Dale Robertson in 1989. Getty Images / Today Dale Robertson, who used his Okie background and love of the American range to craft a long career in TV and film westerns, died at 89 on Wednesday near his home in San Diego, Calif. according to the New York Times. He died of complications from lung cancer and pneumonia, his wife told the newspaper.

Dale Robertson, an Oklahoma native who became a star of television and movie Westerns during the genre's heyday, died Tuesday. He was 89. Robertson's niece, Nancy Robertson, said her uncle died at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., following a brief illness.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 27 of the New York edition with the headline: Dale Robertson, a Horse-Savvy Actor in Westerns, Is Dead at 89. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

He only came to Hollywood so he could afford his own ranch back in Oklahoma. Former Chatsworth resident Dale Robertson, who went from real cowboy to reel cowboy and back again, died Tuesday at 89.