Who is Bob Gunton?
Bob Gunton is an veteran American actor, who has earned fame both on stage and on screen. He has over 130 appearances in films and TV series in his career, which has lasted for more than 40 years. Some of his most popular roles include as Warden Samuel Norton in the drama film “The Shawshank Redemption”, and as Chief George Earle in the film “Demolition Man”. He is known to mostly portray authoritarian characters.
Bob Gunton Biography- Age, Childhood, and Education
Born Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. on the 15th November 1945, in Santa Monica, California USA, he is the son of Rose Marie and her husband, Robert Patrick Sr., who was a labor union executive. Bob went to Mater Dei High School, located in Santa Ana, California, after which he attended the Paulist Seminary St Peter’s College, which is in Baltimore, Maryland.
He then studied at the University of California, Irvine. Having been raised as a devout Roman Catholic, Bob desired to become a priest, but life took him elsewhere.
Military
Before acting, Bob served in the US Army; from 1969 until 197 as a radio telephone operator, with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. He was a part of the Fire Support Base Ripcord stationed atop a mountain in the A Sầu Valley during a 23-day siege. He received the Bronze Star commendation after he returned to the base under attack by the Vietnamese army, to retrieve valuable radios. He wasn’t alone in the mission, as he was accompanied by another soldier, who also was awarded the Bronze Star.
Career Beginnings and Work in Theater
Bob started his acting career in the late ‘70s appearing on stage, with his first notable role as Raoul in the Broadway musical “King of Hearts” (1978), for which he earned a Drama Desk Award nomination in the category for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. The following year he starred as President of Argentina Juan Peron in the play “Evita”, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
He continued with stage roles, appearing in the play “How I Got That Story”, for which he won both an Obie and the Clarence Derwent Awards.
After this, in 1981 he began appearing on screen as well, making his debut in the romantic mystery film “Rollover”, starring Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson and Hume Cronym, but throughout the ‘80s he was still particularly active on stage, appearing in such plays as “Passion Play” (1983), “Amadeus” (1984), and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”, for which he was nominated for Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
In the ‘90s he focused on-screen roles, but from 2000 to 2004 he again played in the theater, appearing in “Follies” (2002), “On the Twentieth Century” (2003), and “The Great Ostrovsky” (2004), in which he played David Ostrovsky, earning a nomination for the Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theater.
On-Screen Beginnings
Bob continued with roles on screen, first with a co-starring role in the television movie drama “Louis Gibbs and the Love Canal”, then as Frank in the film “Static” in 1985, and as Dr. Leonard Schrader in the TV series “Hothouse” in 1988, in addition to other appearances.
Rise to Prominence
Bob enjoyed success in the ‘90s, propelled to stardom with roles in such films as “Demolition Man”, starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock, then the multiple Academy Award-nominated drama film “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), in which he starred with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. In 1995 he appeared in the comedy film “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls”, with Jim Carrey as the lead star of the film, after which he was President Richard M. Nixon in the biopic comedy-drama film “Elvis and Nixon”, about the meeting between Elvis Presley and Nixon – Elvis was played by Rick Peters, while Priscilla Presley was played by Alyson Court.
Posted by Bob Gunton on Monday, 25 April 2016
In the Academy Award-nominated “Patch Adams”, Gunton portrayed Dean Walcott, while Robin Williams attracted all the fame, and he finished the decade with the sci-fi horror thriller film “Bats” (1999), starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Dina Meyer alongside.
With the start of the 2000s, Bob switched his focus to television roles, and in 2003 he was California Governor Marino in the TV series “Mister Sterling”, and also portrayed Mayor Smith in the TV action-crime drama series “Peacemakers”. The following year he appeared in the Golden Globe Award-winning historical drama film “Iron Jawed Angels”.
Continual Success
Bob continued successfully into the second half of the 2000s, first portraying Dick Dinkle in the TV series “Pepper Dennis”, and by 2010 had featured in such films as “Dead Silence” and “Fracture” both in 2007, and “Player 5150”, while he also portrayed Franklin Roosevelt in the TV documentary “World War Two: Behind Closed Doors” (2008). Also, from 2007 to 2010 he starred as Ethan Kanin in the TV crime-drama series “24”.
Nothing changed for Bob with the start of the new decade, and in 2011 he appeared in the biopic “Kill the Irishman” (2011), about Danny Greene. The following year he was in the multiple Academy Award-winning biopic drama film “Argo” (2012), starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman.
His next big thing was the role of Leland Owlsley in the TV action-crime series “Daredevil” (2015), while two years later he appeared in the family-drama film “Mountain Top”, with Barry Corbin, Coby Ryan McLaughlin and Valerie Azlynn.
Most Recent Projects
In recent years, Bob has featured in a few notable projects – he was Jeremiah Davis in the TV series “Trial & Error” in 2017, then played Mr. Stern in the romantic comedy film “Alex & The List”, starring Karen Gillan, Jennifer Morrison and Julie Gonzalo. In 2018 he appeared in the biopic drama film “Unbroken: Path to Redemption”, about the Olympian and World War II hero Louis Zamperini.
Recently he’s appeared as a guest star in several TV series, including “The Cool Kids”, and “Elementary”, both in 2019, and he is now working on the fantasy horror film “Ghostkiller”, which will star Zahn McClarnon, Tara Reid and Kevin Sorbo. The film is just announced and is yet to receive its premiere date.
Bob Gunton Net Worth, Height, Weight, and Appearance
Bob is an award-winning stage, film and TV actor with a career spanning over 40 years; his wealth has reached a certain degree, and according to sources, Gunton’s wealth is estimated at $3 million, as of mid- 2020.
Bob Gunton stands at 6ft 2ins (1.88m) tall, weighs approximately 145lbs ~ 66kgs, while his vital statistics are 39-33-15. Bob’s hair is now grey, and he has brown eyes.
Bob Gunton Personal Life, Marriage, Children
Bob has been married to Carey Pitts since 2006; they don’t have children together.
He was previously married to actress Annie McGreevey from 6th July 1980 until 31st July 2006. The couple has one child together, a daughter Olivia Gunton.
Bob Gunton News, Influence
Throughout his career, Bob has played tough characters, often representing police and army forces. His role as Warden Norton still catches the attention of people around the world, and recently, he was revisited in an article about the film’s success. Furthermore, his role as Leland Owlsley in “Daredevil”, also propelled him to stardom in recent years. Bob is still active as an actor, despite being in his eighth decade.
Bob lost his dog tag in that mission in Vietnam for which he won the Bronze Star, but in recent years he was reunited with it, after it was considered lost for 40 years and more.
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