Robert 'Bob' Rebadow is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the television series
OzOz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes. It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz aired for six seasons...
played by
George MorfogenGeorge Morfogen is an American actor. He is known for playing Bob Rebadow in the HBO show Oz.He appeared at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn in Heinrich von Kleist's play, The Prince of Homburg. The play was videotaped for the PBS series, Great Performances, and later released as a DVD...
, a drama series on HBO that portrays a maximum security prison and follows the lives of the inmates in the prison.
Prisoner 65R814. Convicted September 9, 1965 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Death. Commuted to life.
He is the oldest inmate on the show and a member of "The Others", the group in Oz which generally stays away from trouble, unlike the other groups in Oz.
Robert 'Bob' Rebadow is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
from the television series
OzOz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes. It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz aired for six seasons...
played by
George MorfogenGeorge Morfogen is an American actor. He is known for playing Bob Rebadow in the HBO show Oz.He appeared at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn in Heinrich von Kleist's play, The Prince of Homburg. The play was videotaped for the PBS series, Great Performances, and later released as a DVD...
, a drama series on HBO that portrays a maximum security prison and follows the lives of the inmates in the prison.
Character overview
Prisoner 65R814. Convicted September 9, 1965 - Murder in the first degree. Sentence: Death. Commuted to life.
He is the oldest inmate on the show and a member of "The Others", the group in Oz which generally stays away from trouble, unlike the other groups in Oz. If Rebadow does cause trouble, it is likely because he was following someone else.
Rebadow was a young architect sometime in the mid-1960s. With a child on the way, he was planning a large-scale architectural project. Rebadow committed his crime at a business lunch where he was displaying his blueprints to his business partner who laughs and mocks his designs. Enraged, Rebadow stabs his partner in the neck with his salad fork, killing him. In spite of the abrupt nature of the crime, Rebadow was still convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by the electric chair. During Rebadow's execution, there was a power surge (attributed to the Great
Northeast Blackout of 1965The Northeast Blackout of 1965 was a significant disruption in the supply of electricity on November 9, 1965, affecting Ontario, Canada and Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, and New Jersey in the United States...
); the execution was botched and Rebadow was admitted to the medical unit for the injuries he sustained during the botched electrocution. During his stay, the death penalty was abolished and his sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Following Rebadow's release back into general population, he began claiming that he now received regular visits from God. Although written off as insane, Rebadow now possesses a certain
MysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
about everything going on in Oz, and in some instances even knows private details about prisoners' lives of which he had no prior knowledge.
Season 1
In season 1, Rebadow is one of the 60 inmates let into Emerald City, an experimental cell block in the Oswald Prison. Rebadow spends his time listening to what "God" has told him and seems to know all of the events occurring in Oz ambiguously proving his supposed theory on what God has told him. Rebadow knows so much that the COs threaten him to expose him for his knowledge over the murder of inmate
Jefferson KeaneJefferson Keane aka Tizi Ozuo is a fictional character in the HBO prison drama Oz played by American actor Leon Robinson.-Character overview:...
. Later Rebadow is attacked by young inmate
Kenny WanglerKenny "Bricks" Wangler is a fictional character in the HBO drama Oz, played by actor J.D. Williams.-Character overview:Prisoner #97W566. Convicted July 6, 1997 - murder in the first degree . Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in six.He was sent to prison for murdering a student after they...
, a move that angers Unit Manager
Tim McManusTim McManus is a fictional character on HBO's prison drama Oz, played by Terry Kinney.-Character overview:McManus, the idealistic manager of Emerald City, is unlike the rest of the staff members at Oz as he has never been a CO, has a college education, and generally believes in the inmates as...
. When a riot led by Muslim inmate
Kareem SaidKareem Saïd is a character played by British actor Eamonn Walker on the American television show Oz.Prisoner #97S444. Convicted June 6, 1997 - Arson in the second degree. Sentence: 18 years, eligible for parole in five...
breaks out, Rebadow stays low avoiding the COs wrath in the recapturing of Em City.
Season 2
As the inmates are moved to Gen Pop, Rebadow rooms with
Tobias BeecherTobias Beecher is a main fictional character on the television show Oz, played by American actor Lee Tergesen.-Character overview:Prisoner 97B412. Convicted July 5, 1997 - Driving while intoxicated, vehicular manslaughter. Sentence: 15 years, up for parole in four. Parole denied in 2001. Granted...
in
James RobsonJames Robson is a fictional character in the television series Oz, portrayed by R.E. Rodgers.-Character overview:Prisoner #97R492. Convicted November 7, 1997 - Murder in the first degree, assault...
's cell as
Alvah CaseAlvah Case, played by Charles S. Dutton, is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz.A law school dean, Case is sent to investigate the causes of the 1997 riot at the request of Governor James Devlin. Devlin chooses Case to investigate as he feels he will clear his hands of any charges...
investigates the riot aftermath. When Em City is reopened, Bob and three other inmates form the group "The Others" as designated by Tim McManus. While in Em City, Rebadow becomes cell mates with
Agamemnon BusmalisAgamemnon Busmalis is a fictional character from the television series "Oz", played by Tom Mardirosian. He is also referenced in OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.-Character's Backstory:...
and the two form a friendship, possibly because they are both much older than the typical Oz inmate. Busmalis is known for digging tunnels and begins to dig in their cell. Rebadow also receives news that his grandson Alex Jr. is dying from leukemia and his dying wish is to visit Disney Land. At the suggestion of Biker inmate
Jaz HoytJaz Hoyt is a fictional character played by Evan Seinfeld on the television program Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #98H432. Convicted August 12, 1998 - aggravated assault in the first degree. Sentence: Eight years, eligible for parole in four. Later, confessed to four counts of murder in the first...
almost every inmate group donates to send Alex Jr. to his destination- to the point that Rebadow's family can afford to send him. However, despite the enormous generosity of the inmates and staff, Reabadow admits to McManus that he is ashamed of where the money came from and requests that the donation to his grandson remain anonymous. Later two Aryans find out about the tunnel and take the cell from Rebadow and Busmalis courtesy of CO
Karl MetzgerKarl Metzger was a fictional guard on the HBO dramatic series Oz, played by Bill Fagerbakke.-Character overview:Karl Metzger is a correctional officer assigned as supervisor of the Emerald City unit of Oswald Prison; A neo-Nazi, Metzger uses his power to intimidate prisoners and assist the Aryan...
. Under Rebadow's orders, the tunnel collapses and kills the two escaping Aryans and Busmalis and Rebadow get off as McManus deems them as being threatened and non-violent, unable to maliciously cause harm to the bullying younger inmates.
Season 4
In season 4 Rebadow reluctantly enters into an alliance with new Latino inmate
Enrique MoralesEnrique Morales is a fictional character played by NYPD officer turned actor David Zayas on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #00M871. Convicted April 6, 2000 - Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 25 years, up for parole in 15....
and, under Morales's orders, murders Latino head Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez. Instead of feeling remorse as he expected, the murder makes Rebadow feel "alive". In exchange for the murder, Rebadow asks that Morales grant him the authority to commit another murder. Morales, confused by Rebadow's request, has no need for the offer but agrees to give Rebadow protection. That day during lunch, Rebadow has visions of machine-gunning the entire populace of Oz to death; later that night, Rebadow attempts to murder his cell mate Busmalis. In the aftermath of the attempted murder, a physical exam of Rebadow revealed a brain tumor affecting the region of the brain which controls aggression. Once removed, Rebadow returned to his old self.
Season 5
Alex Jr.'s condition gets worse, and his only hope is a bone marrow transplant. Due to a unique genetic makeup finding a suitable donor is very expensive, but Rebadow receives another communication from God telling him the winning numbers in an upcoming Mightyball lottery drawing. He asks
Dave BrassDave Brass is a Correctional Officer on the HBO drama Oz, played by Blake Robbins.-Character overview:Talented at Basketball, Unit Manager Tim McManus recruits him to play in a pick-up game against inmate Jackson Vahue...
, a guard recently back at work after a crippling injury, to buy a ticket for him. Brass does, but when the winning numbers come true he disappears, keeping the money for himself. Not giving up, Rebadow asks McManus to search the prison population for a donor and one is found, but he refuses to go through with the operation. At his wit's end, Rebadow tries to arrange for a faith healer to visit Alex(tip given by inmate A.R. Whitworth), but his family won't allow it. After a brief power outage, Alex's life support fails and he dies. Rebadow bitterly comments that the power to the chair that was going to kill him finally came back on, except his grandson was sitting in it.
Season 6
Depressed about his grandson's death, and at the suggestion of Busmalis, Rebadow asks McManus to transfer his job from the dress shop to the library. McManus accepts and transfers Rebadow to the prison
libraryA library is a collection of sources, resources, and services, and the structure in which it is housed; it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual. In the more traditional sense, a library is a collection of books. It can mean the collection,...
. The new librarian, Stella Coffo, believes that reading can change anyone's life for the better. Rebadow quickly begins to fall in love with her due to their age and passion for literature. With an optimistic look on life, he convinces Busmalis to get back together with Norma Clark. His optimism soon turns sour when he discovers that Stella has breast cancer and feels that he is being robbed of a second chance at happiness. At the end of Season Six, he is relieved that Stella's breast cancer operation was a success leaving the series open to possibility of a romance between them.
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