Bob Kaliban
American actor

Robert Dean Kaliban (November 6, 1933 – December 12, 2020) was an American actor, singer, and musician who served as president of the New York branch of SAG-AFTRA. He also appeared in television, films and TV commercials as the "Ty-D-Bol Man”.
Personal life and career
Kaliban was born on November 6, 1933, in Lisbon, Iowa. After attending Loras College in Dubuque, he moved to New York City in the 1950s where he began his career in the theater. Twice married, Kaliban briefly moved to London and gained a scholarship at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first role on Broadway was in the musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He also appeared in Ben Franklin in Paris.
In 1968, Kaliban became president of the Screen Actors Guild. Regarding his role as SAG president, Kaliban stated: “We have been stripped of our dignity and believability as actors by every client who uses real people. The trend must turn back from real people to the real professional.”
Kaliban later appeared in local television commercials in the New York City area. Despite leaving SAG in 1994, he continued to have a “Trustee” status of the Pension Plan until his death.
The public source identifies “Bob Kaliban” as american actor. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Kaliban, American and actor.
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Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2907716. VIAF identifies the subject as 7027151304672349460006. The Library of Congress control number is no2020005162. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 2020, 1968 and 1994.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bob Kaliban” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.