Beloved ‘80s & ‘90s Heartthrob Robert Hays Makes Rare Public Appearance at 79

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Robert Hays rose to fame in the ‘80s, but his career continued to thrive in the ‘90s. Some of his memorable roles include the 1980 film “Airplane!” the sitcom “Angie,” the 1992 film “Fifty/Fifty,” the 1993 film “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey,” and the action/thriller “Raw Justice” in 1994. These days, the actor keeps a low profile and mostly stays out of the public eye, but he was recently photographed in Los Angeles. 

Robert Hays Looks Handsome in Recent Appearance 

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80s hunk from iconic action-comedy franchise fame looks incredibly youthful at 79… can you guess who?

From dailymail.com

8:09 am · 30 Oct 2026

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In photos obtained by the Daily Mail, Hays walked through a parking lot wearing blue denim jeans, sneakers, and a blue button-down shirt tucked in and secured with a belt. He looked healthy, and in comments on the article, many fans felt he is still incredibly handsome. 

“Still oh so handsome,” a comment reads. “He has aged gracefully,” another person shared. 

Other reactions include, “Recognized him instantly!” “When it came out, I think it was probably the funniest film ever,” and “Robert Hays should have been the next Cary Grant. He had the looks of a romantic lead with comedy timing. Everybody who works with him – actors and production staff – love him because he is down to earth and a really nice guy.”

Robert Hays Reflects on His Experience Working on ‘Airplane!’

Arguably Hays’ most memorable role was in “Airplane!”, where he starred alongside Leslie Nielsen and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In an October 2026 interview with “AARP Movies for Grownups,” he reflected on his experience with the film. “If anybody tried to do Airplane! today, I don’t think it would work,” Hays said. “It was done, and it caught everybody by surprise. It was lightning in a bottle.” 

Hays also reflected on his experience of working with Nielsen, who died in 2010 at the age of 84. “His constant lines he was feeding me, it sounded like, ‘Captain Striker, can, can you land this plane?’ And I had to keep a straight face the entire time, and that is very difficult when you think that that’s funny,” he recalled. “And I thought it was so funny, and everybody thought it was so funny. That was the hardest thing in the whole film. But I did. I held it together.”

Hays continued, “We just all loved each other, and we worked together so well, including the crew. It was just great.” 

How Robert Hays Knew His Iconic Role Would Be Funny

In a September 2026 interview with People, Hays reflected on the moment he realized the script was special. He had handed it to a woman working as part of a flight crew, and he watched her reading it from the jump seat of the aircraft. “I saw her turning her head like that and flipping the page and then reading the next page,” Hays recalled.

He continued, “And after a while, I saw a little smile on her face, and then after a while, she was laughing, and by the time she finished it, her bun had come undone, her knees were flying everywhere, and she was just dying laughing. And then she came up trying to put everything back together and said, ‘Thank you very much.’ So I thought, ‘Oh, this is funny. This has got a chance because this is funny.’”