Bill Bolender

Bill Bolender is an American character actor and artist, mainly known for small appearances in RoboCop 2, JFK, Reality Bites, The Shawshank Redemption, Nixon and Dante's Peak.

Bill Bolender
Born (1940-11-14) November 14, 1940
Chicago
Years active1986–present

His guest starring appearances include roles in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.; Walker, Texas Ranger; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (as an Albino alien in the episode "Blood Oath"); NYPD Blue; Alias; Deadwood; and in the Desperate Housewives episode "No One Is Alone". He also had a recurring role as Captain Ross in JAG.

Career

Bolender played a small but important role in The Shawshank Redemption as Elmo Blatch, the violent convict who Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) discovers may actually be to blame for the murders of which he was convicted.[1]

Bolender has continued to work as an actor over the past few decades, appearing in the 2018 Nicolas Cage thriller Looking Glass, and in the recurring role of Dean in the Prime Video crime series Bosch (sharing credits with Shawshank co-star Mark Rolston). He appeared in a 2015 episode of the MTV series Faking It and was also a guest-star on an episode of Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender as Sha-Mo.[1][2]

Personal life

Bolender is also a visual artist, having trained at both the Art Institute of Chicago and the San Francisco School of Fine Arts.[3] Samples of his work can be seen on his website, and on his Instagram.[1]

Filmography

Motion picture credits
Year Title Role Notes
1988D.O.A.Nick Lang Sr.
1988ParamedicsDying Man
1988It Takes TwoJudd Rogers
1988Il nido del ragnoChancellor Hubbard
1989Ninth LifeRay
1990Black SnowGrimes
1990RoboCop 2Cabbie
1991JFKPrisoner Powell
1992Bonnie & Clyde: The True StoryFarmer Jones
1994Reality BitesTruck Driver
1994Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man IIPvt. Richards
1994The Shawshank RedemptionElmo Blatch
1995Things to Do in Denver When You're DeadStevie's Dad
1995Midnight ManRandy
1995Wild BillBartender at Way Station
1995NixonBethesda Doctor
1996InfinityIsadore Rabi
1997Dante's PeakSheriff Turner
1998The CommissionerArthur Groom
1998OverdriveJim Bryant
1999The SettlementShamansky
2003Rose's (aka Confessions of a Florist)Mr. Matinez
2018Looking GlassBen

Television credits
Year Title Role Notes
1986Dallas: The Early Years4th PlayerTV movie, Uncredited
1987Uncle Tom's CabinTraderTV movie
1987The Man Who Broke 1,000 ChainsRayfordTV movie
1988Pancho BarnesCol. RandTV movie
1989Dream DateBillie RayTV movie
1990ChallengerHorace LamberthTV movie
1991In Broad DaylightFrank SnowTV movie
1991Final VerdictJim DavinTV movie
1992Ned Blessing: The True Story of My LifeTwister TaylorTV movie
1992Trial: The Price of PassionTV movie
1993Jack Reed: Badge of HonorStan HowellTV movie
1993Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey OswaldGeorge de MohrenschildtTV movie
1994Star Trek: Deep Space NineThe Albino1 episode
1995Suspect DeviceHankTV movie
1995–1998JAGCaptain 'Skipper' Ross5 episodes
1996Smoke JumpersCranshawTV movie
1996Crime of the CenturyEnglish-speaking PastorTV movie
1997Quicksilver HighwayScooterTV movie
1997A Thousand Men and a BabyGen. Maxwell TaylorTV movie
1998Still Holding On: The Legend of Cadillac JackLennyTV movie
1999Hefner: UnauthorizedGlenn HefnerTV movie
2000 The West Wing Man #1 1 episode
2001 That's Life Customer 1 episode
2002 First Monday Mr. Harley 1 episode
2003–2004 Alias Oleg Madrczyk 2 episodes
2004 Deadwood Artie Simpson 1 episode
2005 CSI: Miami Ralph Windham 1 episode
2005 Surface Old Man 1 episode
2006 Desperate Housewives Property Manager 1 episode
2006 Avatar: The Last Airbender Sha-Mo 1 episode
2007–2008 ER Hank Riley 2 episodes
2009 Cold Case Mike 'Monkey' Mack '09 1 episode
2010 Pair of Kings 1 episode
2011 Greek Televangelist 1 episode
2015 Faking It 1 episode
2016–2017 Bosch Dean 2 episodes

References
  1. Stevenson, Rick (2023-01-28). "Where Is The Cast Of The Shawshank Redemption Today?". Looper. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
  2. "Bill Bolender (visual voices guide) - Behind the Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  3. Heimberg, Martha (February 2, 2020). "TheaterJones | Q&A: Bill Bolender | Ochre House Theater". Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved 2024-02-18.


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