Ann Robinson of 'The War of the Worlds' Dead at 96

The actress's 2025 death was belatedly announced by her family

May 18, 2026

Ann Robinson & Gene Barry in The War of the Worlds (Image via Paramount)

Ann Robinson, the lovely — and long-lived — star of the original The War of the Worlds (1953) has died at 96.

In fact, she died in September of 2025, but her family for some reason did not make the news public until now, a few days before what would have been her 97th birthday.

I am always intrigued by late-announcement deaths of public figures. Granted, Robinson is not a household name, but she appeared at countless autograph shows and starred in one of sci-fi’s most beloved films — surely her family knew her contributions warranted an obit.

But we can’t know the complexities of these decisions, so I guess they always remain mysterious.

Robinson was born May 25, 1929, in L.A. When she began working in Hollywood, it was at first as a stunt woman. She also made numerous uncredited appearances in films, among them Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950), All About Eve (1950) and Son of Ali Baba (1952).

She read for The War of the Worlds and nabbed the lead in a film that would go on to become an iconic sci-fi flick. It won a Best Visual Effects Oscar and inspired a 2005 Steven Spielberg remake.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something’s off! (Image via Paramount)

It was so sweet to read how well Spielberg treated her and her co-star Gene Barry when they returned to play grandparents in the remake. She told The Spectrum at the time that the director recreated a famous scene from the original for a photo op:

“Steven was just so adorable. He came up behind me, squatted down and placed three fingers on my left shoulder and yelled, ‘Someone take my picture!’ Apparently, War of the Worlds was one of his favorite films growing up … They treated me like royalty. My son, who was with me, told me he heard people saying, ‘She’s here, she’s here!’ after we arrived on the set. Then for the Ziegfeld Theater premiere, they flew me to New York first class, put me up in a beautiful hotel overlooking Central Park and arranged for a limousine to drive my family around. I waited 60 years to get that treatment!”

Barry & Robinson, together again — this time for Mr. Spielberg (Image via Paramount)

She joked that because she lived so long and even recreated her role on a TV series, she got more mileage out of The War of the Worlds than Vivien Leigh got out of Gone with the Wind.

In truth, she was a tireless advocate for the movie, appearing at autograph and sci-fi shows and extolling its virtues long after her cast mates left us.

Robinson did not mind being so associated with one project, but some of her other work included on the TV series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954), in the movie Imitation of Life (1959) and as a guest star on many, many TV shows, among them Perry Mason (1960), Surfside 6 (1961) and Gilligan's Island (1966).

She always said her movie career suffered when she married a matador, with whom she had her son. When she returned, it was to almost strictly TV work, and she worked only sporadically past the ‘60s.

Robinson is survived by her son and two grandkids.⚡️