Actors' Equity Association. Actors and stage managers-in-training could get credit for their work in such theatres toward eventual membership in Equity. While most of his work was in theatre, Porterfield also had occasional minor roles in films, from 1937 to 1958. (See "Filmography" section below.) Marriage and family Porterfield married Helen Fritz on May 12, 1934. She died on New Year's Day 1949, having struggled most of her life with alcoholism, from which her father also suffered. It was considered the cause of her death. She did not learn until 1941 that her father had died of alcoholism. Robert and Helen did not have children. Porterfield married again on October 6, 1964, to Mary Dudley. In 1968, the two adopted a five-year-old boy, whom they named Jay Payne Porterfield. Robert nicknamed him "Jay Bird". They were married until Robert's death on October 28, 1971, in Abingdon. She continued to live as a widow at the Porterfield home of "Twin Oaks". Quotes "If you like us, talk about us. And if you don't, just keep your mouth shut."- Porterfield said this at the end of his introductory speech before each performance." "He gave me my start in the business, and every time I see my Oscar, I remember him fondly". – Ernest Borgnine on Robert Porterfield. Filmography Awards In 1948, he won the Regional Theatre Tony Award for his "Contribution to Development of Regional Theatre". That year, he was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by his alma mater Hampden-Sydney College for his contributions to theatre. In 1957, he was named "First Citizen of Abingdon" and also presented with the "Actors' Fund Award of Merit". In 1963, he was given the "Thomas Jefferson Award" for public relations on behalf of Virginia. In 1967, the "Suzanne Davis Memorial Award" for contributions to theatre in the South was awarded to him, as was the "Special Service Award" from the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce. Porterfield Hall at Radford University is named after him. References External links 1905 births 1971 deaths People from Washington County, Virginia People from Abingdon, Virginia American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers Male actors from Virginia American people of Scottish descent People from Wythe County, Virginia 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople