Robert (Bob) Tennenhouse, born in March 1938 in Detroit, Michigan, died from complications with pneumonia on Dec. 21, 2024 at Hebrew Home at Riverdale, with his wife Mary Ann by his side. He bravely struggled with Alzheimer’s disease for over ten years.
He attended Wayne State University, where he earned a BA in English and later worked as an editor at University Press, and subsequently Random House. Bob always loved the theater; he acted in plays with the Wayne State University Players, and went on their Far East Tour with Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Senex.
Bob and Mary Ann moved to New York City in the early 70s so he could explore his love of acting. He became a long-time and proud Screen Actors Guild member. His off-Broadway credits include the Fantasticks and Desperate Hours; regional theater productions of Death of a Salesman, Andersonville Trial, In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Little Murders; various films (Stardust Memories, Last Change, Death, A Cold Spell) and many other plays. Bob acted in industrials, TV and print commercials. He trained with Geraldine Page, Arthur Kopit, Julie Bovasso, Albert Hague, Barbara Loden and others.
Bob was always finding new ways to improve his art--in his 60s he loved attending tap dance lessons 2-3 days a week with Pat Catterson, Andrea Levine, and Heather Cornell.
One of his great joys was reading to kids in the cancer ward at NY Presbyterian Hospital, and at PS153 Elementary (for S.A.G.'s BookPals program), where they referred to him as “Mr. T”.
Bob loved reading poetry and literature, writing, attending art museums; he loved comedy and comics, and was known for quoting Groucho Marx and Mel Brooks on many occasions. He loved to make people laugh. Bob was also a fierce defender of human rights and a pacifist, and spoke out against racism, anti-semitism, and injustice his entire life.
He is survived by his beloved wife Mary Ann Tennenhouse and sisters Susan Binstok, Nancy (Steven) Leith, and Lori Tennenhouse.