Little wonder. Years later, the warm and benevolent Robbins growl has something of the same appeal for Monterey Peninsula theatre audiences as do the distinctive Jean Arthur squeak or Andy Devine whinny for vintage movie fans. Nothing if not versatile, Michael has used that signature voice to sing in musicals like ANYTHING GOES and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, to hand down medical diagnoses in THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III, and now to appraise second-hand furniture in MPC's forthcoming production of Arthur Miller’s THE PRICE.

"I always wanted to do theatre, from the time I went to see pre-Broadway tryouts as a kid in Atlantic City. . . Judith Anderson in MEDEA . . . DEATH OF A SALESMAN . . . MY FAIR LADY. And, of course, there were plenty of turkeys too - shows that would never make it to New York - and you could easily see why."

But making a living as an ad man blocked Michael’s hopes of a stage debut. Finally, tired of the advertising rat race, he decided to leave Southern California - a process he describes as "following my foot" - reflecting his feeling that he was like an animal gnawing its way out of a trap. "Margaret and I looked at five possible places for a move to the north - and in 1982, the Monterey Peninsula won out. I’ve never regretted it." Not least because it provided that chance to realize his lifelong dream of performing in live theatre. "I spotted an audition call for AMADEUS at MPC and thought, ‘I’ll give it a try!’ There was a huge turnout. I had no idea what you were supposed to do. But I was seated on a bench next to a man named Seth Ulmann. He looked like a cross between John Brown and Moses. Stark white hair and long beard. His advice was, ‘Just get in there and be yourself.’ Well, I landed a non-speaking role as a citizen and that was a start."

Michael’s second audition was the real breakthrough. He was cast as the con man Moonface Martin in Cole Porter’s ANYTHING GOES. "Yes, I sang and danced - if you could call it that. Since then, I’ve done more than seventy shows. I used to average four a year, but I had some health problems and I’ve cut it down to two a year." This year it’s been OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS at Magic Circle and the forthcoming SRO production of THE PRICE.

"Favorite role? No question: Tevye in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. It has to be the favorite of any musical theatre actor who has the privilege of playing it. He’s warm. He’s compassionate. He’s feisty. He has wonderful lines to say and wonderful songs to sing."

And playing Tevye at the Outdoor Forest Theatre in 1990 had a deeper personal significance for Michael Robbins. His great great grandfather was Sholem Aleichem, author of the story " Tevye and the Daughters" which Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock turned into the classic stage and screen musical. "My father used to read me the Aleicham stories in the original Yiddish. . . Aleicham was known as the Yiddish Mark Twain. But when he and Mark Twain met, Twain called himself the Gentile Sholem Aleichem."

Michael is anything but a dry theoretician about preparing a role. Ask him about any character he has portrayed and you don’t get an itemized character analysis. Like a good salesman, he hands out samples - the character springs out at you in snatches of dialogue and action. Recalling his and my acting together in Nick Zanides’s production of SHADOWLANDS, Michael sings the bibulous Warnie Lewis’s drunken chanty, "The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away." Describing his new role as Gregory Solomon in THE PRICE, he becomes the aging furniture dealer - explains, as does Solomon to another character in the play, why he got married at the age of 75. Asked what was the point in that, he counters "What’s the point at 25? You could die at 26."

Michael Robbins scorns the audio-tape approach to learning lines. He shuffles through a pile of 3 x 5 file cards. "Lines on one side, cues on the other. Easier to slip into your pocket than a bulky script. You just haul out the cards and run lines anywhere you happen to be. . . Preparing, I read the whole script carefully, a number of times. Decide who the character is. Listen to what other characters have to say about him. I don’t have a specific preparation ritual.

THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III Pacific Repertory Theatre

"In THE PRICE, I’m once again acting with Nancy Kocher. It’s getting to be a habit! We met in my third show, THE MARRIAGE OF BETTE AND BOO by Christopher Durang. I suppose we’ve appeared together maybe ten or twelve times. Who’s counting? But it’s twice this year - OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS at Magic Circle - and now THE PRICE. We’ve often been married - but not in this new show."

What’s the next thing he wants to do? "Reprise the role of Selsdon when MPC revives NOISES OFF next year.

"The Monterey Peninsula is such a wonderful place for theatre. It’s not just all the great venues, but so many terrific people you get to work with. And the camaraderie! I now have so many dear, dear friends I’ve appeared with on stage. It keeps you alive! "It seems to me that theatre is the one true meritocracy. I’ve worked with people who were living in a parked car somewhere outside the theatre - and others who went home to multi-million-dollar palaces in Pebble Beach. The one thing that mattered was that we each had the skill and commitment to do a show that people would pay to come and see. Theatre is a real social leveler."

Michael’s wife Margaret is an enthusiastic first nighter and offstage support, "but she has no interest in working onstage or backstage. At the moment, she’s too busy fighting the developers who are trying to ruin Carmel Valley. Her big thing is being a community activist."

A meticulous and imaginative keeper of records, Michael has filled three large scrapbooks with a chronology of his photographs, programs and newspaper notices - "even the bad ones." He points to a review panning MPC’s 1996 CARNIVAL. Another page features a photograph of an audience of two, seated side by side at a staged reading of UNDER MILK WOOD he appeared in for Unicorn Theatre. But a survey of all three scrapbooks shows raves have been the rule, brickbats the exception, in the career of Michael Robbins. The collection includes four MCTA Best Supporting Actor citations (BARBS awards).

The memorabilia even spill over into an adjoining room. It’s the bathroom. Here a neat display of pictures, organized a bit like the celebrity caricatures on the walls at Sardi’s restaurant, document some of the most important Robbins appearances.

"We call it The Toilet of Fame," he explains proudly.