Robert Thaler

{{Infobox person

|name = Robert Thaler

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|10|15}}

|occupation = Stage and television actor

|education = University of California,
Berkeley (BS)

}}

Robert Thaler (born October 15, 1959){{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/484225580/|title=Soap star|work=Calgary Herald|location=Calgary, Alberta, Canada|date=January 18, 1987|access-date=December 5, 2021|page=43|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}} is an American stage and television actor. He is known for playing Pearl Bradford in the American television soap opera Santa Barbara.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/408153414/|title=Aw shucks... Thaler discovers a pearl in 'Santa Barbara' role|first=Eve|last=Lubin|work=The Times-News|location=Twin Falls, Idaho|date=July 4, 1986|access-date=December 5, 2021|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/510678412/|title=Robert Thaler plays no ordinary oyster shucker|work=The Daily American|location=Somerset, Pennsylvania|first=Eve|last=Lubin|date=July 5, 1986|access-date=December 5, 2021|page=19|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}

Early life and education

Thaler was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and raised in Marion, Iowa.{{Cite book|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cqUeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Js4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5030,1582373|title=Character gives 'Santa Barbara' pizazz|first=Connie|last=Passalacqua|work=The Herald Journal|date=February 22, 1987|access-date=December 5, 2021|via=Google Books}} {{Open access}} He had a brother and two sisters. Thaler attended at University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/36308322/|title=Robert Thaler is a bit different from Pearl|first=Nancy|last=Reichardt|work=The Daily News|location=Huntingdon, Pennsylvania|date=September 26, 1986|access-date=December 5, 2021|page=20|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}} Seeing a local production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest inspired him to become an actor, and he began appearing in regional theatres.

Career

Thaler began his screen career in 1983, in the role of "Dancer" in the short-lived ABC crime drama television series The Renegades.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/105927550/|title=Before 'Santa Barbara', Thaler did short-lived 'Renegades series'|first=Dennis|last=Hanshew|work=The Indianapolis Star|location=Indianapolis, Indiana|date=February 28, 1988|access-date=December 5, 2021|page=184|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}

Thaler was seen in a Los Angeles production of a play titled Tamara by Bridget and Jerome Dobson, creators of the television soap opera Santa Barbara. They created the role of Pearl Bradford, an eccentric waiter, for him, and he joined the cast of Santa Barbara in October 1985. His final appearance on Santa Barbara was in April 1988. Thaler also guest-starred in television programs including Hardcastle and McCormick, V, Remington Steele, T.J. Hooker and Hill Street Blues.