Bob Serwatka was an actor at heart. Regarding jobs and careers he would say that it’s all acting; you “put on your make-up and go play that part” for the day, or just for a meeting, and then when it’s over, you take off the make-up because that’s not who you are anyway.
Bob was born in Syracuse, NY in 1953, grew up in Potsdam, NY and graduated from SUNY Potsdam. At SUNY he was a theatre major. Even as a youngster, Bob was quite the entertainer. His Grandmother Serwatka’s favorite was his imitation of Red Buttons, SRO in the kitchen.
Bob was somewhat of an engineer and could manage a television studio but he chose to get into the cable TV systems and installation business. In the early 80’s and after working a few years in advertising, Bob moved to Orlando, Florida and worked for several fiber optic companies, later opening his own company, Integrated Televideo, Inc.
After moving to Florida, Bob teamed up with a TV director to help area play writers take their work from paper to production. In Tom Hank’s HBO miniseries “From The Earth to The Moon” Bob earned a part as a technician (EE Com) in the NASA mission control room. His three-second but “award winning performance” can be seen in episode 6, which originally aired in April 1998.
Bob was extremely private about his health issues and many of his family and friends never knew that he had been struggling with bladder cancer since 1986, and was terminally ill from acute renal failure and complications from cancer. Just before Bob’s illness prevented him from working, he built fiber optic and security systems for Disney Engineering. Bob’s desire to complete Blood Opium motivated him to stay positive and write, despite his illness. Bob passed away before the book was finished
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