We have at times joked about the fact that Bob appeared on stage with Tallulah Bankhead in Separate Tables at Williamstown, Ma., when he was young, but the truth is that Bob has had a rather distinguished career treading the boards hither and yon . . . Many of his theatrical appearances were with the Twin Valley Players in up-country Dauphin County—The Pajama Game (Hines), Gypsy (Herbie), Take Me Along (Ned Miller), Damn Yankees (Applegate), Fiddler on the Roof (Tevye), and Man of La Mancha (Sancho). He was also in one of Theatre Harrisburg’s productions of Carousel . . . But “the only time I got professional pay” was when he reprised his role of Hines in The Pajama Game at the Savannah (Ga,) Little Theater. The scheduled actor got sick just before the opening and, knowing that he had done the role before, Bob was called into service with almost no rehearsal; he faked his way through the blocking and dance numbers . . . As twelfth-grade English teacher at Millersburg High School, Bob was called upon to direct the student shows each year. Some went better than others, he admits. Among those student productions were Nude With Violin, Brigadoon, Damn Yankees, Wonderful Town, Bye Bye Birdie (twice), Oklahoma, Little Mary Sunshine (his favorite), The Fantasticks, and Guys & Dolls . . . On occasion he still yearns to be part of the theater scene, but he admits that most of the plum roles don’t call for a 70-year-old man . . . But wouldn’t we all love to see him as a dancing chorus boy in West Side Story . . . He and a friend did bring down the house a few years ago when, as a lark at a convention, they did the Sisters act of Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney from the movie White Christmas complete with ostrich plume fans. They were so-o-o-o good that an encore was demanded. The whole thing was caught on tape but Bob has squirrelled his copy away and even I haven't seen it . . .
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