Dole, Bob (Robert Joseph Dole), 1923-, American political leader, b. Russell, Kan.; husband of Elizabeth Hanford Dole. While serving in World War II, he was seriously wounded and required several years of convalescence. After obtaining his law degree from Washburn Univ. (1952), he worked as a county attorney. In 1960 he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives and served four terms (1961-69); he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee (1971-73), and in 1976 Dole was President Gerald Ford's running mate.

Dole served as majority leader of the Senate (1985-87, 1995-96) and as minority leader (1987-95), gaining a reputation as a pragmatic conservative with an acerbic wit. In 1980 and 1988 Dole ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination. In 1995 he again announced his candidacy for his party's presidential nomination, and he subsequently triumphed in the primaries. In June, 1996, Dole resigned from the Senate in order to devote more time to the presidential race, and in August he chose Jack Kemp as his running mate. He proved unable to reduce President Clinton's significant lead in the popular vote, however, and was soundly defeated in the November elections. In 2007, President George W. Bush selected Dole to co-chair a commission charged with investigating problems in the military health-care system.

Fosse, Bob (Robert Louis Fosse), 1927-87, American choreographer and director, b. Chicago. Fosse first appeared on Broadway in Dance Me a Song (1950). He choreographed dances for The Pajama Game (1954), Damn Yankees (1955), and Pippin (1972). He also directed and choreographed the film Sweet Charity (1966) and the supposedly autobiographical All That Jazz (1979). In 1972, he became the only director to win an Academy Award (Cabaret), a Tony Award (Pippin) and an Emmy Award ("Liza with a Z") in the same year.

Hope, Bob, 1903-2003, American comedian, b. London as Leslie Townes Hope; he came to the United States at the age of five. Famous for his "ski-jump" nose, topical humor, superb timing, brashly irreverant attitude, and rapid-fire delivery, Hope enjoyed immense popularity. He began his show-business career as a vaudeville dancer and later appeared in plays and film, on radio and television, and in concert. In addition, he hosted the Academy Awards ceremonies a record-breaking 17 times over 38 years. Hope made more than 50 films, including seven "Road" pictures, a comic series that began with Road to Singapore (1940), which introduced his long partnership with crooner Bing Crosby and actress Dorothy Lamour, included Road to Morocco (1942), and ended with Road to Hong Kong (1962). Among Hope's other movies are Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), The Paleface (1947), The Seven Little Foys (1955), and How to Commit Marriage (1969). He also wrote books on various topics, including his overseas travels and his love of golf. After 1972 he left movies but continued as the host of numerous television variety specials. A master of the monologue and the mildly salacious one-liner, he was an indefatigable entertainer of U.S. troops overseas from the 1940s into the 1990s.

Feller, Bob (Robert William Andrew Feller), 1918-, American baseball player, b. Van Meter, Iowa. Famous for his extraordinary fastball, Feller pitched 18 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, beginning in 1936. He led the American League in wins six times while compiling 266 career victories. The right-hander pitched 3 no-hit and 12 one-hit games, and led the league in strikeouts 7 seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.

Hawke, Bob (Robert James Lee Hawke), 1929-, Australian statesman. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, he gained a reputation as a skillful labor mediator during his tenure at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, of which he eventually became president. He served as national president of the Labor party (1973-78) before being elected to Parliament in 1980. He became party leader in 1983 and following his party's electoral victory later that year won the first of three successive terms as prime minister. He sought to decrease Australia's dependence on the export of raw materials and make the nation more competitive internationally in manufactured goods. In Dec., 1991, Hawke lost a party leadership fight and a new Labor government was formed with Paul Keating as prime minister.

Michel, Bob (Robert Henry Michel), 1923-, U.S. congressman, b. Peoria, Ill. He served in the army in World War II before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Illinois in 1956. From 1975 to 1981 he was House minority whip, and in 1981 he became minority leader. Michel also served on the House appropriations committee and was instrumental in winning congressional support for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He retired in 1995.

Cousy, Bob (Robert Joseph Cousy), 1928-, American basketball player, b. New York City. During his career with the Boston Celtics (1951-63), Cousy established a reputation as the National Basketball Association's finest backcourt player, a brilliant playmaker of innovative passing and dribbling skills. He played in 12 league all-star games, was the league's most valuable player in 1954 and 1957, and was an integral part of six championship teams. He later coached at Boston College (1963-69) and with the NBA's Cincinnati Royals (later the Kansas City-Omaha Kings; 1969-73).

Dylan, Bob, 1941-, American singer and composer, b. Duluth, Minn., as Robert Zimmerman. Dylan learned guitar at the age of 10 and autoharp and harmonica at 15. After a rebellious youth, he moved to New York City in 1960 and in the early years of the decade began playing in a folk style in Greenwich Village clubs. He turned to performing with an electric rock-and-roll band in 1965. Influenced by such figures as Leadbelly, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, and Woody Guthrie as well as by such early rockers as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard, Dylan, in turn, has had a profound effect on folk and rock music. As a lyricist he captured the cynicism, anger, and alienation of American youth, which reverberated in his harsh vocal delivery and insistent guitar-harmonica accompaniment.

Among Dylan's many social protest songs are "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'." Dylan's style evolved from acoustic folk (e.g., "Don't Think Twice") to folk rock (e.g., "Highway 61 Revisited"), country blues (e.g., "Country Pie"), and hard-driving rock. Enigmatic and reclusive, he became a cult figure; he has continued to tour and record new albums. Although many of his later recordings were not well received, his Time out of Mind (1997), Love and Theft (2001), and Modern Times (2006, Grammy) albums won nearly universal praise. He also wrote an early autobiography, Bob Dylan, Self-Portrait (1970); a late one, Chronicles: Volume One (2004); and a novel, Tarantula (1971, repr. 2004).

Marley, Bob, 1945-81, Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, and guitarist. As a member of the Wailers, a reggae band that included Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, and later on his own, Marley propelled reggae to worldwide popularity. His commitment to nonviolence and the Rastafarian religion are transparent in his music, and his smoky tenor and loping reggae beat combine to enhance the appeal of his political message.

J. R. "Bob" Dobbs is the figurehead of the Church of the SubGenius. His image is derived from a piece of 1950s pop-art. According to SubGenius dogma, "Bob" was a drilling equipment salesman who, in 1953, saw a vision of God (JHVH-1 according to Church scriptures) on a television set he had built himself. The vision inspired him to write the "PreScriptures" (as described in the Book of the SubGenius) and found the Church. The "theology" holds that "Bob" is the greatest salesman who ever lived, and has cheated death a number of times. He is also revered for his great follies and believed to be a savior of "slack". He was assassinated in San Francisco in 1984, though the Church states that he has come back from the dead several times since then.

The quotation marks in "Bob"'s name are always included when spelling his name, according to the Church.

Connie Dobbs

"Bob"'s wife, Connie Dobbs, has become as legendary in SubGenius circles as "Bob" himself. Although "Bob" has been married to other women, spirits, deities, and inanimate objects (he was married to Eris, the Discordian mother Goddess for a while, though she grew tired of him and kicked him out), Connie is described in the SubGenius documentary Arise! as "his first, and still his primary wife." Connie is the patron of SubGenius women, and she is seen as a vision of true liberation for women. She refuses to submit to anyone (especially "Bob"), and she is just as free-wheeling and promiscuous as her husband... although she has a more level head on her shoulders when it comes to domestic issues.

Dobbstown

According to Church lore, "Bob" travelled to Malaysia and founded a secret enclave there, called Dobbstown, where he often stays when he is not travelling. Few members of the Church of the SubGenius have ever seen Dobbstown in person, and it may be a legend similar to the legend of Shangri-La.

Images of "Bob"

"Bob"'s image first appeared in the original SubGenius publication, SubGenius Pamphlet #1 (a.k.a. "The World Ends Tomorrow And You May Die") (1979). Since his initial appearance, his face has appeared in numerous places around the world, and it has made cameo appearances on everything from graffiti art on highway overpasses, to musical albums by many underground bands (and several popular mainstream rock bands, ranging from Devo to Sublime) and the occasional movie (see The Wizard of Speed and Time) and TV appearance (Pee-wee's Playhouse). There are also two German comics with "Bob" ("Future Subjunkies" and "Space Bastards", both by Gerhard Seyfried and Ziska Riemann). The Church of the SubGenius maintains the trademark and copyright on "Bob"'s image, though it has tried to avoid taking legal action unless absolutely necessary.

"Bob"'s image is commonly seen on the Usenet newsgroup alt.binaries.slack, where he appears regularly in images by many artists. Proper etiquette on the newsgroup dictates that credit be given where it is due, and acknowledgement of the ownership of "Bob"'s image by the Church is accepted by the regular newsgroup participants.

Both "Bob" and SubGenius Foundation head Ivan Stang appear as characters in John Shirley's novel Kamus of Kadizar: The Black Hole of Carcosa.

It is also found on the musical group Sublime's CD artwork for the album "40 Ounces to Freedom".

Sacred Ikon

Around 2002 the Church adopted a new symbol called the "Sacred Ikon", which is a stylized cross consisting of three bars and a pipe, placed in a pattern that matches the eyes, nose, mouth, and pipe of "Bob"'s image.

Time Magazine

In its January 1, 2000 issue, a Time magazine internet-based poll named J.R. "Bob" Dobbs the #1 "Phoney Or Fraud" of the 20th century.

Notes and references