Robert Kardashian Sr. lived two public lives. In the 1990s he was the lawyer and friend sitting beside O.J. Simpson at one of America’s most watched trials. After his death in 2003, he became something else: the father whose four children turned a surname into a global brand. This article covers his career, his marriages and the facts that often get mixed up online.
Quick Bio REview
| Full Name | Robert George Kardashian |
| Born | February 22, 1944 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Died | September 30, 2003, in Encino, Los Angeles |
| Age at Death | 59 years |
| Profession | Attorney and businessman |
| Known For | O.J. Simpson defense team; Radio & Records; father of Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob |
| Height | Not published |
| Net Worth | Estimates vary (about $5 million reported) |
| Spouses | Kris Jenner, Jan Ashley, Ellen Pierson |
| Children | Four |
| Social Media | None; he died before it existed |
Early Life
Robert George Kardashian was born on February 22, 1944, in Los Angeles, one of three children of Arthur and Helen Kardashian, both Armenian Americans. His grandfather Tatos, who shortened his name to Tom, built a garbage collection business in the city, and the family also ran a successful meat-packing company. Robert grew up on the west side of Los Angeles County.
Education
He attended Dorsey High School and then the University of Southern California, graduating in 1966 with a business degree. He later earned a law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law. The mix of business and legal training showed up in his later career, which moved easily between boardrooms and courtrooms.
Law Career
Kardashian practiced law for roughly a decade after school, starting in the late 1960s. By the mid-1970s he had moved toward business and let his law license go inactive. The legal chapter looked finished until 1994, when an old friend’s arrest pulled him back into the profession in a very public way.
Radio & Records
In 1973, Kardashian co-founded Radio & Records, a trade publication for the radio and music industries, with his brother and another investor. The paper became an industry staple. He and his partners sold it in 1979 for a large profit, which gave him the capital and the confidence to try something completely different.
Movie Tunes
His next idea was simple: play music in movie theaters before the film starts. He turned that into Movie Tunes, a company supplying pre-show music, and served as its president and chief executive. His son Rob later described it as music playing throughout every theater before advertisements became standard, which shows how new the concept felt at the time.
Friendship With O.J.
Kardashian met O.J. Simpson in the early 1970s through the Southern California circle, where Simpson had been a star running back in the late 1960s. They became close friends, and Simpson served as best man at Kardashian’s 1978 wedding. The two also had business dealings, and that closeness is why Kardashian ended up inside the biggest legal story of the decade.
Marriage and Children
Kardashian married Kris Houghton, now known as Kris Jenner, in 1978. They had four children: Kourtney in 1979, Kim in 1980, Khloe in 1984 and Rob in 1987. The couple divorced in 1991. He later became engaged to Denice Shakarian Halicki, the widow of a film producer, before the relationship ended in 1994.
June 1994
When Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were killed on June 12, 1994, Simpson stayed at Kardashian’s Brentwood home to avoid reporters. Kardashian carried Simpson’s bag on the flight back from Chicago and read a letter from Simpson to the press on June 17. The televised Bronco chase began after Simpson left Kardashian’s house.
The Dream Team
Kardashian reactivated his law license and joined the defense group that included Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey. His role was smaller than theirs, yet he sat at the defense table day after day and became one of the trial’s most recognizable faces. Simpson was acquitted in October 1995, and Kardashian did not celebrate openly.
Doubts and Distance
In a 1996 ABC interview, Kardashian said he had started to question what Simpson had told him. He also spoke to the authors of the book American Tragedy, which detailed life inside the defense camp. The friendship that had lasted more than two decades frayed after the trial, and Kardashian stepped back from Simpson.
Later Marriages
After the trial, he married Jan Ashley in November 1998, a marriage that was annulled within weeks. He then began a relationship with Ellen Pierson, proposed in 2001 and married her in 2003, only six weeks before he died. Neither marriage lasted long, and both became part of the family’s later legal and public disputes.
Illness and Death
Kardashian was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in July 2003 and died on September 30, 2003, at his home in Encino, Los Angeles. He was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery. His family has since supported esophageal cancer awareness and research, including a center at UCLA that carries his name, according to reports.
Estate Dispute
After his death, his four children and Ellen Pierson became involved in legal disputes over his estate. In 2013 the conflict flared again when Ellen sold stories from Robert’s diaries to the press, and the siblings objected. Both sides disputed the details, so accounts differ on who was entitled to what and why.
Age and Height
He died at 59, and he would be 82 today. No reliable source records his height, and the numbers on celebrity pages are guesses. That is why the quick bio table above lists height as not published instead of repeating an unsourced figure.
Net Worth
No audited figure exists. One biography site estimates about $5 million at the time of his death, while other pages give no number at all. Because his estate was contested and much of his income came from business sales rather than a salary, any single total should be read cautiously and treated as an estimate.
Social Media
Kardashian died in 2003, before Facebook, Twitter or Instagram launched, so he has no accounts. His children, especially Kim and Khloe, regularly post tributes on the anniversary of his death. Those posts are the closest thing to an online presence, and they are the safest place to look for anything about him from the family.
On Screen
In The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016), David Schwimmer played Kardashian. The performance earned an Emmy nomination for supporting actor, though Sterling K. Brown won. The series introduced Kardashian’s role to a younger audience, and many viewers who knew him only as the father of the Kardashian sisters saw his part in the trial for the first time.
Legacy
His four children built a media career that began with the reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which premiered in 2007. The family name now reaches far beyond his own career, and the legal and business life he led is often overshadowed by it. Still, his story shows how personal loyalty, business instinct and one famous trial shaped the family history.
Fun Facts
- He reportedly dated Priscilla Presley in the mid-1970s, before marrying Kris.
- Khloe was 19 when he died, and she has spoken about how he never used the word terminal with the family.
- His son’s full name is Robert Arthur Kardashian, and he was born on March 17, 1987.
Final Wordings
Robert Kardashian Sr. was a lawyer who spent most of his career in business, a loyal friend who later had doubts, and a father whose children became household names. His life was shorter than most, and the record is crowded with headlines. A fair account keeps the facts straight and leaves speculation about private matters to others.
FAQs
Who was Robert Kardashian Sr.? He was an attorney and businessman, best known as a member of O.J. Simpson’s 1995 defense team and as the father of Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob.
How did Robert Kardashian die? He died of esophageal cancer on September 30, 2003, about two months after his diagnosis. He was 59.
How many times was he married? Three times: to Kris Jenner, Jan Ashley and Ellen Pierson.
What businesses did he start? He co-founded the trade publication Radio & Records in 1973 and later started Movie Tunes, a pre-show music company for theaters.
What was his net worth? No reliable figure exists. One site estimates about $5 million at his death, but treat that as a rough guess.
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