Bob Dornan

Dornan was born in New York City, the son of Gertrude (McFadden) Dornan (1900–1967) and Harry Joseph Dornan (1892–1975).

In New York, Dornan's mother had been a vaudeville performer as part of an act called the McFadden Sisters and a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, and had performed under the stage name Bara Wilkes; her sister was the wife of actor Jack Haley.

Harry Dornan owned a haberdashery.

After moving to California, he became a real estate entrepreneur in West Los Angeles.

Robert Kenneth Dornan (born April 3, 1933) is an American actor, radio talk show host, combat veteran, and Republican politician from California.

He was active in harness racing, a pastime in which many celebrities participated during the 1940s and 1950s.

Robert Dornan took advantage of his family's entertainment industry experience and connections after he embarked on his own acting and talk show career.

He used celebrity endorsements and campaign contributions to launch his political career.

Dornan attended Loyola University of Los Angeles (later renamed Loyola Marymount University) from 1950 to 1953.

At age 19, Robert joined the United States Air Force.

He became a fighter pilot, and during his time in the Air Force, he survived two emergency parachute ejections and two "dead stick" forced landings (including one of an F-100).

He was on active duty until 1958, and attained the rank of captain.

In 1962, he portrayed Air Force Lieutenant Alden in the episode "Dennis at Boot Camp" of the CBS sitcom, Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North and Gale Gordon, with Roy Roberts in this segment as Captain Stone.

He did attend the historic 1963 March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr.; when this claim was questioned in 1994, he circulated a photo of himself in his Air Force uniform seated in the audience for King's speech.

News accounts also indicate he participated in voter registration drives for African Americans in Mississippi.

In 1966 he co-starred in and possibly co-wrote To the Shores of Hell.

Dornan had a frequent role as Captain Fowler on ABC's 12 O'Clock High television series and smaller roles on ABC's Bewitched and NBC's I Dream of Jeannie.

Dornan was an Emmy-award-winning television talk show host on Tempo and The Robert K. Dornan Show broadcast from Los Angeles from 1967 to 1973.

Dornan has said he took an active role in the civil rights movement.

Dornan moved into politics in 1973 as national spokesman for the Citizens for Decency Through Law advocacy group.

He made an unsuccessful run for mayor of Los Angeles the same year.

He served in the California Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve until retiring in 1975.

Dornan also served as a combat journalist and photographer on several missions in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War and flew relief flights into Biafra.

Dornan was involved in the entertainment industry as an actor.

He starred in the film The Starfighters, cast as Lt. Witkowski, an Air Force pilot who was the son of a U.S. congressman.

In 1976, Dornan was elected to the House of Representatives, representing the 27th congressional district in western Los Angeles County.

He was re-elected twice.

He was such an unswerving advocate for the development of the B-1 bomber, that he was soon nicknamed "B-1 Bob".

Dornan represented two Southern California districts in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1983 and from 1985 to 1997, where he became known as a "leading firebrand" on the party's conservative wing.

In November 1977, he was an opposition speaker at the 1977 National Women's Conference with Lottie Beth Hobbs, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Phyllis Schlafly and Nellie Gray.

After the 1980 census, California's congressional map was redrawn.

Dornan's district, previously a Republican-leaning swing district, was made significantly more Democratic.

He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in 1982 and for President of the United States in 1996.

A former actor and television and radio talk show host, Dornan had a flair for the dramatic that drew supporters and detractors well beyond his congressional district.

Though never a major power in Washington, he became one of the most well-known members of the House of Representatives as a participant in televised "special orders" speeches and was described as "one of the leading firebrands among American politicians".

Believing he had no chance of winning this new district, he opted to run for the United States Senate in 1982.

He finished fourth in the Republican primary behind San Diego mayor and future Governor Pete Wilson, who won in November.

He has become well known for publicly outing fellow Republican U.S. Representative Steve Gunderson as gay on the House of Representatives floor in 1994.

The Starfighters aired on Mystery Science Theater 3000 on October 29, 1994.

However, a 1998 Washington Post article indicated there is no corroborating information (such as news clippings from the era) to confirm this claim.