LOS ANGELES – SAG-AFTRA mourns the passing of former SAG New York Branch President and union leader Bob Kaliban, who died Saturday at 87.
Kaliban was born in Lisbon, Iowa, and moved with his wife, Pat ("Pepper"), to Garden City, New York, 50 years ago to raise their three children while he pursued a career on Broadway. He would go on to have roles in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, Ben Franklin in Paris and The Conquering Hero.
He joined SAG in 1961 and AFTRA in 1962 and in addition to stage roles, appeared in the films Brighton Beach Memoirs and Lovers and Other Strangers, and on television shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tracey Ullman Show and Law and Order. Kaliban was seen and heard on thousands of commercials but is perhaps best known for his long run as the “Ty-D-Bol Man,” that company’s nattily attired, nautical TV spokesman.
Kaliban devoted over half a century of service to his fellow actors. He served on the Screen Actors Guild National Board from 1968-1994 and was elected SAG New York Branch President for two terms in the 1970s. He was a member of the Board Trustees of the SAG-Producers Pension & Health Plans for forty years, and remained a Trustee of the SAG-Producers Pension Plan until his death as well as a proctor on the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Scholarship Committee.
“Bob was more than talented and funny, he was an incredibly kind-hearted soul," said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. "He lived a full life and served his fellow union members selflessly for more than 50 years. Our hearts go out to Bob's family during this sad time."
“Bob had a gift for making almost everything fun. He was especially devoted in service to our newest members. He could make any story more interesting, because he was a storyteller by nature,” said SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President and New York Local President Rebecca Damon. “The love and respect Bob had for Screen Actors Guild and later SAG-AFTRA, was infectious and helped set the tone for those members just starting their union journeys. Bob was a great leader, a class-act and a complete sweetheart of a man. To know him was to love him. He will be deeply missed."
The actor often led voiceover workshops and would joke that there are five stages of an actor's life characterized by the following questions: "1. Who is Bob Kaliban? 2. Get me Bob Kaliban! 3. Get me a "Bob Kaliban" type! 4. Get me a young Bob Kaliban! 5. Who is Bob Kaliban?"
Given Kaliban’s larger than life personality, he will never be forgotten by all those who knew him.
About SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.