Robert Strauss (November 8, 1913 – February 20, 1975) was a gravel-voiced American actor.
Strauss began his career as a classical actor, appearing in The Tempest and Macbeth on Broadway in 1930. He was known best as Stalag 17's Stanislas "Animal" Kasava, a role he created in the original 1951 Broadway production and reprised in the 1953 film adaptation, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also in the 1955 comedy film The Seven Year Itch and in the 1956 war film Attack! with Jack Palance, Eddie Albert and Lee Marvin. He also had an important supporting role in the acclaimed 1955 movie The Man with the Golden Arm, starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, and Eleanor Parker.
Additional Broadway credits include Detective Story, Twentieth century, and Portofino. Following his appearance in the latter, a short-lived 1958 disaster, Strauss went on to character roles in The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Romeo Scragg in the movie version of Li'l Abner in 1959, a number of low-budget films for producers like Albert Zugsmith, and became familiar to television viewers for his appearances in The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, The Monkees and a recurring role on
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