Bob Gunton
Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, Chief George Earle in 1993's Demolition Man, Dr. Walcott, the domineering dean of Virginia Medical School in Patch Adams, and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in Argo. He also played Leland Owlsley in the Daredevil television series, Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin in 24, and Noah Taylor in Desperate Housewives.
Bob Gunton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. November 15, 1945 Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Education | Mater Dei High School |
| Alma mater | Paulist Seminary St Peter's College University of California, Irvine |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) | Annie McGreevey
(m. 1980; div. 2006)Carey Pitts
(m. 2006) |
| Children | 1 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–71 |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Unit | 501st Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards |  Bronze Star Medal Army Commendation Medal Vietnam Service Medal |
In addition to his film and television career, Gunton is a prolific theatre actor. He originated the role of Juan Perón in the Broadway premiere of Evita and the titular character in the 1989 revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, roles for which he received two Tony Award nominations. He is the recipient of a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, and a Clarence Derwent Award.
Early life and education
Gunton was born November 15, 1945, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Rose Marie (née Banovetz) and Robert Patrick Gunton Sr., a labor union executive.[1] He attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, the Paulist Seminary St Peter's College, in Baltimore, Maryland, and the University of California, Irvine. A lifelong devout Roman Catholic, Gunton had initially planned to become a priest.[2][3]
Military service
Gunton served in the United States Army (1969–71) as a radio telephone operator with the 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, and was served at the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord during the 23-day siege.[4]
He and a comrade were awarded Bronze Star commendations for returning to the base to retrieve important but forgotten radios in the evacuation’s final moments so they would not fall into the hands of the People's Army of Vietnam forces which was about to capture the base, making him one of the last people to evacuate the base. During the battle, he lost one of his dog tags, but it was returned to him over 40 years later in 2018.[5][6]
Career
Gunton played the role of Juan Peron in the original 1980 Broadway production of Evita, earning a nomination for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance. He later starred in the title role of a 1989 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd and received a second Tony nomination for his portrayal. Additional Broadway credits include Working, King of Hearts, The Music Women, How I Got That Story, and Big River.
Gunton portrayed President Richard Nixon in a recreation of the Watergate tapes incident for Nightline. He also played President Woodrow Wilson in the film Iron Jawed Angels (2004). Gunton is also known for his guest starring role as Capt. Benjamin Maxwell in the well-received 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded". Gunton played Warden Samuel Norton, the head of Shawshank State Prison and the primary antagonist in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) opposite Tim Robbins. Gunton played Cecil Dobbs in the 2011 film The Lincoln Lawyer.
Gunton also guest starred in the first season of Desperate Housewives and the sixth season of 24, where he portrayed United States Secretary of Defense Ethan Kanin. He signed on as series regular afterward and reprised the role of Kanin but now as the Chief of Staff to the new president, Allison Taylor, in the show's seventh season as well as the two-hour television prequel film, 24: Redemption. He returned again for the eighth season but this time as the President's Secretary of State. Gunton portrays Leland Owlsley in the 2015 TV series Daredevil.[7] Gunton made a guest appearance on[8] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in January 2017.
Stage credits
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Rollover | Sal Naftari | |
| 1985 | Static | Frank | |
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Fernando Portacarrero | |
| Matewan | C.E. Lively | ||
| 1989 | Cookie | Richie Segretto | |
| Glory | Gen. Harker | ||
| Born on the Fourth of July | Doctor | ||
| 1991 | JFK | TV Newsman | |
| 1992 | Patriot Games | Interviewer | |
| The Public Eye | Older Agent | ||
| Sinatra | Tommy Dorsey | ||
| 1993 | Father Hood | Lazzaro | |
| Demolition Man | Chief George Earle | ||
| 1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | Warden Samuel Norton | |
| 1995 | Dolores Claiborne | Mr. Pease | |
| Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls | Burton Quinn | ||
| In Pursuit of Honor | Colonel John Hardesty | ||
| 1996 | Broken Arrow | Pritchett | |
| The Glimmer Man | Frank Deverell | ||
| The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Bo Gritz | ||
| 1997 | A Thousand Acres | Judge | Uncredited |
| Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil | Finley Largent | ||
| Elvis Meets Nixon | President Richard Nixon | ||
| Buffalo Soldiers | Col. Benjamin Grierson | ||
| 1998 | Patch Adams | Dean Walcott | |
| 1999 | Bats | Dr. Alexander McCabe | |
| 2000 | Running Mates | Terrence Randall | |
| The Perfect Storm | Alexander McAnally III | ||
| 2001 | 61* | Dan Topping | |
| 2002 | Boat Trip | Boat Captain | |
| 2004 | I Heart Huckabees | Mr. Silver | |
| Iron Jawed Angels | President Woodrow Wilson | ||
| 2006 | Believe in Me | Hugh Moreland | |
| 2007 | Dead Silence | Edward Ashen | |
| Fracture | Judge Gardner | ||
| Numb | Dr. Townsend | ||
| Pandemic | Dr. Max Sorkosky | ||
| Rendition | Lars Whitman | ||
| 2008 | The Lazarus Project | Father Ezra | |
| 2009 | Tenure | William Thurber | |
| 2010 | The Trial | Joe Whetstone | |
| 2011 | The Lincoln Lawyer | Cecil Dobbs | |
| Kill the Irishman | Jerry Merke | ||
| Get the Gringo | Thomas Kaufmann | ||
| 2012 | Trouble with the Curve | Watson | |
| Argo | Secretary of State Cyrus Vance | Hollywood Film Awards for Best Ensemble Cast | |
| 2013 | Jimmy | Sheriff Brinson | |
| Runner Runner | Dean Alex Monroe | ||
| Live at the Foxes Den | Tony O'Hara | ||
| 2015 | Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant | Flight School Instructor | |
| The 33 | President Sebastián Piñera | ||
| 2018 | Unbroken: Path to Redemption | Major Zeigler | |
| The Gettysburg Address | William Herndon (voice) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Equalizer | Cronin | Episode "Mama's Boy" |
| 1988 | Miami Vice | Rivas | Episode: "Heart of Night" |
| 1990 | Law & Order | Gil Himes | Episode: "Happily Ever After" |
| Judgment | Monsignor Beauvais | Television film | |
| Sesame Street Home Video Visits the Firehouse | Chief Kirby | Short | |
| 1991 | A Woman Named Jackie | Jacqueline's stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss | 3 episodes |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain Benjamin Maxwell | Episode: "The Wounded" | |
| 1993 | Wild Palms | Dr. Tobias Schenkl | Miniseries |
| 1994 | Roswell | Frank Joyce | Television film |
| 1996 | The Siege at Ruby Ridge | Bo Gritz | |
| 1998 | The Outer Limits | Clute Nichols | Episode: "The Hunt" |
| 2002 | Greg the Bunny | Junction Jack | Main role |
| Touched By an Angel | Sidney Alcott | Episode: "A Feather on the Breath of God" | |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Director Robert Carvallo | Episode: "Play with Fire" |
| Peacemakers | Mayor Malcolm Smith | Main role | |
| 2004–2006 | Desperate Housewives | Noah Taylor | Recurring role |
| 2004 | Monk | Dwight Ellison | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Game Show" |
| 2005 | Nip/Tuck | Agent Sagamore | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Pepper Dennis | Dick Dinkle | Recurring role |
| E-Ring | General Hughes | 3 episodes | |
| 2007 | Women's Murder Club | Arthur Lazar | Episode: "Train In Vain" |
| The Batman | Gorman | Voice, Episode: "Riddler's Revenge" | |
| 2007–2010 | 24 | Ethan Kanin | Main role |
| 2008 | World War II: Behind Closed Doors | President Franklin D. Roosevelt | BBC documentary with historical reconstructions[9] |
| 24: Redemption | Ethan Kanin | Television film | |
| 2010 | Royal Pains | Gen. William Collins | Recurring role |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Marshall Phelps | Episode: "Strays" |
| Family Guy | Warden | Voice, Episode: "Cool Hand Peter" | |
| 2012 | Wilfred | Warner | Episode: "Now" |
| 2014 | New Girl | Ed | Episode: "Basketball" |
| 2015 | Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street | Ranger's grandfather | 2 episodes |
| Daredevil | Leland Owlsley | Main cast (season 1) | |
| 2017 | Law and Order: Special Victims Unit | Lawrence Hendricks Sr. | Episode: Decline and Fall |
| 2018 | The Blacklist | Nicholas Moore | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Cool Kids | Colonel Christianson | Episode: "Funeral Crashers" |
| Project Blue Book | President Harry S. Truman | Episode: "The Washington Merry-Go Round" | |
| Elementary | Frederick Wentz | Episode: "Reichenbach Falls" |
References
- "Bob Gunton Biography (1945-)". filmreference.com.
- "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search". google.com.
- Angelo Stagnaro (February 26, 2017). "Where the Stars Go to Pray: The Churches of Hollywood". ncregister.com. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
- "Hollywood star, Vietnam vet reunites with dog tag in Cherry Hill". Courier-Post. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- "Robert Gunton - Actor , Vietnam Veteran and Bronze Star recipient reunited with his long lost dog tag - Patriot Connections Dog Tag Project | Patriot Connections". Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- "Actor/Vietnam Veteran and Bronze Star recipient, Bob Gunton, to be reunited with his Dog Tag at Cherry Hill Legion | Patriot Connections". Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- Netflix Sets Marvel’s “Daredevil” For April!
- "BBC Two - World War II: Behind Closed Doors". Bbc.co.uk. December 19, 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
Further reading
- Voisin, Scott. Character Kings: Hollywood's Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59393-342-5.
External links
- Bob Gunton at IMDb
- Bob Gunton at the Internet Broadway Database
- Bob Gunton at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
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