Biography
Actor, artist, filmmaker and puppeteer, Robert "Bob" Board was truly a unique talent in Hollywood throughout its golden years. In the 1930's and 40s, MGM was grooming Bob to become one of their next "leading men", casting him in numerous supporting roles among top stars of the day. Years later Bob chose not to focus entirely on acting, although he continued to take on supporting roles in such films as Gilda (1946), The Magnificent Yankee (1950), The Hurricane at Pilgrim Hill (1950) and D-Day the Sixth of June (1956).
Throughout the 40s and 50s Bob wrote and directed many short films including Call To Arms, The Derelict, Pampas Moon and The Mute, which earned him numerous awards including one from the Cannes Film Festival in 1959. He acted in most of them as well.
He was an avid puppeteer, and handmade all of his puppets. Bob especially enjoyed performing for children at festivals and events. He once performed a private puppet show for actor Ronald Reagan, Ron's mother and girlfriend at the time, Nancy.
Bob was also known to make handmade dolls of numerous stars in their notable character's costumes, and would often give them to the actors as gifts. His gift of a doll to Stan Laurel gave birth to a lasting friendship throughout the years, and they would write each other often. He also befriended Italian director Federico Fellini, after making him dolls of the two major characters from his Oscar winning films (La Strada (1954) and Nights of Cabiria (1957)). Fellini later gifted Bob with an original drawing of those 2 characters, signed to him personally. Perhaps one of the greatest moments in Bob's life was when he was able to personally give a doll to his longtime idle and inspiration, actress Marion Davies. During the meeting they shared stories of how they both overcame stuttering as a child. He confessed to her that it was reading about her success that motivated him to overcome his condition as well. They remained friends ever since.
One of Bob's other talents was photography, especially capturing the stars of the day in a very candid fashion. His numerous connections in Hollywood allowed him access to private events where he photographed such celebrities as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Clark Gable and Mae West. He has become known in Hollywood as "one of the original paparazzi", and his photos and film footage have been featured in many documentaries throughout the years, including The People's Hollywood (2003).
Through the years Bob became close with many of the stars he worked with, especially Robert Young, who selected Bob as his stand-in for nearly two decades. He also was a stand-in for such stars and Elvis Presley, Tab Hunter and James Stewart. Bob occasionally modeled as well, and once posed as a fighter pilot in a wartime promotional photo alongside Rita Hayworth.
Bob's boutique theater, Le Petit Cinema, located in the hills under the Hollywood Sign, attracted many luminaries and celebrities for decades. Before the advent of the VCR, his theater was a rare place in which vintage prints could be viewed, and became known as one of the first "revival houses" to exist in Hollywood. Theater attendees include Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Stan Laurel and Joan Crawford.
In the latter part of Bob's acting career, he became more active in television, and was frequently on the hit show Mission: Impossible (1966). After retiring from acting, Bob went on to produce a documentary about Marion Davies. This led him to be invited to be involved with another documentary about the legendary actress, Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies (2001), which features him and his stories of their special relationship. His enormous collection of Marion Davies movie memorabilia has been donated to Wesleyan University's Cinema Archive in their Special Collections Department. The entire collection will always be referred to as the Bob Board Collection. His remaining dolls of Marion have been donated to the Hollywood Heritage Society, where they will also create exhibits honoring Marion in Bob's name.
Bob's last creative project, which he began at age 91, was a short film he made with his good friend, artist and film composer Billy Mallery. The film, titled "Magical Miniatures" was not fully completed at the time of his death in November 2016. With the help of Bob's extensive notes, Billy was able to complete the film the way Bob had envisioned it. It premiered at Bob's memorial service in March 2017 at the historic Besant Lodge, originally the first Independent Silent Movie Cinema in Los Angeles, located just around the corner from Bob's home in the Hollywood Hills where he lived since 1961.
Plenty has been written about Mr. Board, and he occupies an entire chapter in the essential Paul Zollo reference: "Hollywood Remembered: An Oral History of Its Golden Age".
