Ann Robinson Dies at 96 After Defining The War of the Worlds
Ann Robinson died on Sept. 26 at her home in Los Angeles at 96. The actress, best known for being menaced by Martians in the 1953 film The War of the Worlds, spent decades tied to a role that kept returning to view in new forms.
The War of the Worlds role
In 1953, Robinson played library science teacher Sylvia Van Buren in The War of the Worlds, the adaptation of H.G. Wells' 1898 novel. Gene Barry co-starred as Pacific Tech professor Clayton Forrester, and the film became the credit that defined her public profile for the rest of her life.
Robinson once said, "I’ve gotten more mileage out of War of the Worlds than Vivien Leigh did on Gone With the Wind," and the line fits the scale of her career better than any résumé summary. A single genre performance gave her a long tail in a business that usually moves on fast.
Spielberg and the 1988-90 series
In 2005, Steven Spielberg invited Robinson and Barry to reprise their scene in War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise. Robinson later said, "Steven was just so adorable," and added, "They treated me like royalty," describing the production and premiere.
From 1988 to 1990, she also played Sylvia in a few episodes of the syndicated War of the Worlds TV series. That kept the character alive across formats and decades, long after the 1953 film had become the fixed point of her career.
From stunt work to fame
Born on May 25, 1929, Robinson attended Hollywood High and Sacred Heart Academy in La Canada Flintridge before breaking into movies as a stunt performer. In 1949, she doubled for June Havoc in The Story of Molly X and got caught on a 15-foot barbed-wire fence while trying to escape Tehachapi state prison in the film.
Her granddaughter, Tori Bravo, is among the family members left to carry the memory of a career that moved from stunt work to a role that never stopped resurfacing. Robinson's death closes the life of an actress whose name stayed linked to one film, one character, and one scene that kept finding new audiences.
