OT...
Yes...Bob was the orig Shell Answer Man: the guy that stood there in the white lab coat and did the voice overs.
He got the gig while on a lunch break: he was overheard talking by a producer, who liked his voice. He showed up
for a test/audition on a lark. Got hired, did a dozenish commercials. The residuals were not what they are today.
I did not know him then, but we met & worked together since '80 and he is one of my best buds on the planet.
His wife Marlene, next to him in the pic, also had a bit part in the Alien
s movie: she was the lab tech, early
in the film, with a close up, who screams at the realization that the Alien creatures are still alive.
All that and 2 bucks will get any of us on the subway...
One cannot make this stuff up.
BR,mD