Robert Andrew James (1934-2021) was elected to The Lambs in 1987 as a Theatrical member. He worked as a photographer. In 2006 he left New York for Virginia.
Robert Andrew “Bob” James, was born June 4, 1934, in Brooklyn to Margaret Nardine and Andrew Thornton James. Bob grew up in East Rockaway, Long Island, New York, with his younger brother, Andrew James. Bob was proud of the fact that he had a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, his baseball team of choice. He graduated East Rockaway High School in 1952.
Bob went to college at Syracuse University for one year and volunteered for the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, where he learned his career training as a photographer. He served first in the desert of El Centro, California, filming daily from U.S. Navy jets, and later on the U.S.S. Boxer aircraft carrier in Japan and in other parts of Asia. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve until 1961 as he continued his education at New York University in filmmaking.
Bob married Mary Ann Passariello and was blessed with his beloved daughter, Kimberly Dawn. He developed a career as a school portrait photographer with Quaser, which became Alston, and later, Lifetouch School Photography. School reunion portraits were part of his work, and he had his own wedding and bar mitzvah photography business, along with seasonal Santa Claus pictures.
He married Susan Jane Lang Oct. 13, 1980, and lived in Long Beach, New York, for 30 years, appearing with her in many plays and musicals. He starred in local productions as Emile deBecque in “South Pacific,” Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady” and Don Quixote in “Man of La Mancha,” among others. He appeared off-Broadway in the historical musical drama “Shelley” and was a member of the Instant Shakespeare Company.
Upon retirement, Bob and Susan moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, in June 2006, and he was able to indulge his love of history by working as a museum guide for the state of Virginia’s Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Revolutionary Museum. For more than 10 years as a guide, Bob shared his theatrical enthusiasm and his outgoing personality with all in addition to fundraising for these cultural institutions. Bob had a strong baritone voice, and, as a lifelong Catholic, sang in the choir and served as a lector at Saint Bede Catholic Church.
Robert Andrew “Bob” James, 86, peacefully passed away Friday, March 5, 2021, at Hospice House of Williamsburg after a series of complications due to an elective brain surgery.