Trending:
- Robert Trebor, an actor known for his work on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, has died at 71
- The TV star died of sepsis on March 11, years after being diagnosed with leukemia in 2012 and undergoing a stem-cell transplant a year later, his wife told The Hollywood Reporter
- Trebor’s online obituary states his “talent, humor, energy and enthusiasm will be greatly missed”
Robert Trebor, the actor who played Salmoneus in both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, has died. He was 71.
Trebor died of sepsis on March 11 at the Los Angeles Medical Center, his wife, Deirdre Hennings, told The Hollywood Reporter.
He was previously diagnosed with leukemia in 2012, before undergoing a stem-cell transplant in 2013, which he suffered side effects from, per his online obituary.
“Mr. Trebor’s talent, humor, energy and enthusiasm will be greatly missed by all who knew him, most especially by his wife,” the star’s obituary states.
Trebor, who was born in Philadelphia and attended Northwestern University, spent some of his earlier years as an actor at New York City’s Ensemble Studio Theatre, where he performed in Shel Silverstein’s plays, according to his obituary.
From there, his breakout role came in 1985, when he starred in the TV movie Out of the Darkness as Son of Sam, alongside the likes of Martin Sheen and Héctor Elizondo. His other early projects included 1986’s 52 Pick-Up, 1987’s My Demon Lover, 1987’s Making Mr. Right and Oliver Stone’s 1988 film Talk Radio.
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Perhaps his best-known role came in 1995 on the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, in which he played the merchant Salmoneus. He also reprised the role for Xena: Warrior Princess, appearing in a handful of episodes.
In a 2001 interview with The Voyageur, Trebor said his character’s arc was “to try to be a good person, but his essential mercantile instincts kept interfering with that.”
“I never saw him as a thief. [Bruce Campbell’s] Autolycus was the thief. I never saw him as a con man either, although I could understand why other people could,” Trebor continued “He was just a very enthusiastic guy who didn’t read the fine print and needed to make a living when he wasn’t a farmer or fighter. He lived by his glib tongue.”
Among his other Hercules projects, Trebor appeared as Waylin in the 1994 TV movie Hercules and the Lost Kingdom, and, as his obituary notes, he eventually became “so popular” playing Salmoneus that he “became an action figure and appeared at fan conventions” throughout the world.
Some of Trebor’s other projects included 2004’s Jiminy Glick in Lalawood, as well as appearing in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Tales from the Crypt.
As his obituary states, Trebor was named one of the first Artists-in-Residence at The Braid in Los Angeles in 2013. He also published two books during his lifetime — Dear Salmoneus: The World’s First Guide to Love and Money and The Haircut Who Would Be King.
In 2016, he was credited in his final film, the Coen Brothers’ satire Hail, Caesar!
Trebor is survived by Hennings, his wife of 43 years, per his obituary. Those wishing to show support are being encouraged to donate to The Braid — where a scholarship fund is being established in his name — as well as the Leukemia Research Foundation.
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