Robert Thaler

Robert Thaler (born October 15, 1959) is an American stage and television actor. He is known for playing Pearl Bradford in the American television soap opera Santa Barbara.

Early life and education
Thaler was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and raised in Marion, Iowa. He had a brother and two sisters. Thaler attended at University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Seeing a local production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest inspired him to become an actor, and he began appearing in regional theatres.

Career
Thaler began his screen career in 1983, in the role of "Dancer" in the short-lived ABC crime drama television series The Renegades.

Thaler was seen in a Los Angeles production of a play titled Tamara by Bridget and Jerome Dobson, creators of the television soap opera Santa Barbara. They created the role of Pearl Bradford, an eccentric waiter, for him, and he joined the cast of Santa Barbara in October 1985. His final appearance on Santa Barbara was in April 1988. Thaler also guest-starred in television programs including Hardcastle and McCormick, V, Remington Steele, T.J. Hooker and Hill Street Blues.