom Anfinsen, Frieda Rentie, Clark Ross, Irene Tsu, Grant Woods, Sharyn Hillyer, Kai J. Wong, Peter Mark Richman, Frank Babich, and Robert Hitchcock), Dragnet (1968, with Edwin Rochelle, Celia Lovsky, Mark Russell, Byron Morrow, Al Cavens, Shep Houghton, and John Hugh McKnight), Gomer Pyle: U.S.M.C. (1965-1968, with Eddie Smith, Tige Andrews, Michael Forest, Dick Cherney, Walter Smith, and Monty O'Grady), Get Smart (1969, with Shep Houghton, Nancy Kovack, Johnny Haymer, John S. Ragin, and Benjie Bancroft), and Here's Lucy (1968-1969, with Lucille Ball, Joseph Ruskin, Monty O'Grady, Sid Haig, and Robert Hitchcock).
In the 1970s, Buckingham appeared in Darling Lili (1970, with Jeremy Kemp, David Armstrong, Jerry Catron, Vic Christy, Charles Cirillo, Jerry Summers, and Glenn R. Wilder), Congratulations, It's a Boy! (1971), Gidget Gets Married (1972, with Elinor Donahue, Roger Perry, James B. Sikking, Tom Anfinsen, David Armstrong, Dick Cherney, Bob Harks, Robert Hitchcock, and Robert Strong), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), Hustling (1975, with Monte Markham, Allan Miller, Lars Hensen, Robert Hitchcock, Jim Michael, and Garry Walberg), The Day of the Locust (1975), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), and The China Syndrome (1979).
He was also a frequent background actor on episodes of Mission: Impossible (1970, with Leonard Nimoy, George Wilbur, Vic Perrin, and Monty O'Grady), The Mod Squad (1968-1970, with Clarence Williams III, Tige Andrews, Yvonne Craig, Gail Bonney, Frieda Rentie, and Monte Markham), That Girl (1966-1971, with Larry Hankin, Bill Quinn, Dick Cherney, Nick Borgani, Clark Ross, Monty O'Grady, Tom Anfinsen, and Charles Cirillo), Hogan's Heroes (1971, with Malachi Throne and John Hoyt), Longstreet (1971, with Peter Mark Richman and Robert Hitchcock), Cannon (1972, with David Birney, Erik Holland, and Chuck Hicks), Banacek (1972, with Louise Sorel, Ned Romero, Kermit Murdock, Adele Yoshioka, Vic Christy, Bob Harks, Robert Hitchcock, Monty O'Grady, and Gary Wright), The Doris Day Show (1972, with Roger C. Carmel, Alan Oppenheimer, Charles Cirillo, and Monty O'Grady), The Brady Bunch (1972), The Partridge Family (1973), The Magician (1974, with Julian Christopher, Anthony Zerbe, Mark Lenard, Ian Wolfe, John S. Ragin, Biff Elliot, and Bob Harks), Columbo (1971-1974, with Rosemary Forsyth, Mark Russell, Robert Strong, Leonard Nimoy, David Armstrong, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Noble Chissell, Bob Harks, Monty O'Grady, Gary Wright, Benjie Bancroft, Len Felber, Robert Hitchcock, Shep Houghton, Robert Whitney, Richard Kiley, Arlene Martel, Byron Morrow, Paul Sorensen, Buzz Barbee, and Ed McCready), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1974), Police Story (1974, with Claudette Nevins, Barry Atwater, Kenneth Tobey, Byron Morrow, Lars Hensen, Jim Michael, and Vic Toyota), Adam-12 (1974), The Rockford Files (1975, with David Spielberg and Diana Muldaur), The Odd Couple (1975), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975, with Kathie Browne, John Hoyt, and Paul Baxley), McMillan & Wife (1971-1976, with René Auberjonois, John Schuck, Lilyan Chauvin, Frank Orsatti, Shirley Anthony, Paul Baxley, Robert Hitchcock, Celeste Yarnall, Noble Willingham, Beverly Washburn, Paul Sorensen, Sid Haig, David Ross, Jason Wingreen, David Birney, David Spielberg, Byron Morrow, Barbara Bosson, Frank da Vinci, Len Felber, Paul Lewis, Vic Toyota, and Gary Wright), Kojak (1974-1976, with Henry Brown, Lou Elias, Shep Houghton, Charles Picerni, Mark Russell, Vic Toyota, Norman Lloyd, Bob Harks, Robert Hitchcock, Tige Andrews, Stephen Macht, Whit Bissell, David Opatoshu, John Burnside, and Arthur Tovey), The Love Boat (1977, with Meg Wyllie, Kenny Studer, and John Hugh McKnight), Charlie's Angels (1976-1978, with David Armstrong, Ron Stein, Jan Shutan, Tony Dante, Robert Strong, Theodore Bikel, Jason Wingreen, Robert Hitchcock, Al Roberts, Ivy Bethune, Joshua Gallegos, Joy Garrett, Bill Zuckert, Benjie Bancroft, Nick Borgani, and Monty O'Grady), and The Associates (1979).
Between 1981 and 1989, Bob Buckingham appeared in thirty-five episodes of Dynasty, mostly as a party guest, wedding guest or restaurant patron. Other television work in the 1980s include episodes of Fantasy Island (1978 and 1981, with Ricardo Montalban, Samantha Eggar, France Nuyen, George Sasaki, and Harv Selsby), Dallas (1978-1981, with Ed McCready, Mary Crosby, Susan Howard, Barbara Babcock, Leigh J. McCloskey, William Smithers, Morgan Woodward, and Bruce French), Lou Grant (1977-1981, with George Murdock, Bill Erwin, Bob Harks, Robert Hitchcock, John Anderson, Paul Kent, Booth Colman, Cliff Potts, Parley Baer, Joshua Gallegos, and Fran Bennett), Flamingo Road (1981, with John Beck, Sharon Acker, Shirley Anthony, Robert Hitchcock, Walter Smith, Roberta Storm, William Windom, Benjie Bancroft, Bob Davis, and John Hugh McKnight), T. J. Hooker (1982, with William Shatner, Richard Herd, Sid Haig, Victor Tayback, and George Sasaki), Hart to Hart (1979-1983, with Craig Wasson, Terrence Evans, David Armstrong, Robert Hitchcock, Arthur Tovey, Vincent Schiavelli, Nick Borgani, Nick Dimitri, Jim Michael, Monty O'Grady, William Windom, Keene Curtis, John Fiedler, Ryan MacDonald, Matthew Faison, John Blower, John Staible, Peter Eastman, and Anthony Gordon), V: The Final Battle (1984, with Michael Durrell, Richard Herd, Andrew Prine, Mark L. Taylor, Dick Miller, Peter Paul Eastman, Bob Harks, Joel Schultz, and Ilona Wilson), Hotel (1984, with Michael Spound, Sally Kellerman, Mitchell Ryan, Lloyd Haynes, Ken Olandt, Danny Nero, and Frieda Rentie), The Colbys (1985-1986, with Stephanie Beacham, Tracy Scoggins, Ricardo Montalban, Joseph Campanella, Peter White, Shirley Anthony, Buzz Barbee, Anthony Gordon, Suzanne Lodge, Tim McCormack, Roberta Storm, Kevin G. Tracey, Ilona Wilson, Jessica Biscardi, John Blower, Fletcher Bryant, Leroy Hardy, Larry Humburger, Roger Trantham, Jill Vance, Ray Wise, Paul Lewis, Joel Marston, Judson Scott, Georgann Johnson, David Armstrong, John Burnside, Faith Burton, Bob Davis, Robert Hitchcock, and Ray Petersen), and Falcon Crest (1982-1989, with Robert Foxworth, James Sloyan, Nick Borgani, Shirley Blackwell, Teda Bracci, Fletcher Bryant, Evans Ricciardi, George Sasaki, Roberta Storm, Roger Perry, Harry Basch, John Carter, Benjie Bancroft, John Hugh McKnight, Rebecca Parker, Charles Picerni, Walter Smith, Kevin G. Tracey, Richard Herd, Kenneth Tobey, Whit Bissell, Liam Sullivan, Bill Erwin, Momo Yashima, Gayle Frank, Anthony Gordon, Louie Novoa, David Armstrong, Bob Davis, Peter Paul Eastman, Danny Nero, Roger Trantham, Kate Vernon, Jonathan Frakes, Suzanne Lodge, Brett Cullen, Daphne Ashbrook, Christopher Held, Davis Roberts, Shirley Anthony, Sandy Goldman, Robert Hitchcock, Paul Lewis, Gene Poe, Sissy Sessions, Joe Stone, Castulo Guerra, Allan G. Royal, Ryan MacDonald, John Hostetter, Betty McGuire, Angela Paton, Judith Jones, Buzz Barbee, Alex Landi, Jack Wright, Michèle Marsh, and Lee Faranda).
Among his film work in the 1980s are S.O.B. (1981, with Jennifer Edwards, Hamilton Camp, Corbin Bernsen, Alexandra Johnson, Shelby Leverington, Karen Austin, Jerry Best, and Peter Paul Eastman), Lookin' to Get Out (1982, with Bert Remsen, Clyde Kusatsu, and Benjie Bancroft), Special Bulletin (1983, with David Clennon, James W. Jansen, and Kenneth Tigar), Doctor Detroit (1983, with Nan Martin, Parley Baer, Michael G. Hagerty, Bill Baker, Bob Harks, Danny Nero, Monty O'Grady, and Alan Ruck), The Star Chamber (1983, with Yaphet Kotto, James B. Sikking, Larry Hankin, Robin Gammell, Matthew Faison, Michael Ensign, Robert Costanzo, Alan Oliney, Don Pulford, Ron Cummings, David Armstrong, Len Felber, Charles Hallahan, Bob Harks, Robert Hitchcock, and Robert Strong), Johnny Dangerously (1984, with Joe Piscopo, Ray Walston, Byron Thames, Scott Thomson, Chuck Hicks, Bill Baker, Danny Nero, and Vincent Schiavelli), Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986, with Barbara Williams, Mike Genovese, Sam Hennings, Gene Cross, and Kenny Studer), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986, with Whoopi Goldberg, Stephen Collins, Carol Kane, Vyto Ruginis, Michael McKean, and Kevin G. Tracey), Spaceballs (1987, with Leslie Bevis, Dey Young, Tim Russ, Felix Silla, Brenda Strong, Fritz Herzog, Conrad Hurtt, Jerry Maren, John Paragon, and Oliver Theess), and Sex and the Married Detective (1989, with Stephen Macht and Susan Gibney).
Between 1983 and 1993, Buckingham appeared in sixteen episodes of Cheers where he worked with Buzz Barbee, Gene Cross, Tim Culbertson, Mike Paciorek, Walter Smith, Rebecca Soladay, Kathy Hammers, Joseph Paz, Kelsey Grammer, Steve Vinovich, Raye Birk, Lee Allen, Dawn Grisheau, Fritz Herzog, Larry Humburger, Jim Painter, Mark Reilly, John Vorges, Kirstie Alley, Anthony Gordon, Ilona Wilson, Jay Crimp, Lorine Mendell, Bebe Neuwirth, Phil Morris, Gayle Frank, Guy Vardaman, William Ward, Michael Braveheart, Norman Fessler, Lemuel Perry, Roberta Storm, Geoff Vanderstock, Michael Wilkinson, Peter Henry Schroeder, B.K. Byron, Peter Paul Eastman, John Rice, Diedrich Bader, Joey Banks, Don Bennett, Roger Trantham, Tom Klunis, Paul Willson, James Davison, Randy James, Cristian Letelier, Debbie Marsh, Sherry O'Keefe, Mark Watson, Denise Lynne Roberts, Keene Curtis, Suzanne Lodge, Keith Rayve, Georgia Brown, Joycelyn Robinson, Joe Baumann, Lee Faranda, Eben Ham, Mark Lentry, Michael Moorehead, Sissy Sessions, Curt Truman, Mikki Val, Richard Doyle, Gerard David, Jr., Hal Donahue, Cameron, Grace Harrell, Karlotta Nelson, Matt Tufo, George Hearn, Renata Scott, Rick Berman, Lou DeGrado, Star Halm, Melanie Hathorn, Susan Lewis, Bill Thomas Miller, Rad Milo, Wanda Norman, and Tami Peterson. He also appeared in nine episodes of Murder, She Wrote between 1984 and 1992, along with Michael Horton, Tricia O'Neil, Brian Keith, Paddi Edwards, John Hancock, Kat Sawyer-Young, Peter Paul Eastman, Gary Frank, Lenore Kasdorf, Allan Miller, Brock Peters, John Chandler, Lemuel Perry, Walter Smith, Tim O'Connor, Peter Mark Richman, Eugene Roche, Matt Roe, Len Felber, Steve Hershon, Robert Hitchcock, Mike Paciorek, George Sasaki, Geoff Vanderstock, Adrienne Barbeau, George Takei, Mark Phelan, Clive Revill, William Windom, Dean Stockwell, Marcy Goldman, Julie Parrish, Shirley Anthony, Monty O'Grady, Stanley Kamel, Anthony Gordon, and Suzanne Lodge.
Among his acting work in the 1990s are Pretty Woman (1990, with Jason Alexander, Elinor Donahue, Abdul Salaam El Razzac, Larry Hankin, Dey Young, Norman Large, and Joel Shultz), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), Patriot Games (1992, with James Earl Jones, Ellen Geer, Fritz Sperberg, Bob Gunton, Keith Campbell, and Renna Bogdanowicz), The Bodyguard (1992, with Bill Cobbs, Mike Starr, Bert Remsen, Donald Hotton, Douglas Price, Wanda Norman, Juan De Villa, Bruce Dobos, Kevin Grevioux, Adolphus Hankins, Dan Koko, Mark Kosakura, Rudy Morrison, Jim Portnoy, Michelle Rudy, George Sasaki, Fran Severini, Theresa St. Clair, Roberta Storm, John Tesh, and Curt Truman), The Distinguished Gentleman (1992, with Eddie Murphy, Victor Rivers, Noble Willingham, Gary Frank, Daniel Benzali, Julianna McCarthy, Dion Anderson, Gary Price, Sam Alejan, Lena Banks, Buzz Barbee, Scott Barry, Christina Bergstrom, Wanda Norman, John Copage, Lou DeGrado, Peter Paul Eastman, Geoffrey Mutch, Sherry O'Keefe, Gene Poe, Jim Portnoy, John Rice, Irving Ross, and Kevin G. Tracey), In the Line of Fire (1993, with Gary Cole, Clyde Kusatsu, Carl Ciarfalio, Michael Zurich, Lena Banks, Lee Faranda, Norman Fessler, Suzanne Lodge, Robin Morselli, Elizabeth Pengson, Denise Lynne Roberts, and Sharon Schaffer), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996, with Paul Winfield, Willie Garson, Michael Reilly Burke, Valerie Wildman, Richard Irving, Vinny Argiro, Gregg Daniel, Jeanne Mori, Frank Welker, Greg Bronson, Faith Burton, Maria Celeste Genitempo, Adolphus Hankins, Jana Karson, Tami Peterson, Jerry Quinn, Michael Wilkinson, and Brian J. Williams) as well as Dynasty: The Reunion (1991, with Robin Sachs, Joan Collins, Tony Jay, Evelyn Guerrero, Jeff O'Haco, Ray Reinhardt, Keone Young, Bill Blair, Renna Bogdanowicz, Faith Burton, David Channell, Phil Culotta, Debbie David, Bruce Dobos, Peter Paul Eastman, Michael Echols, Melanie Hathorn, Steve Hershon, Wanda Norman, Debra Dilley, Roberta Storm, and Curt Truman), three episodes of Cybill (1995-1997, with Hal Needham, Joe Piscopo, Holiday Freeman, Jim Portnoy, Ronald R. Rondell, William Steinfeldt, Irving Ross, and Robert Clendenin), and Ally McBeal (1998, with Michael G. Hagerty, Renee E. Goldsberry, Walter Smith, Curt Truman, Douglas Tait, Daunette Saunders, and Ilona Wilson).
He also worked as stand-in on Jason Alexander's For Better or Worse (1995, with Robert Costanzo and Peter Wick and fellow stand-in Heather Rattray).
Since 2000, Buckingham focused on doing commercials and only occasionally worked on television or film. Along with David Pfeiffer he was featured as a courtroom spectator in the Boston Legal episode "Change of Course" (2004, with William Shatner, Robert Joy, Thomas Kopache, René Auberjonois, and Dennis Cockrum) and worked as background actor on the comedies Fun with Dick and Jane (2005, with Ivar Brogger, Clint Howard, Scott L. Schwartz, Kerry Hoyt, Steve Kehela, Bob Morrisey, Al Ahlf, Macarena Bianchi, Robin Bonaccorsi, Mark Correy, Janet Dey, Bruce Dobos, Terry Green, Scott Hill, Ken Jackman, Andray Johnson, Joyce Lasley, Pasha Lychnikoff, Jack Nolan, Jimmy Ortega, Beth Persky, Tyson Weihe, Katie Rowe, Justin Sundquist, Michael Wajacs, and Michael Wilkinson) and The Benchwarmers (2006, with Doug Jones, Irene Roseen, Joni Avery, Bruce Dobos, Jana Karson, and Suzanne Lodge).
After he appeared as a background passenger in The Poseidon Adventure in 1972, Buckingham also worked as a background passenger on the remake Poseidon in 2006. He was briefly interviewed for the short special feature Shipmate's Diary where he told he does this for over forty years and loves it. Poseidon also features Trek performers Jimmy Bennett, Caroline Lagerfelt, Al Ahlf, Natasha Delahunt, Menina Fortunato, and Austin Priester.
Between 2009 and 2012, Robert Buckingham worked as a regular background actor on The Mentalist. He appeared as a CBI office agent in fifty-seven episodes of the first four seasons and worked with Gregory Itzin, Rebecca Wisocky, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Picardo, Leslie Hope, Ator Tamras, Al Ahlf, Scott Hill, Michael Kurtz, and Antony Acker.
Most recently, he worked as background actor on The Conners.