“Robert Wagner…the love-light in Susan Zanuck’s eyes, got into movies the hard way.” – Hedda Hopper (1951)
Robert Wagner’s father was a Bel-Air steel contractor who told him you’re on your own if you want to be an actor. So Bob got a job as a caddy at the Bel-Air Country Club and carried the bag for Clark Gable and Randolph Scott!
Gable’s advice was to keep your feet on the ground if you hit it big in the movies, “everyone is replaceable.”
Wagner left caddying to be a groom at Bel-Air Stables, now the Bel-Air Hotel (previously the Danziger stables), where there weren’t many actors. Soon he ended up washing dishes at a cafe in Westwood until finally giving up hope and going to work for his father.
One night, while dining with his family at the Bel-Air Hotel (where he used to work!), he was spotted by an agent who liked the look of his jaw, and off he went riding the road to stardom!
Soon Wagner joined the Bel-Air Country Club with a 14 handicap. It must have been sweet! Bob played in many amateur championships, exhibitions and charity fundraisers over his storied career as an amateur golfer.
Here is a link to a video of Robert playing a match against legendary professional Sam Snead at Woodland Hills Country Club for Celebrity Golf.
The course was originally designed by John Duncan Dunn and built by William P. “Billy” Bell. It opened as Girard Golf Club in 1925, as part of Victor Girard’s Girard subdivision in the San Fernando Valley.
Sam Snead vs Robert Wagner – Celebrity Golf!
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