Robert Leroy Diamond, known as Bobby Diamond died on May 15, 2019. He is an American attorney in his native Los Angeles, California. Diamond was a child star and young-adult actor in the 1950s through the early 1970s. He is best remembered after more than a half-century for his role as Joey Clark Newton in the television series Fury, a western which ran on NBC from October 15, 1955 through March 19, 1960. He was listed as Robert Diamond in the cast credits during the first season in 1955.
Born to a real estate broker and a housewife, Bobby was launched at 8 when his mother, Pearl, “the architect of my career,” nudged Bobby and his younger brother, Gary, into a tap dance act that entered talent contests at supermarket openings. (Big sister Arlene escaped the act and grew up to be a secretary; Gary is now also a lawyer.) Pearl worked Bobby into movie extra roles, but the youngster learned a hard lesson after filming a scene for Ride, Vaquero, in which he handed a newspaper to Anthony Quinn. “I told all my friends I was in that movie,” Diamond recalls. “What happens? I go to a birthday party where we go to see Vaquero. I remind everyone that I’m in it. But all you see is my hand coming up and giving Quinn the paper. Forty kids died of laughter.”
Bobby was disappointed at 16 when Fury ended. Worse yet, for reasons of convenience in commuting to the set, he chose Nanette Fabray’s weekly comedy series (a one-season flop) over My Three Sons, an instant hit which ran for 12 years. Pearl’s death from diabetes three years later was a double blow, and without her guidance Bobby’s career began to wane.
Throughout his high school and college years, Diamond had parts on a variety of series—Mr. Novak, Wagon Train, The Twilight Zone, My Three Sons, The Patty Duke Show and Mr. Ed—but landed only one steady job, as cousin Duncan in the last season of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. He came close to snaring the role of Robin on Batman, but the producer told him he was, at 21, too old.
While working on a broadcast-journalism degree at San Fernando Valley State College, Diamond unwittingly prepared for his career as a lawyer by indulging in a stint of petty crime. During what he calls his “filet mignon stage,” he nipped prime cuts of meat from supermarkets, stowing them in a slit in his coat for later consumption. “I used to be a great thief,” he admits. “The motivation was I was cheap. The money I was making wasn’t phenomenal, and it was just something to do.” He wasn’t caught, he says, but at 22, he stopped cold. “All of a sudden I noticed I was nervous.”
With the Vietnam draft staring him in the face, Diamond opted for the San Fernando Valley College of Law. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a lawyer, but it was a good way to stay in the United States and remain alive,” he says. From the office in Woodland Hills, Calif., that he shares with a partner, he practiced civil and criminal law—usually personal injury and medical malpractice. On the job, Diamond was not all theatrical tricks. One of his finest hours involved a client accused of stealing a pair of slacks from a department store. Over five years of legal maneuverings, he not only discredited a key prosecution witness but jacked up the out-of-court settlement in his client’s favor from $5,000 to $250,000. “I even got the pants back,” he says.
In spite of Diamond’s persuasive talents, personal commitment evaded him until the ripe old age of 39, when he met 22-year-old Tara Parker in a gym. (Both are ardent gymnasts.) “I saw him throw a triple twist, and I thought, not bad,” says Tara, who wasn’t impressed by his tales of stardom in Fury since it happened about the time she was born. They wed three years later, with Bobby improvising a terrifying pause before muttering his “I do,” just for laughs. The couple had a son, Robby, and the former preschool gymnastics teacher turned full-time mom.
Diamond didn’t miss legitimate showbiz, especially the long “rests” between jobs. Between his practice and his real estate investments, he raked in up to $200,000 a year. “I liked acting,” he said, “but the insecurity is something else. Every actor friend I’ve got was seeing a psychiatrist, trying to understand why they’re not working regularly.” On the other hand, he admited, if the right opportunity trotted along, he’d saddle up. “Would I do a remake of Fury?” he asks. “Sure. In a minute.”
DIAMOND, Bobby (Robert Leroy Diamond)
Born: 8/23/1948, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Died: 5/15/2019, Woodland Hills, California, U.S.A.
Bobby Diamond’s westerns – actor:
Ride Vaquero! – 1953 (boy)
The Silver Whip – 1953 (Jody)
The Americano – 1955 (Steve Dent)
Fury (TV) – 1955-1960 (Joey Clark Newton)
Wagon Train (TV) – 1960, 1964 (Matt Basham, Joey Henshaw)
The Rebel (TV) – 1961 (Jody Webster)
The Silent Gun (TV) – 1969 (Eddie)