bobborden.com

Born in a mining town in '69 (Steubenville, Ohio), the story of Robert Borden is one of great triumph. As a young trumpet prodigy, Robert was touted as Steubenville's next Dean Martin.

Bob works hard
and plays hard
While the other kids were out playing, Bob and his dad were inside practicing and practicing. After years and years of practice, Bob got braces and had trouble hitting those high notes that came so naturally to him -- he was never the same.

High School was an odd time for Bob. He got along with everyone but didn't really fit in anywhere. It was at this time when his vocabulary was introduced to a new word: remedial - Remedial math, remedial science, remedial everything. Getting a 'D' or 'C' became the norm and in most cases he was thankful/lucky to get such 'high' marks. But Bob kept his head down, and graduated with near-perfect attendance in 1988. With high school behind him, Bob loaded up his '77 Buick LeSabre and set off to find himself.

Unfortunately, because Bob never had a job, he didn't have any money to find himself, so his parents recommended giving higher education a try. Unable to get into a 4-year college with such bad grades, Bob went to the best 2-year college in town. With his Business Management degree in hand and the knowledge that the customer is always right, Bob was ready to land that first big job. Discouraged by the bad economy and a hiring freeze at Arby's, Bob's parents recommended giving higher education a try, again.

It was at this dark time in Bob's life where he decided to become famous, at least for 15 minutes, so the famous saying goes. And what better way to become famous than by entering contests? By entering 100's of entries in each contest Bob finally found success. In the HBO 'Ghost' contest, Bob won an Indian-head penny incased in plastic. In the HBO 'Another 48 Hours' contest, Bob won a Walkman. And in the JazzTimes magazine contest, Bob won a car CD player, a CD Walkman and a 5-disc CD changer.

But there was still something missing. This was all well and good but it didn't make Bob famous. Bob turned to the only outlet available for the untalented, Late Night with David Letterman. More specifically, the very popular Viewer Mail segment. Bob and his Mom would watch for his letter to air every Thursday night. This went on for almost a year when finally in the fall of 1992, his letter hit the airwaves!

Bob's 'Late Night' letter
That was Bob's greatest moment up to that point. He even got a mystery call, "way to go", from someone in town. The high from Bob's letter lasted approximately 2 weeks. Then reality set in, he had to figure out what he wanted from life.

While looking through a college directory, it FINALLY hit him, "holy crap, they have classes about TV?!" Bob's college "D" and "C" marks quickly changed to "B's" and even "A's". Then, one day while walking to class he saw a flyer for an internship with his favorite show, Late Night. Not knowing what an internship really was, he sent in a letter. A few weeks later, Bob found himself on a plane to New York City. Green to the ways of the big city and very nervous, Bob took a cab two blocks to his interview.

He nailed it! Bob moved to New York to be the Mailroom intern. After a great internship Bob had to go back to Ohio to finish college. That's where he hit his next stumbling block; Spanish. Bob had to take two semesters of a foreign language in order to graduate. Bob flunked Spanish 3 times and was ready to throw in the towel. Desperate, he even sought the help of a Psychologist, hoping that she'd diagnose him with a learning disability. To Bob's dismay, he was just normal.

Finally, an advisor told Bob to give Swahili a shot. Well, Bob took to Swahili like a duck takes to water. After college, Bob landed a job at WTOV-9 in his hometown of Steubenville, Ohio. He took the job on one condition; if the Late Show calls for a job, he could leave that day. After a long, hot summer, Bob got the call.

Mailboy - Bob's first
job at Late Show
Bob worked hard and people took notice. Soon he found himself in front of the camera. From 'Dave Finds Bob a Date' to 'Bob's Four State Burrito Bonanza' Bob appeared in well over 50 remotes and segments.

Bob covering the primaries
in New Hampshire
Due to hundreds of public appearances and lack of privacy, Bob "retired" from the public eye in late 2000. This gave him more time to focus on his behind-the-scenes career. Having risen to the ranks of Writers' Researcher, Bob was having the time of his life but something was missing. In 2005, Bob gave in to public demand and returned to the small screen. He even made an appearance on the CBS soap opera, Guiding Light! Where will Bob go from here? Stay tuned.