Editing Jason Robards (section)

=== 1981–1999: Established actor and final roles ===
Robards had lead roles in ''[[Max Dugan Returns]]'' (1983) by [[Neil Simon]] and ''[[Something Wicked This Way Comes (film)|Something Wicked This Way Comes]]'' (1983) from the novel by [[Ray Bradbury]]. He played Dr. Russell Oakes in the 1983 television film ''[[The Day After]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lipschutz |first=Ronnie D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iy_i0-PZX3IC&dq=%22Jason+Robards%22+%22the+day+after%22&pg=PA95 |title=Cold War Fantasies: Film, Fiction, and Foreign Policy |date=2001 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-1052-4 |pages=95 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1983 Robards appeared in a popular Broadway revival of ''[[You Can't Take It with You (play)|You Can't Take It With You]]'', a 1985 revival of ''The Iceman Cometh'' with Quintero and ''A Month of Sundays'' (1987) directed by [[Gene Saks]]. Robards appeared in the lead role of James Tyrone Sr., in a 1988 production of ''Long Day's Journey into Night'' directed by Quintero.

For television Robards did ''[[Sakharov (film)|Sakharov]]'' (1984), ''[[The Atlanta Child Murders (miniseries)|The Atlanta Child Murders]]'' (1984), ''[[The Long Hot Summer (1985 film)|The Long Hot Summer]]'' (1985), ''Johnny Bull'' (1986), ''[[The Last Frontier (miniseries)|The Last Frontier]]'' (1986), ''[[Laguna Heat]]'' (1987), ''Breaking Home Ties'' (1987), ''[[Inherit the Wind (1988 film)|Inherit the Wind]]'' (1988) and ''[[The Christmas Wife]]'' (1988). For films he made ''[[Square Dance (film)|Square Dance]]'' (1987), ''[[Bright Lights, Big City (film)|Bright Lights, Big City]]'' (1988), and ''[[The Good Mother (1988 film)|The Good Mother]]'' (1988). Robards also appeared onstage in a revival of O'Neill's ''[[Ah, Wilderness!]]'' (1988) directed by [[Arvin Brown]], ''Love Letters'' (1990) with [[Colleen Dewhurst]], ''[[Park Your Car in Harvard Yard]]'' (1991) by [[Israel Horovitz]], as well as [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]'' (1994).{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1989 he acted in the [[Ron Howard]] directed comedy-drama ''[[Parenthood (film)|Parenthood]]'' starring [[Steve Martin]] and [[Dianne Wiest]] and the British drama ''[[Reunion (1989 film)|Reunion]]'' with a screenplay by [[Harold Pinter]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/parenthood|title= Parenthood|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= March 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1031829-reunion|title= Reunion|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= March 17, 2024}}</ref>  That year he also acted in the comedy ''[[Dream a Little Dream (film)|Dream a Little Dream]]'' and the psychological thriller ''[[Black Rainbow]]''.

The following year he acted in the crime comedy ''[[Quick Change]]'' starring [[Bill Murray]], [[Geena Davis]], and [[Randy Quaid]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/quick_change|title= Quick Change|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= March 17, 2024}}</ref>  On TV he did ''The Perfect Tribute'' (1991), ''[[Chernobyl: The Final Warning]]'' (1991), ''[[An Inconvenient Woman]]'' (1991), ''[[Mark Twain and Me]]'' (1991), and ''Heidi'' (1993). For films Robards was in ''[[Storyville (film)|Storyville]]'' (1992), ''The Adventures of Huck Finn'' (1992) and in 1993 he acted in [[Harold Pinter]]'s British legal film ''[[The Trial (1993 film)|The Trial]]'' opposite [[Kyle MacLachlan]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]] and the [[AIDS]] legal drama ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]'' starring [[Tom Hanks]] and [[Denzel Washington]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1047936-trial|title= The Trial|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= March 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/philadelphia|title= Philadelphia|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= March 17, 2024}}</ref>

Robards portrayed three presidents in films. He played [[Abraham Lincoln]] in the television films ''Abe Lincoln in Illinois'' (1964) and ''The Perfect Tribute'' (1991), and supplied the voice for the 1992 television documentary miniseries ''Lincoln''. He also played the role of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] in ''[[The Legend of the Lone Ranger]]'' (1981) and supplied the Union General's voice in the [[PBS]] miniseries ''[[The Civil War (miniseries)|The Civil War]]'' (1990). He also played [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in F.D.R.: The Last Year (1980).  Robards appeared in the documentary ''[[Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio]]'' (1992).

Robards appeared in ''[[The Roots of Roe]]'' (1993), ''[[The Paper (film)|The Paper]]'' (1994), ''[[Little Big League]]'' (1994), ''The Enemy Within'' (1994), ''[[My Antonia (film)|My Antonia]]'' (1995), ''[[Crimson Tide (film)|Crimson Tide]]'' (1995), ''Journey'' (1995), ''[[A Thousand Acres (film)|A Thousand Acres]]'' (1997), ''[[Heartwood (film)|Heartwood]]'' (1998), ''[[The Real Macaw (film)|The Real Macaw]]'' (1998), and ''[[Beloved (1998 film)|Beloved]]'' (1998) In 1995 Robards appeared on stage in ''[[Molly Sweeney]]''. He played a [[Member of Congress|congressman]] in [[Tony Scott]]'s political thriller ''[[Enemy of the State (film)|Enemy of the State]]'' starring [[Will Smith]] (1998).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enemy_of_the_state|title= Enemy of the State (1998)|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date= March 26, 2024}}</ref> In his final film role, he played a cancer patient in the [[Paul Thomas Anderson]] directed drama ''[[Magnolia (film)|Magnolia]]'' (1999).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/magnolia|title= Magnolia (1999)|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date= March 17, 2023}}</ref> His last TV appearance was in ''Going Home'' (2000).