Robert Stewart (actor)

Robert Stewart (born on December 23rd, 1940 -- ) is an American actor whose promising career was effectively ended in a motorcycle crash that left him a double amputee and killed his girlfriend, actress Linda Avins. In 1996, he was convicted of statuatory rape by the state of California and served a six year sentence at the California Institute for Men in Chino, California.

Early Life
Stewart was born in Malibu, California. His father was actor Walker Stewart. His mother was the actress Beverly Partin.

Career
Stewart made his film debut with a small role in 1962's A Private Time. He had a recurring role as "Johnny" on My Life With Alice from 1963 through 1967.

Throughout the 1960s, he sporadically appeared on a number of television shows, including Have Gun Will Travel, Mission Impossible, The Andy Griffith Show, The Twilight Zone, and The Ken Bradley Show. However, Stewart's initial claim to fame came from starring in 51 episodes of There Was Jason from 1968 through 1970. Stewart starred as Jason, an idealistic young man who traveled up and down the American highway in search of adventure.

Stewart also appeared in several movies during the late 60s and early 70s, including The Intruders, The Emperor Requires a Bride, Stanley Hopper Is Alive and Well North of the Border, and Send Them A Message.

Accident
On July 15th, 1975, Stewart was struck by a drunk driver while riding on a motorcycle. As a result, Strewart lost both his left arm and left leg and his girlfriend, actress Linda Avins, was killed. In 1978, Stewart won a landmark 4.8 million dollar lawsuit against the driver of the other vehicule. He also appeared in several televised PSAs about the dangers of driving while intoxicated.

Career After The Accident
In 1980, Stewart appeared in his first acting role since the accident when he guest starred on an episode of Jackson and Mr. P entitled "Mr. P's College Buddy Comes To Visit."

By Stewart's own account, he turned to alcohol following the accident. Though he appeared in a few small television roles (the majority of which had been written to directly reflect his disability) after winning his lawsuit, he soon gained a reputation for being unreliable. His last acting role was a cameo on Twin Peaks in 1991. Following this role, Stewart retired an actor.

Personal Life
From 1969 to 1971, Stewart was married to actress Eunice Stringfellow. They have one daughter named Cindy.

Criminal Arrest
On November 3rd, 1993, Stewart was arrested and charged with having sexual relations with a 15 year-old girl. At the time, the girl's father was Stewart's accountrant. Stewart claimed, at the time, that the relationship was consensual.

Flees
Released on bond on November 7th, 1993, Stewart fled the country. After a two-month international manhunt that saw Stewart profiled on America's Most Wanted, Stewart was discovered -- by a private investigator hired by the American Mirror tabloid newspaper -- to be hiding outside of Florence, Italy. In return for an undisclosed amount of money, Stewart agreed to turn himself into authorities after first sitting down for an interview with journalist Ciara Conway.

In the interview, Stewart again protested that any sexual relations between him and the teenage girl were consensual and admitted that his life no longer made much sense to him. After completing the interview, Stewart turned himself into authorities and was promptly sent back to the United States.

Conviction
On Dec. 12th, 1994, Stewart was convicted of statuatory rape and sentenced to a six-year prison term. The presiding judge in the case, Maria Olivaros, said that she would have simply given Stewart probation if not for his earlier attempt to flee. Stewart served his full sentence at the California Insititute For Men in Chino, California. He was released in 2000 and is a registered sex offender.

Present Day Life
Stewart currently lives at 1589 MLK Blvd. in Oakland, California and refuses any and all requests for interviews.

In 2003, he was admitted to the Alameda County Hospital after suffering from chest pains. It was later determined that he had suffered a heart attack.

In 2006, he was again admitted Alameda after a friend found him unconcious and unresponsive. Though he was eventually revived, it was later determined that he had attempted to kill himself with an overdose of sleeping pills.