HILL COUNTRY SUN

December 2005 – January 2006

Page 6

Texas time traveler Bob Heinonen
by Ernie Altgelt

History books won’t tell you that Blanco is home to the Alamo’s William Barret Travis, Texas founding father Stephen F. Austin, famous trail driver and cattleman Charles Goodnight, and a host of other pioneering celebrities – but it’s true.

How is that possible? Because that’s where actor and historian Bob Heinonen (who convincingly portrays all of the above and others) hangs his hats.

For 20 years the talented performer has been educating and entertaining Texans of all ages by literally transforming himself into some unique figure out of the state’s colorful past then giving realistic presentations of the originals.

Through intense study coupled with a natural ability to act, Bob, attired in historically correct garb, is able to skillfully assume the persona of an Austin, Goodnight or other legendary figure, then captivate an audience with a monolog detailing the individual’s exciting life and times.

Questions invariably follow where Bob shows his remarkable grasp of Texas history with answers that echo somebody who was actually there.

The realism is such that attendees at his performances quickly forget the costumed man on stage is Bob and not the famous fighter, frontiersman or ranger he is portraying.

Originally trained as a computer software developer, Bob, then living in Dallas, was looking for an interest outside of his profession. He heeded a call from the Dallas Historical Society. They were looking for individuals to portray people out of Texas history as part of the state’s sesquicentennial celebrations.

As Bob laughingly recalls, “I didn’t like history. I had never acted. It seemed like a natural so I took the job.”

His assignment was to portray Travis. After some rudimentary training, Bob was pinned into an ill-fitting costume and was expected to give a 20-minute talk to schoolchildren at the Hall of State.

The surprise came when an NBC News crew arrived early and wound up filming Bob’s first performance instead of one of the veteran actors who were scheduled later. That evening on the news, Bob was featured in a three-minute segment.

After that first experience, Bob admits, “I was hooked and have been excited about every performance since.”

It took 15 years of volunteering before Bob finally hung up his computer spurs and became the fulltime autobiographical actor he is today. He gave 241 performances last year alone primarily for schools, retirement communities and civic organizations,

“A few years ago, I did a performance for fourth graders in Mesquite. After, one of the students came up and gave me a big hug,” he recalls. “When I was invited back a year later, a teacher asked me if I remembered that student. I did and was surprised to hear that before my presentation that young person was struggling academically but then excelled. Was it my performance? According to the teacher, when asked, the student said, ‘Before school was boring, boring, boring. Now history is everything.’ What a pleasure to hear that. “

In 2001, Bob founded Texas Heroes, an enterprise that is home to a stable of talented actors who are available for a variety of historical portrayals. Today, beyond Travis, Goodnight and Austin, audiences now can interact with a host of personalities including Jim Bowie, Cynthia Ann Parker (the white captive of the Comanche), Rip Ford, and others. More Texas Heroes are in the offing as Bob continues his pioneering work in the field of autobiographical acting.

FYI - For information about Bob, Texas Heroes, booking availabilities and fees, call (830) 833-0809 or e-mail at: Bob.Heinonen@TexasHeroes.net, or visit the web site at www.TexasHeroes.net.