Biography
Over a career spanning four decades, actor Bob Elkins has portrayed a vast array of diverse characters—too many to count, yet unforgettable for their impact. Despite facing impossible deadlines, exhausting rehearsal schedules, and demanding projects that required enduring rain, snow, and intense heat, his most challenging role was the one he was born into and eventually escaped: seeking approval from strangers while hiding in the spotlight.
Bob Elkins spent his first five years in the small mountain town of Mt. Hope, West Virginia, the son of a struggling coal miner and the only brother to two sisters. One of his earliest memories was a real-life drama: floodwaters from a nearby creek submerged the first floor of his two-story home. Unaware of the danger, young Bob rode his tricycle through the rising water in the hallway as his mother frantically called him upstairs. He made it just in time, watching sadly as his beloved tricycle was swept away.
In pursuit of better job prospects and stability, Bob's family moved from West Virginia to Muncie, Indiana, where his father found work at a lawnmower company. Although their financial situation improved somewhat, emotional strain grew as his father gradually built an invisible wall around himself.
School was a constant challenge for Bob, who struggled to understand textbooks and chalkboard lessons. Unbeknownst to him or anyone else then, he was suffering from dyslexia, a learning disability that would only be diagnosed much later.
At age 12, Bob’s family relocated to Covington, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. That year, a pivotal and tragic event occurred: his father abruptly left home without explanation and never returned. The loss devastated Bob.
Films became Bob’s escape from the pain of his father’s absence. He immersed himself in movie after movie, unknowingly planting the seeds of his future acting career.
To support the family, Bob’s mother worked as a maid, and his sisters took part-time jobs. With his grades slipping and little parental supervision, Bob fell in with a group of teens who introduced him to crime.
He became involved with a schoolmate who was a bookie—a math whiz who calculated odds. Bob acted as the frontman, collecting bets, paying winners, and handling disputes non-violently.
His illegal gambling days ended when a sister discovered his betting records and convinced him to stop. However, Bob continued down a risky path, associating with a rough crowd, staying out late, and stealing items like cigarette cartons. On one occasion, the group stole a car for a joyride. Bob’s youthful criminal activities came to an abrupt halt when he and his friends were caught breaking into a coal company office.
Arrested and warned by a police officer about the consequences of reform school, Bob’s life of crime ceased.
Due to poor grades, Bob attended summer school for five years, worked odd jobs, and participated in sports. At 18, like many young men, he joined the U.S. Navy—a turning point in his life. Among 600 recruits, Bob ranked in the top 5% on an aptitude test, qualifying for government-funded college.
Though he declined the Navy’s free college offer, Bob accepted an alternative: military school. Quickly promoted to Petty Officer, he led a division on a ship, gaining much-needed confidence.
The Navy taught Bob that he wasn’t just a "stupid kid." His four years of service significantly transformed his life.
During his Navy years, Bob learned his earlier academic struggles stemmed from dyslexia. A close friend, Lt. Jack Russell, helped him improve his reading skills, marking another turning point as Bob began reading more and higher-quality books.
After discharge, a friend encouraged Bob to attend government-funded night school, where he studied liberal arts for a year and a half. His life took another turn when he saw a newspaper ad for an acting school in Cincinnati.
Drawing on his Navy experience, Bob landed his first professional acting role as a shore patrol officer in a stage production of the comedy Mister Roberts. A year later, he starred as the lead in the same play.
From the start, Bob received positive reviews and praise from actors and directors. One director urged him to move to New York or Hollywood to pursue Broadway or film roles. However, at age 25, Bob married and chose to remain in Cincinnati. He and his wife had four children over the following years.
Bob continued acting in dozens of plays and TV commercials. Like most actors, he couldn’t support his family solely through acting, so he worked various day jobs, including as a salesman for a Fortune 500 chemical company. Despite failing high school chemistry, Bob advanced to assistant vice president of the company’s industrial division.
His acting career gained momentum in 1980 when he auditioned for and won a role in the film Coal Miner’s Daughter, starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones.
Bob portrayed Bobby Day, the DJ, in Coal Miner’s Daughter, an experience that taught him much about film acting.
However, Bob’s personal life was troubled. Shortly after filming, his marriage ended in divorce, causing deep depression.
During this period, Bob missed several professional opportunities. Facing a mid-life crisis, he left the corporate world to pursue acting full-time, relocating with a friend to Orlando, Florida.
Disappointed by limited roles in Orlando, Bob returned to Cincinnati, where he worked in theater and secured occasional film and TV roles, including co-starring with Sandy Dennis in Trouble With Mother.
After his children grew up, Bob made another attempt at Hollywood. In Los Angeles, he studied acting under professionals like Dee Marcus and Jason Alexander (George on Seinfeld). He appeared in plays such as Passion Fruit and films including The Big Day with Saundra Seacat. Yet acting jobs remained scarce, and financial strain led him to return home—a decision that proved wise.
Back in Cincinnati, Bob quickly found work in films and television, including This Train with Soupy Sales and Tattered Angel with Lynda Carter. More recently, he had a supporting role in the ABC TV movie The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story, playing a trapped miner’s father, and appeared in the acclaimed docu-drama James Cameron’s Expedition: Bismarck on the Discovery Channel as German Admiral Gunther Lutgens.
In February 2003, Bob won the Best Actor Award at the Dublin Film and Music Festival in Ireland for his role as a homeless man in the independent film Homefree (2002), written and directed by Greg Newberry. He also starred in feature films such as Act of Contrition (2019) and collaborated on projects with Carrie-Ellen Zappa, including teaching acting at Zappa Studios.
