Robyn Douglass

Robyn Douglass
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Portrays:	Jamie Hamilton
Date of Birth:	June 21, 1953
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Age:	72
Nationality:	USA
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Robyn Douglass (born June 21, 1953 as Robyn Rawers in Sendai, Japan) is a retired American actress and model who played the role of Jamie Hamilton, a recurring character in Galactica 1980.

Early Life and Training

The daughter of an Army pediatrician father and a psychologist mother, Douglass was born in Sendai, Japan, and grew up in San Francisco as the oldest of four siblings. She spent twelve years at an all-girl Catholic school in Mountain View, California, an experience she later credited for her initial typecasting in what she described as "goody two-shoes roles."

Douglass enrolled at the University of California at San Francisco as a pre-veterinary major but left in her final year to pursue acting. She studied at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre before relocating to Chicago, where she spent four years performing in commercials while training with Del Close at Second City and Lou Conte at the Hubbard Street Dance Theatre.

Early Modeling Career

Before establishing herself as an actress, Douglass was a successful model, appearing in Cosmopolitan magazine and on the cover of Playboy's December 1974 issue. She posed nude for photographer Augustin Gregory in two separate photo sessions for Playboy, appearing nude in the magazine eight times.

Film and Television Career

Breaking Away

Douglass's first major break came when director Peter Yates discovered her in Chicago and cast her as Katherine, the college love interest of Dennis Christopher's character, in the critically acclaimed 1979 film Breaking Away. The film, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture, became a significant success.

Galactica 1980

Douglass was cast in Galactica 1980 in January 1980, though at the time she had no guarantee the project would become more than a television movie. Despite the lack of advance publicity, Douglass was excited by the opportunity to be part of a science fiction production, having had no previous experience in the genre.

Her character Jamie Hamilton was conceived as a bright, vivacious reporter whose knowledge of Earth's past becomes key to the Colonial Fleet's mission to save humanity from the pursuing Cylons. The show's premise involved the Colonial Warriors attempting to change the course of time travel to update Earth's technology and help defend against the Cylons, with plots frequently involving historical figures and events.

Douglass described the production schedule as demanding, with the entire cast facing tight deadlines and a shortage of time. She developed her character Jamie largely through her own creative input, working with the show's writers and building Jamie's personality over time.

Douglass drew inspiration from classic action heroines, comparing her character's style to Jane Fonda's performance in The Electric Horseman, noting that Jamie exhibited a similar combination of strength and vulnerability. She emphasized her goal was to avoid portraying Jamie as stereotypically feminine, preferring to use intelligence rather than appearance to drive the character.

Her Life as a Man

In 1984, Douglass starred in the NBC made-for-television movie Her Life as a Man, which aired on March 12, 1984. The film was based on "My Life As A Man," an article by Carol Lynn Mithers published in The Village Voice, in which Mithers recounted her real-life experience of disguising herself as a man to obtain a sportswriting position.

Douglass portrayed Carly Perkins, an aspiring female reporter who disguises herself as "Carl Parsons" to secure a sportswriting job at a national magazine run by a chauvinistic editor, played by Robert Culp. The film also featured Marc Singer, Joan Collins, and Laraine Newman.

The Christian Science Monitor praised the production as "perhaps the quintessential feminist film, a superb portrayal of the complex relationship of the sexes in our society," noting that director Robert Ellis Miller handled the material "so skillfully that I found myself believing every seemingly unbelievable moment." The review specifically commended Douglass, stating she "manages to make her-himself totally credible as she reverses roles."

Other Work

Douglass appeared in several other notable films, including Partners (1982) with Ryan O'Neal, Romantic Comedy (1983) with Dudley Moore, and The Lonely Guy (1984) with Steve Martin.

On television, Douglass had a recurring role as Lt. Jeanne Beaumont in the 1987 series Houston Knights (initially titled Houston Nights). She also appeared in made-for-television movies including The Clone Master (1978), The Girls in the Office (1979), and Golden Gate (1981), and had roles in series such as Trapper John, M.D. and Tenspeed and Brownshoe.

Legal Issues

Hustler Lawsuit

In 1981, nude and erotic photographs of Douglass appeared in the January issue of Hustler magazine without her authorization. Douglass filed a lawsuit against Hustler Magazine, Inc. and photographer Augustin Gregory, claiming invasion of privacy, including portrayal in a false light, and unauthorized commercial appropriation of her image.

The photographs had been taken during two earlier sessions for Playboy magazine, for which Douglass had signed limited releases. Hustler obtained the photographs from Gregory and published them with sexually suggestive captions, including images that appeared to depict lesbian activity. Douglass claimed the publication damaged her career as an advertising model, with testimony showing that advertising agencies in Chicago refused to hire her after the Hustler feature appeared.

A jury initially ruled in Douglass's favor, awarding her $600,000 in damages ($500,000 in compensatory damages against each defendant and $1,500,000 in punitive damages against Hustler, later reduced by the trial judge). However, in 1985, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial, finding errors in the jury instructions regarding the standard for proving actual malice. The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, letting the appellate decision stand.

Personal Life

On December 2, 2000, Douglass married criminal defense attorney Rick Halprin, who was known for representing high-profile clients, including Chicago crime boss Joseph Lombardo.

In 2002, the Halprins filed a lawsuit under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 against the Prairie Single Family Homes of Dearborn Park Association, claiming the neighborhood association allowed harassment of the couple because Halprin was Jewish. Douglass later divorced Halprin before his death in 2013.

Later Career and Retirement

Douglass's known acting career spanned from 1978 to 1999. She eventually moved to California, where she opened a bed-and-breakfast.

In 2020, Douglass released an audio memoir titled Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs, reflecting upon her career while commemorating the 40th anniversary of Galactica 1980.

References