Robert Carradine

Carradine in 2009, photo by s_bukley/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Robert Reed Carradine

Date of Birth: March 24, 1954

Place of Birth: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Death: February 23, 2026

Place of Death: New York City, New York, U.S.

Ethnicity:
*father – English, some Irish and Scottish, distant Welsh, German, and French
*mother – Ashkenazi Jewish, Danish, German, Swiss-German

Robert Carradine, also billed as Bob Carradine, was an American actor. He was known for starring as Lewis in the film Revenge of the Nerds, and its sequels, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation, and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love. His roles also included the films The Cowboys (1972), You and Me, Aloha Bobby and Rose, Jackson County Jail, Massacre at Central High, The Pom Pom Girls, Cannonball, Joyride, Orca (1977), Coming Home, Blackout (1978), The Long Riders, The Big Red One, Heartaches (1981), Tag: The Assassination Game, Wavelength (1983), Just the Way You Are, Number One with a Bullet, Buy & Cell, All’s Fair, Rude Awakening (1989), John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars, Max Keeble’s Big Move, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Supercross, Hoboken Hollow, Tooth and Nail, Sex and Breakfast, The 13th Alley, Fancypants, Cinnamon (2011), Django Unchained, and The Night They Came Home; the series The Twilight Zone and Lizzie McGuire; the made-for-tv movies The Hatfields and McCoys, The Survival of Dana, As Is, Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8, Totally Minnie, I Saw What You Did, The Incident, Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture, Clarence (1990), Doublecrossed, Body Bags, The Disappearance of Christina, Humanoids from the Deep (1996), and Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire; and the mini-series Jack London’s Tales of the Klondike and Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers. He presented the show King of the Nerds.

Robert was the son of actors John Carradine (born Richmond Reed Carradine) and Sonia Sorel (born Sonia Henius). He was raised mostly by his father, and stepmother, Doris Grimshaw.

Robert was a brother of actors Christopher Carradine and Keith Carradine, a paternal half-brother of actor David Carradine, and maternal half-brother of actor Michael Bowen; an uncle of actresses Martha Plimpton and Sorel Carradine, who are Keith’s daughters; and a half-uncle of actress Kansas Carradine, who is David’s daughter. He had a daughter, actress Ever Carradine, with his former partner Susan Snyder; and two children with his former wife Edie Mani.

Robert’s father was of English, some Irish and Scottish, and distant Welsh, German, and French, ancestry. Robert’s maternal grandfather was of half Polish Jewish and half Danish descent. Robert’s maternal grandmother was of German and Swiss-German ancestry.

The surname Carradine was sometimes said to have had an Italian or Spanish origin. Robert’s last traceable patrilineal ancestor was believed to have been a man named Parker Carradine, who was born in Georgia, in North America, c. 1755. There is no evidence that Parker had Italian or Spanish ancestry.

Robert’s paternal grandfather was William Reed Carradine (the son of The Rev. Beverly Francis Carradine and Laura Green Reid/Reed). William was born in Mississippi, and was a correspondent for the Associated Press. The Rev. Beverly was born in Altamont Plantation, Yazoo County, Mississippi, and was a Methodist minister, author, and leading evangelist for the holiness movementr. He was the son of Henry Francis Carradine, a planter; and of Mary Caroline Hewitt, whose maternal grandfather was a minister. Robert’s great-grandmother Laura was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of David Reid and Martha Goss.

Robert’s paternal grandmother was Genevieve Winifred Richmond (the daughter of Horace Culver Richmond and Winifred/Winnie Ryan). Genevieve was born in Milford, Otsego County, New York, and was a surgeon. Horace was born in West Oneonta, Otsego, the son of Killian van Rensselaer Richmond and Emily Culver, who was from New Hampshire. Robert’s great-grandmother Winifred was born in Otsego County, to Irish parents, Martin Ryan and Catherine.

Robert’s maternal grandfather was Henry Robert Henius (the son of Max Henius and Johanne/Johanna Louise “Henne” Heiberg). Henry was born in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Max Henius was born in Aalborg, Denmark, and was a prominent biochemist, who specialized in the fermentation processes, and co-founded the American Academy of Brewing, in Chicago. He was the son of Polish Jewish immigrants to Denmark, Isidor Henius, from Torun; and Emilie Wasserzug. Robert’s great-grandmother Johanne was born in Nørresundby, Aalborg Kommune, Nordjylland, Denmark, the daughter of Emil Theodor Heiberg and Johanne Henriette Jacoba Schmidt. She was the sister of historian/philologist Johan Ludvig Heiberg. Through his Henius line, Robert was a second cousin, once removed, of Danish writer, novelist, poet, and journalist Suzanne Brøgger.

Robert’s maternal grandmother was Lillian Dorothy Fuess (the daughter of Capt. Joseph Fuess and Anna Fischer). Lillian was born in Belleville, St. Clair, Illinois. Joseph was German, from Baden-Württemberg, and was President of the First National Bank of Belleville, and of the Fuess-Fischer Company. He was the son of Joseph Fuess and Margertha/Margaretha Hasselhofer. Robert’s great-grandmother Anna was born in Belleville, to a German father, John Joseph Fischer, from Tirol, Austria; and a Swiss-German mother, Elisabeth/Elizabeth “Elise” Eggen/Eggan, from Niederstocken, Verwaltungskreis Thun, Bern.

Sources: Genealogies of Robert Carradine – http://famouskin.com
https://www.geni.com
https://www.findagrave.com
https://www.wikitree.com

Genealogy of Robert Carradine (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.familytreecircles.com

Robert’s maternal grandmother, Lillian Dorothy Fuess, on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org

Marriage record of Robert’s maternal great-grandparents, Joseph Fuess and Anna Fischer – https://familysearch.org