Shore Leave 43 Guest: Robert Picardo
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bob graduated from the William Penn Charter School and attended Yale University. His acting career began at Yale when he landed a leading role in Leonard Bernstein's Mass and later performed it in the European premiere of that work. Bob, then a biology major, abandoned his premed plans and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. in Drama at age 20. He moved to New York and studied acting at Circle in the Square. In 1977, he made his Broadway debut in the lead role of the comedy hit Gemini. The following season, he won the coveted part of Jack Lemmon's son in Bernard Slade's Tribute, re-creating his role in the Los Angeles production. In California, Bob has played leading roles at the Mark Taper Forum, The Pasadena Playhouse, the Berkeley Rep and other venues.
On television, Bob earned an Emmy Nomination for his role as Mr. Cutlip on The Wonder Years. He received the Founders Award from Viewers for Quality Television for his combined work on that show and his starring role as Dr. Richard on the acclaimed Vietnam drama, China Beach. Bob is recognized around the globe for his curmudgeonly Holographic Doctor on seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager. One of the two Voyager episodes Bob also directed, "One Small Step," was a moving tribute to the pioneers of space exploration. Bob has guest starred in scores of well-loved TV series and starred as Commander Woolsey on Stargate Atlantis. This season, Bob has guest starred on CSI:VEGAS, NCIS, QUANTUM LEAP and MYTHIC QUEST.
Bob is a voting member of The Motion Picture Academy and has appeared in feature films directed by Bob Fosse, Ridley Scott, Paul Verhoeven, the Coen Brothers, Joe Dante and many others. He is on the Executive Board of the Planetary Society, the space advocacy nonprofit cofounder by Carl Sagan and presently led by Bill Nye.