Robert Ellenstein was an American actor. The son of Meyer C. Ellenstein, a Newark dentist, Robert Ellenstein grew up to see his father become a two-term mayor from 1933 to 1941. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II: earning a Purple Heart during his service. He attended New York University and graduated with honors from the University of Iowa. He began acting, directing and teaching in Cleveland, Ohio. A veteran of the "Golden Age" of live television, for the same show played the lead in "A Case of Identity", later turned into the film The Wrong Man, he was the first actor to play Albert Einstein on television. Ellenstein made his first film in 1954, he was featured in Alfred Hitchcock'sNorth by Northwest. In 1961, he played the mobster Legs Diamond in an episode of NBC's 1920s crime dramaThe Lawless Years with James Gregory. Among his television appearances, Ellenstein guest starred in three episodes of Perry Mason. In 1957 he played defendant John Addison in "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen." In 1959 he played murder victim Arthur Cartright in "The Case of the Howling Dog," and in 1960 he played Medical Examiner Dr. McBride in "The Case of the Madcap Modiste." In 1965 he played a character curiously of 65 years of age in a second season episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He appeared in two episodes of the WWII drama, Combat!, first in 1965 in "The Tree of Moray" and in 1966 he was in the episode "Counterplay". He also made three guest appearances on The Untouchables, five appearances on The Wild Wild West, four on Ironside, and five on '. He also directed television with an episode of the 1960s sitcom, Love on a Rooftop, and many live television episodes. Ellenstein had over 200 television appearances. He performed hundreds of stage roles as an actor. He directed many theatre productions in New York, Los Angeles and in regional theater. He was artistic director of The Company of Angels and Founding Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Repertory Company. Ellenstein received a lifetime achievement in theatre award from the LA Weekly in 1988. He is best known for having played the villain in the pilot episode of Moonlighting, and then the Federation President in '. He taught theatre professionally and academically for over 50 years, founding the Academy of Stage and Cinema Arts in Los Angeles.
Death
Ellenstein died in Los Angeles of natural causes on October 28, 2010 at age 87. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lois, daughter Jan and his two sons, David and Peter, both of whom are artistic directors of theatres.
