Robin Adair MacKenzie Brown, a renowned American actor, was a prominent television leading man of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, to parents William and Margaret, Brown was of English and Scottish ancestry. He served in the U.S. Navy during wartime before pursuing an acting career under the guidance of Lee Strasberg at the New School Dramatic Workshop, where he was alongside fellow notable alumni Rod Steiger and Walter Matthau.
Brown's early career consisted of several anthology dramas on television and a couple of B-movies. His breakthrough role came in 1962 as Sir Justin in the gothic horror film Tower of London, directed by Roger Corman. He also made guest appearances on Perry Mason, including three episodes, before being cast as alien scientist Lazarus in the Star Trek episode The Alternative Factor.
Despite his short notice and the intricate script, Brown did his best with the role, but it is generally considered one of the lesser entries in the Star Trek franchise. His luck did not improve the following year when he was dropped from the role of Steve McGarrett in Hawaii Five-O at the eleventh hour, in favor of Jack Lord.
Brown's big break came when he was cast as Jason Bolt, the charismatic boss of a lumberjacking outfit, in the offbeat western series Here Come the Brides, which ran for two seasons. He then starred as the eponymous oceanographer in Primus, a scuba-diving adventure set in the Bahamas, which was produced by Ivan Tors, a renowned aquatic film producer.
Although Primus did not fare well in the ratings and was cancelled after one season, Brown continued to make sporadic TV guest appearances before eventually fading from the scene in 1994.
