- Born
- Birth nameRobert Patrick Gunton Jr.
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Bob Gunton is an American actor, primarily known for portraying strict and authoritarian characters in popular films. His better known roles include Chief George Earle in Demolition Man (1993), Prison Warden Samuel Norton in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), medical school dean Dr. Walcott in Patch Adams (1998), and politician Cyrus Vance in Argo (2012).
Gunton was born to labor union executive Robert Patrick Gunton Sr. and his wife Rose Marie Banovetz in Santa Monica, California where he was the oldest of five siblings. He was raised in California and attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. His college years were spent in the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine.
He was drafted into the United States Army in 1969 and served until 1971. He was a radio telephone operator (RTO) with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division and was assigned to the Fire Support Base Ripcord during the Vietnam War. When the base was evacuated during a siege by North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Gunton manage to retrieve important radios that were in danger of falling in enemy hands. He was awarded with a Bronze Star commendation for his deed.
Gunton was primarily known for theatrical roles in the late 1970s and 1980s. He played Raoul in the Broadway musical "King of Hearts" (1978). For this role he was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. The award was instead won by rival actor Ken Jennings.
From 1979 to 1983, Gunton played the role of President of Argentina Juan Domingo Perón in "Evita". He 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.
In 1980, Gunton acted in the play How I Got That Story. He won both the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Performer and the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actor. He was also nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.
In 1985, Gunton played the King in the musical "Big River". The musical was an adaptation of the novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884) by Mark Twain. For this role Gunton was again nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
From 1987 to 1990, Gunton played protagonist Sweeney Todd in "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street". He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. While critically acclaimed for this role, Gunton won none of these awards.
In the 1990s, Gunton started focusing more on film roles. More often playing antagonists than heroes or supporting characters,. In 2007, Gunton joined the main cast of the popular action drama television series 24 (2001), playing politician Ethan Kanin. He played the role until the end of the series in 2010. In 2015, Gunton joined the main cast of the superhero series Daredevil (2015). He played the super-villain Leland Owlsley (codenamed "the Owl in the comics).
By 2024 Gunton was 78-years-old. He has never retired, and continues to appear regularly in film and television.- IMDb mini biography by: Dimos I
- SpousesCarey Pitts(August 26, 2006 - present)Annie McGreevey(July 6, 1980 - July 31, 2006) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenOlivia Ann Gunton
- ParentsRose Marie BanovetzRobert Patrick Gunton Sr.
- RelativesKathleen Gunton(Sibling)Gloria Jane Gunton(Sibling)Maureen Elaine Gunton(Sibling)Phillip James Gunton(Sibling)
- Often plays political figures or military figures
- Often plays strict, authoritarian characters
- 1969-71: Served in the United States Army, earning the Vietnam Service Medal and a Bronze Star for valor.
- As of 2014, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Born on the Fourth of July (1989), JFK (1991), The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Argo (2012), the latter being a winner in the category.
- Has played four historical U.S. presidents: Richard Nixon in Elvis Meets Nixon (1997), Woodrow Wilson in Iron Jawed Angels (2004), Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War Two: Behind Closed Doors (2008) and most recently Harry S. Truman in episode 10 of Project Blue Book, The Washington Merry-Go-Round (2019).
- In the original Broadway production of Evita, he was the only cast member who spoke with a Spanish accent.
- Has twice received Tony nominations: in 1980 as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for playing Juan Domingo Perón in "Evita", and ten years later, in 1990, as Best Actor (Musical) for playing the title role in a revival of "Sweeney Todd".
- Lyndon Johnson may have escalated the war, but when I was drafted and shipped off to Vietnam, the signature on my orders was Nixon's.
- My first presidential primary vote was for Bobby Kennedy.
- I was a grunt, walking around in the jungle of Vietnam, trying not to find the enemy. Because I am so big, they were going to give me either a heavy radio or a huge machine gun to carry. I carried a radio.
- In film roles, I play a lot of heavies and a lot of bad guys, so I tend to be the jokester and the good-time Charlie on the set.
- I was the adoring son of a Welsh-Irish father, a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, a Catholic Knight of Columbus who was a blue-collar, trade union organizer and, not surprisingly, a fervid Nixon-hater.
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