Susan Dee Robbins, later known as Susan Robertson, is best known as the fourth and final wife of Western film and television star Dale Robertson. The couple married in 1980 and remained together for about 33 years until Dale’s death in 2013. Susan stayed mostly outside Hollywood during their marriage, sharing Dale’s quieter later life on an Oklahoma horse ranch. Years after losing her husband, she stepped into the public eye in a different way by writing Bucking Hollywood, a lengthy biography intended to preserve Dale Robertson’s story in her own words.
Susan Dee Robbins Quick Bio
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Susan Dee Robbins |
| Married Name | Susan Robertson |
| Famous For | Dale Robertson’s fourth and final wife |
| Nationality | American |
| Exact Birth Date | Not reliably confirmed |
| Reported Birth Year | Often listed around the early 1950s, but unverified |
| Profession Before Marriage | Widely reported as a flight attendant |
| Husband | Dale Robertson |
| Marriage Year | 1980 |
| Marriage Length | About 33 years |
| Children With Dale | None publicly documented together |
| Stepchildren | Dale had daughters from earlier relationships |
| Known Residence During Marriage | Yukon, Oklahoma |
| Later Residence | San Diego area was stated in her 2019 author biography |
| Book | Bucking Hollywood |
| Book Publication | 2019 |
| Current Status | Lives privately; no credible death report located |
| Net Worth | Not publicly verified |
The clearest parts of Susan’s biography come from Dale Robertson’s obituary coverage and Susan’s own publishing history. Details such as her exact birth date, childhood and education are much less firmly documented.
Who Is Susan Dee Robbins?
Susan Dee Robbins is a private American woman whose name became widely known because of her marriage to Dale Robertson.
Dale was one of television’s recognizable Western stars, particularly through Tales of Wells Fargo, where he played investigator Jim Hardie. He also starred in Iron Horse, hosted Death Valley Days, and later appeared in shows including Dynasty and Dallas.
Susan’s own life followed a very different path.
She never became a Hollywood actress.
She did not build a television career around being Dale’s wife.
And for most of their marriage, she appears to have preferred ranch life and family privacy over entertainment publicity.
That difference helps explain why people can easily find hundreds of pages about Dale but relatively little reliable information about Susan.
When Was Susan Dee Robbins Born?
Susan’s exact birthday is not reliably established by major sources.
A number of modern celebrity-biography websites give birth years around the early 1950s, with 1954 appearing frequently.
The problem is that Dale’s major obituary coverage does not give Susan’s age or date of birth, and Susan’s own 2019 book biography also does not publish a birthday.
That means it is safer not to state an exact age as confirmed.
Some websites may say she is in her early seventies in 2026, and that may be possible.
But without a strong original source, readers should understand that such numbers are estimates.
What Did Susan Dee Robbins Do Before Marrying Dale Robertson?
Susan is widely described as a former flight attendant, sometimes specifically as an American Airlines flight attendant.
Several secondary profiles say her aviation career is how she first crossed paths with Dale Robertson.
However, detailed airline employment records are not publicly available.
There is no major professional biography listing exactly:
when she began working,
how long she worked as a flight attendant,
or which routes she flew.
So the flight-attendant story is best described as widely reported, rather than treated like a fully documented employment résumé.
How Did Susan Dee Robbins Meet Dale Robertson?
The most commonly repeated story says Susan met Dale while working as a flight attendant.
Dale was already an established actor by then.
He had spent decades appearing in Western films and television.
Susan, on the other hand, came from outside the entertainment industry.
The two eventually formed a relationship and married on February 2, 1980, according to IMDb’s family record for Dale.
Major obituary coverage confirms the year 1980 and says Susan remained his wife until his death more than three decades later.
Was Susan Dee Robbins Dale Robertson’s Fourth Wife?
Yes.
Strong obituary reporting describes Dale Robertson as having been married four times, with Susan being his fourth and final wife.
His earlier marriages included Frederica Jacqueline Wilson, actress Mary Murphy and Lula Mae Maxey.
Susan entered Dale’s life after those earlier relationships had ended.
The fourth marriage became his longest-lasting final partnership.
Dale and Susan remained together until his death in 2013.
How Long Were Susan and Dale Robertson Married?
Susan and Dale were married for approximately 33 years.
The Los Angeles Times described Susan as Dale’s wife of 33 years when reporting his death.
That is a particularly long marriage by Hollywood standards.
Their relationship began at a point when Dale had already lived through the most intense years of his film fame.
As a result, much of Susan’s life with him was not centered on premieres or studio publicity.
Instead, horses and ranch life became increasingly important.
Susan Dee Robbins and Dale Robertson’s Oklahoma Ranch Life
Dale had a genuine passion for horses that existed independently of the cowboy characters he played on television.
He and his brother were involved in breeding and training racehorses, and Dale eventually retired to a ranch near Yukon, Oklahoma.
INSP reports that Dale and Susan spent their later years together on the ranch after he stepped away from the entertainment business.
Other records say the property at one time held a very large number of horses.
One historical family publication reports that Dale had as many as 235 horses on the farm.
For Susan, this meant married life with a Western star eventually looked much more like actual country living than Hollywood glamour.
Why Horses Were So Important to Dale Robertson
Dale was not simply an actor pretending to understand horses.
His reputation as an experienced horseman was a major part of his identity.
In Tales of Wells Fargo, he rode his own horse, Jubilee.
INSP says Dale and his brother Chet built Haymaker Farms and bred successful Quarter Horses and thoroughbreds, including champions.
That helps explain why retiring to a ranch felt natural.
For Susan, marrying Dale meant joining a life that mixed old Hollywood memories with a very real passion for animals and rural living.
Did Susan Dee Robbins Have Children With Dale Robertson?
Major obituary coverage does not identify any children born to Susan and Dale together.
The Boston Globe reported that Dale was survived by Susan, daughters Rochelle Robertson and Rebel Lee, and a granddaughter.
Those daughters came from Dale’s earlier family life.
Susan therefore became part of an already established family when she married him.
Because Susan herself has remained private, there is little reason to speculate about stepfamily relationships beyond what reliable records actually document.
Susan Was With Dale During His Final Years
Dale retired from acting during the 1990s and spent more time with his horses.
The Los Angeles Times reports that his final acting work came in Harts of the West before he settled more fully into ranch life in Yukon.
As Dale’s health declined, he and Susan eventually moved toward the San Diego area.
This was a major change after years in Oklahoma.
Dale’s final months were spent closer to medical care and family.
How Did Dale Robertson Die?
Dale Robertson died in the San Diego area in February 2013 at age 89.
Reports attribute his death to complications involving lung cancer and pneumonia.
Susan was his wife at the time.
The Los Angeles Times identified her among his survivors and described their marriage as lasting 33 years.
His death brought an end to a partnership that had lasted from 1980 through his retirement and final illness.
Susan then faced the difficult question of what to do with decades of stories that Dale himself had never turned into an autobiography.
Susan Dee Robbins Became an Author
This is where Susan’s biography becomes especially interesting.
For years, she had been known mainly as Dale Robertson’s wife.
Then in 2019, she became a published author.
She wrote Bucking Hollywood, a 396-page biography telling Dale’s life story from her perspective. Google Books lists Susan Robertson as the author and Page Publishing as the publisher.
The project gave Susan a public identity of her own.
She was no longer only the woman standing beside a Western star in old photographs.
She became the person documenting his life.
Why Did Susan Write Bucking Hollywood?
Susan explained that Dale had been approached about writing an autobiography while he was alive.
According to the book description, he would joke that it was not time because he did not yet know how his story ended.
After he died, Susan decided that the story should finally be preserved.
She also made an important decision:
she did not want a ghostwriter to create the book for her.
The publisher says Susan wanted to use her own thoughts, ideas and timeline.
That makes Bucking Hollywood more personal than a typical celebrity biography assembled by an outside journalist.
What Is Bucking Hollywood About?
The book covers Dale Robertson’s life beyond his television cowboy image.
Its publisher describes material involving:
his childhood,
military experience,
personal life,
film and television career,
and his personality away from the camera.
Dale had served in the U.S. Army during World War II, was wounded and received military decorations before entering acting.
His unusual path from soldier and horseman to Hollywood leading man gave Susan plenty of material.
The book allowed her to connect all those pieces into one story.
Bucking Hollywood Received Recognition
Susan’s book also received recognition after publication.
The National Association of Book Entrepreneurs listed Bucking Hollywood among its 2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award winners in biography.
For someone who openly said she did not consider herself a professional writer beforehand, that was a meaningful achievement.
It also shows that Susan’s public role after Dale’s death was not simply ceremonial.
She put significant work into preserving his legacy.
Where Did Susan Dee Robbins Live After Dale’s Death?
Susan’s 2019 author biography stated that she was living in San Diego, California, to be closer to family.
That is the strongest clearly dated statement about her post-Dale residence.
Some newer articles continue to repeat San Diego or California.
Others connect her with Oklahoma because of the couple’s ranch years.
There is not enough strong current reporting to state her exact 2026 residence with certainty.
The safest answer is that San Diego was publicly identified as her home in her 2019 author biography, while her precise current location remains private.
Is Susan Dee Robbins Still Alive in 2026?
There is no credible obituary found for the Susan Dee Robbins who was married to Dale Robertson.
Her name also continues to appear in recent promotional material for Bucking Hollywood, including book-industry listings in 2026.
That does not provide a detailed personal update, but it is more useful than random websites claiming she died.
The safest current conclusion is that Susan is understood to be alive, while living largely outside media attention.
Did Susan Dee Robbins Remarry?
No reliable source has confirmed a later marriage.
Susan continued using the name Susan Robertson when publishing Bucking Hollywood.
Her author biography spoke openly about Dale as her husband and her wish to preserve his memory.
There is no dependable reporting identifying another spouse after Dale.
That does not prove she never dated or formed another relationship.
It only means her private romantic life after 2013 has not been publicly documented.
Susan Dee Robbins’ Net Worth
Susan’s exact net worth is not publicly verified.
Some celebrity biography sites publish estimates.
Those figures are not supported by a public financial statement.
To calculate a real net worth, we would need reliable information about her:
property,
inheritance,
book royalties,
savings,
investments,
and liabilities.
Those records are private.
It is possible that Dale’s estate and their property provided financial security, but the amount Susan personally inherited should not be invented.
The responsible answer is that Susan Dee Robbins’ net worth remains unknown.
Was Susan Dee Robbins an Actress?
No reliable filmography establishes Susan as a professional actress.
Her connection with Hollywood came through Dale.
She sometimes appeared beside him in photographs and public settings, but that is different from having an acting career.
Her documented creative contribution came much later through writing.
By 2019, author became a more accurate public description of Susan than actress.
Susan Dee Robbins vs. Susan Robertson
The different versions of her name can confuse readers.
She is frequently identified as Susan Dee Robbins when discussing her life before or at the time of her marriage.
After marrying Dale Robertson, she naturally became known as Susan Robertson.
Her book was published under the name Susan Robertson.
Both names refer to the same woman in this context.
Why Susan Dee Robbins Still Gets Attention
Interest in Susan comes from the lasting popularity of classic Western television.
New generations continue discovering Tales of Wells Fargo, Iron Horse and Dale Robertson’s old films.
Once viewers learn about Dale, they often become curious about the person who shared the final three decades of his life.
Susan’s story is interesting because she did not try to compete with her husband’s fame.
Instead, she appears to have valued privacy while he was alive.
Then after his death, she carefully stepped forward to make sure his story would not disappear.
Susan’s Role in Preserving Dale Robertson’s Legacy
Susan’s biggest public contribution may be Bucking Hollywood.
Obituaries can summarize a life in a few paragraphs.
Film databases can list credits.
But a spouse sees things those records cannot show.
Susan shared decades of life with Dale after much of his greatest fame had already happened.
She knew the retired actor.
The horseman.
The husband.
And the older man looking back on a Hollywood career he had often approached on his own terms.
Her book was designed to preserve that larger picture.
Final Thoughts on Susan Dee Robbins
Susan Dee Robbins is remembered primarily as Dale Robertson’s fourth and final wife, but that description does not tell her entire story.
She is widely reported to have worked as a flight attendant before meeting the Western star.
She married Dale in 1980 and stayed with him for approximately 33 years.
Together, they shared his later years away from the busiest period of Hollywood.
The couple lived on a ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma, where horses became a major part of everyday life. Dale had spent years breeding and working with horses and eventually chose ranch life over continued Hollywood attention.
Susan remained beside him through retirement and declining health.
Dale died in 2013 at age 89 after complications from lung cancer and pneumonia.
Susan could easily have disappeared completely from public life afterward.
Instead, she decided to do something permanent.
She wrote Bucking Hollywood.
Published in 2019, the biography allowed Susan to tell Dale Robertson’s life story herself, without handing the work to a ghostwriter.
Her purpose was simple: Dale never finished an autobiography, so she wanted to preserve his story after his death.
The book later received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in the biography category.
Today, Susan remains much more private than the actor she married.
Her exact birth date is not firmly verified.
Her present financial worth is unknown.
Her exact 2026 residence is private.
And there is no reliable evidence of another marriage.
What is well documented is more meaningful.
Susan Dee Robbins shared more than three decades with one of classic television’s recognizable Western stars and later became the person who made sure his story was written down for future fans.
FAQs About Susan Dee Robbins
Who is Susan Dee Robbins?
Susan Dee Robbins is best known as the fourth and final wife of Western film and television actor Dale Robertson.
Is Susan Dee Robbins also called Susan Robertson?
Yes. She used the married name Susan Robertson and published Bucking Hollywood under that name.
When was Susan Dee Robbins born?
Her exact birth date has not been reliably confirmed by major sources.
How old is Susan Dee Robbins in 2026?
Her precise age cannot be confidently stated because her verified date of birth is not publicly established.
What did Susan Dee Robbins do for a living?
She is widely reported to have worked as a flight attendant before marrying Dale Robertson and later became a published author.
Was Susan Dee Robbins an American Airlines flight attendant?
Several secondary profiles specifically report American Airlines, although detailed original employment records are not publicly available.
Who was Susan Dee Robbins married to?
She was married to actor Dale Robertson.
When did Susan Dee Robbins marry Dale Robertson?
IMDb gives the marriage date as February 2, 1980.
How long were Susan and Dale Robertson married?
They were married for about 33 years, until Dale’s death in 2013.
Was Susan Dale Robertson’s first wife?
No. Strong obituary reporting describes Susan as his fourth and final wife.
Did Susan Dee Robbins have children with Dale Robertson?
No children together are identified in major obituary coverage.
Who were Dale Robertson’s daughters?
His obituary coverage identifies Rochelle Robertson and Rebel Lee among his surviving family.
Where did Susan and Dale Robertson live?
They spent their later married life on Dale’s ranch in Yukon, Oklahoma.
Did Dale Robertson really own hundreds of horses?
Historical accounts say his ranch held as many as 235 horses at one point.
What happened to Dale Robertson?
He died in 2013 at age 89 after complications involving lung cancer and pneumonia.
Was Susan with Dale when he died?
Susan remained his wife through his final illness and was listed as his surviving spouse.
What book did Susan Dee Robbins write?
She wrote Bucking Hollywood, a biography of Dale Robertson.
When was Bucking Hollywood published?
The book was first published in 2019 by Page Publishing.
Why did Susan write Bucking Hollywood?
She said Dale had never completed an autobiography, so she wanted to preserve his life story herself after his death.
Did Susan use a ghostwriter?
The publisher says she specifically chose to write the book herself rather than use a ghostwriter.
Did Bucking Hollywood win an award?
Yes. It was listed as a 2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award winner in biography.
Where did Susan live after Dale died?
Her 2019 author biography said she was living in the San Diego area to be closer to family.
Is Susan Dee Robbins still alive?
No credible obituary for Dale Robertson’s widow was located, and her author work continued appearing in book-industry material into 2026.
Did Susan Dee Robbins remarry?
No later marriage has been reliably confirmed.
What is Susan Dee Robbins’ net worth?
Her personal net worth has not been independently verified.
Why is Susan Dee Robbins famous?
She is known for her long marriage to Dale Robertson and for later writing Bucking Hollywood to preserve the Western star’s life and career.
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