- Bob Elkins
Bob Elkins is an American character actor who has appeared in movies, plays and television productions. He is sometimes credited as Robert Elkins.
Bob Elkins was born in 1932 in
Mount Hope, West Virginia , the son of a struggling coal miner. At age four, he moved with his father, mother and two sisters toMuncie, Indiana , where his father took a job at a lawnmower company. At about that time, the elder Elkins inexplicably became withdrawn and stopped talking to his son. Bob Elkins now believes that the lack of communication with his father influenced his acting abilities, although he would not realize it for many years."I learned to listen to silence," he says. "I developed a sensitivity to understanding what people are thinking or feeling without hearing them speak."
When Elkins was 12, he and his family moved to
Covington, Kentucky , across theOhio River fromCincinnati . Shortly thereafter, his father disappeared and was never heard from again. Devastated and confused, the younger Elkins rebelled by skipping school and dabbling in petty crime, including working as a collector for abookie . He was later arrested after breaking into an office. Although no charges were filed, he received a stern lecture from the arresting police officer, and never committed another crime.While growing up, Elkins had difficulty reading, and consequently was a poor student. After joining the
U.S. Navy at the age of 18, he was diagnosed withdyslexia . While in the Navy, his reading skills improved dramatically, as a result of the tutoring he received from a fellow sailor. After four years of service as apetty officer , Elkins received anhonorable discharge and returned home to the Cincinnati area.After leaving the Navy, Elkins spotted a newspaper ad for an acting school in Cincinnati and enrolled because, as he says, "I had always liked movies." One year later, he began acting professionally in plays and television commercials. In 1980, he landed his first role in a major motion picture, playing Bobby Day the DJ in the
Academy Award -winning "Coal Miner's Daughter ", starringSissy Spacek andTommy Lee Jones . Elkins has appeared in other movies and television productions through the years, including "Tattered Angel" withLynda Carter and Sandra Seacat, and "The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" on ABC Television. In 2003, he received the award for Best Actor in theDublin Film and Music Festival inIreland , for his portrayal of a homeless man in an independent film entitled "Homefree".Filmography
* "Tattered Angel" (2007)
* [http://www.citybeat.com/2006-12-06/film.shtml The Greater Good] (2006)
* "Flavor Invisible" (2006)
* "Within" (2005)
* "Homefree" (2003)
* "The Pennsylvania Miners' Story" (TV- 2002)cite news|url=http://www.cincypost.com/2002/11/22/elkins112202.html|title=Local actor 'miner' again|author=Rick Bird|first=Rick|last=Bird|work=The Cincinnati Post |publisher=E. W. Scripps Company |date=2002-11-22|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050207205159/http://www.cincypost.com/2002/11/22/elkins112202.html|archivedate=2005-02-07]
*James Cameron 's "Expedition: Bismarck" (TV- 2002)
* "The Elevator Man" (2002)
* "April's Fool" (2001)
* "Brotherly Love" (TV- 2000)
* "Zombie Cult Massacre" (1998)
* "Just Another Stupid Kid" (TV- 1984)
* "Coal Miner's Daughter " (1980)
* "This Other Eden" (TV- 1980)
* "The Trouble with Mother" (TV- 1979)
* "Just Passing Through" (TV)
* "Andrew" (TV)References
External links
* [http://www.bobelkinsactor.com More information is available at www.bobelkinsactor.com.]
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