ANN ROBINSON DIES AS FAMILY KEEPS NEWS OF HER DEATH PRIVATE FOR 8 MONTHS
Ann Robinson has sadly died. The flame-haired star died aged 96, her granddaughter Tori Bravo confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Hollywood legend was famously terrorised by Martians in the 1953 sci-fi masterpiece The War of the Worlds. The film icon died on 26 September 2025 at her Los Angeles residence, though her passing has remained private until now.
She entered the movie business as a stunt double and contract artist at Paramount Pictures following her audition for producer and visual effects trailblazer George Pal. Ann was chosen to play library science instructor Sylvia Van Buren in the Oscar-winning screen version of H.G. Wells' 1898 novel War of the Worlds.
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Heartbroken fans poured onto social media with touching messages as one wrote: "My heart is absolutely broken! She taught women the world over how to scream in terror. But seriously, her humanity brought so much to War of The Worlds. She starred in arguably one of the top two sci-fi movies in the 1950s. RIP beautiful Ann."
A second added: "Ms Ann Robinson, in War of the Worlds, left her mark on film history in the scene where the Martians grab her by the shoulder, didn't she? My heartfelt condolences." Another fan reminisced: "I had the great pleasure of meeting Ann in the 1990s. She was a delight!"
A fourth commented: "R.I.P., and she reprised her role several times in the 1988 syndicated War of the Worlds series," reports the Express.
Steven Spielberg invited Robinson and Barry to recreate that iconic scene in his 2005 adaptation of War of the Worlds featuring Tom Cruise. Reflecting on her comeback in 2016, the actress told Nick Thomas on Tinseltown Talk: "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 favourite 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."
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2026-05-18T08:07:30Z
