Gilbert Lee Robbins (1931 - 2011)

Born 3 Apr 1931 in Spokane, Spokane, Washington, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Cecelia (Bledsoe) Robbins — married 12 Jul 1952 in St. Paul the Apostle's Church, Westwood, California

Died 5 Apr 2011 at age 80 in Esteban Cantu, Baja California, Mexico

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Biography

Gilbert Robbins is Notable.

Gilbert Lee Robbins was born Apr. 3, 1931 in Spokane, Washington.

He was married to Mary Cecelia Bledsoe on Jul. 12, 1952 at St. Paul the Apostle's Church in Westwood, California.^[1]

Robbins, who was a singer and bass guitarist with the Cumberland Three and the Belafonte Singers and a performing partner with Tom Paxton, joined the Highwaymen in 1962.

The group, formed in 1958 at Wesleyan College in Connecticut, had become one of the top collegiate-style folk groups, scoring hits with "Michael" ("Michael, Row the Boat Ashore") and the Leadbelly song "Cotton Fields."

With Robbins aboard, singing baritone and playing the guitarron, an oversize Mexican six-string guitar, the group maintained its popularity while continuing a transition to more socially conscious music. Robbins performed on the five albums that the group recorded for United Artists before disbanding in 1964, including the live albums "Hootenanny With the Highwaymen," "One More Time" and "Homecoming."

Gilbert Lee Robbins, the father of the actor Tim Robbins, was born on April 3, 1931, in Spokane, Wash., and grew up in Los Angeles.

After playing percussion with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra while still in high school, he won a music scholarship to the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was the drum major of the marching band. He left school before graduating and enlisted in the Air Force, where he was the drum major and band conductor for the 542nd Division, based in Selma, Ala.

In 1960 he joined the Cumberland Three, and quickly became active in the Greenwich Village folk-music scene in New York, befriending musicians like Dave Van Ronk and Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers.

After the Highwaymen broke up, Robbins managed the Gaslight Club in the late 1960s. .

He later appeared in small roles in the films "Bob Roberts" (which starred Tim Robbins) and "Dead Man Walking."

He died on Apr. 5, 2011 of prostrate cancer at his home in Esteban Cantu, Baja California, Mexico.

Tim Robbins finds his Dad's picture at Manny's Music, where 3 generations of Robbins have bought their guitars.

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952"
   citing Page: 249; FHL microfilm: 1283809;
   FamilySearch Record: K86M-DWP (accessed 22 October 2022)
   FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-893H-7G5W Image number 03011
   Gilbert Lee Robbins (21) marriage to Mary Cecelia Bledsoe (19) on 12 Jul 1952 in Los Angeles, California, United States.

• 1940; Census Place: Long Beach, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T627_368; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 59-14

• Wikipedia Entry

• [www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/11/1121697/folk-singer-gil-robbins.html The New York Times, dated 11 Apr 2011] (Dead Link - Needs Update)