Robert L. "Bob" Rose

Robert L. "Bob" Rose spent 50 years working in the wholesale grocery business but it was his unique act of double talk and impersonations that brought him local fame when he regularly appeared on a San Diego TV show in the 1980s.

Mr. Rose died Nov. 18 from pneumonia after a brief illness. He was 89.

Mr. Rose was born in Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, a second-generation Californian, and moved to Riverside as a teenager. He served in the Army for about three years and fought in Guam and Okinawa. He was trained as a sharpshooter, but eventually was transferred to the Special Services division to work as an entertainer, said his daughter, Kathryn Montgomery.

"Being an entertainer was so much a part of his life," Montgomery said.

Mr. Rose lived in Ventura County in the 1950s and early 1960s and moved to San Diego County in 1962. For the past 37 years, he lived with his wife in La Mesa.

He worked as a salesman for food brokerage companies in Los Angeles and San Diego representing different products to grocery stores.

"Whatever product he was selling, no matter how bad it might be, he was always enthusiastic about it," Montgomery said.

But his heart was always in his "sideline" work as a comedic performer, his daughter said. For years, he would make guest appearances at conventions or meetings where he would pose as an expert in a field, begin a talk and then go into his act.

"He would get into this spontaneous double-talk routine. People at first would be embarrassed for him. It was totally spontaneous. And then they would realize it was a joke," Montgomery said.

Once, her father performed at a military dinner and was posing as a high-ranking naval officer when he launched into his routine.

"The guys in the service would not laugh at him. He was supposed to be this very important officer," she said.

Mr. Rose got his local TV break after he performed at a San Diego Press Club dinner, where he posed as a media consultant. Larry Himmel and Bruce Patch, who were developing a zany variety show for KFMB Channel 8 called "San Diego at Large," were in the audience and decided Mr. Rose would be perfect for the program, which ran from 1985 to 1988.

Among the characters he played was "Dr. Bob," who took mock questions about health issues.

"He was a one-trick pony, but the trick always worked," Himmel said. "He was a natural and so easy to work with. It was his passion, it was his love.

"He never made a lot of money doing it, but he always enjoyed doing it."

Patch, a KFMB photojournalist who worked as a producer on "San Diego at Large," said he realized immediately that they could use a performer like Mr. Rose.

"This guy was unique and special," he said.

Himmel said the last time he worked with Mr. Rose was a few years ago, when he had him play a tax expert for a Channel 8 segment.

"I worked with him from when he was in his mid-60s until he was in his mid-80s and he got to be funnier and a better double-talker the older he got," Himmel said.

Mr. Rose is survived by his wife of 63 years, Ellen Rose, and four children: Kathryn Montgomery of Takoma Park, Md.; Patricia Harriman of Orange; and Robert W. Rose and Julie Jones, both of San Diego; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Services have been held.

Karen Kucher: (619) 293-1350; karen.kucher@uniontrib.com