Ken Jenkins

Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the Chief of Medicine on the American comedy series Scrubs (2001–2009). Jenkins has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows.

For the American football player, see Ken Jenkins (American football).

Ken Jenkins
Born	(1940-08-28) August 28, 1940 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Joan Patchen ​ ( m. 1958; div. 1969) [1] Katharine Houghton ​ ( m. 1970)
Children	3; including Daniel Jenkins
Relatives	Katharine Hepburn (aunt-in-law)

Early life

Jenkins was born in Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Wilbur Wright High School in 1958.[2]

Career

In 1969, Jenkins joined Actors Theatre of Louisville under the leadership of Jon Jory where he served as a company member for three years.

Jenkins appeared on episodes of Homefront, The X-Files, Babylon 5, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Wiseguy, Early Edition, Beverly Hills, 90210, and starred in Scrubs in the first eight seasons as a main cast member and guest starred in the ninth and final season. His character, Dr. Bob Kelso, is his most recognizable role to date.[3]

Jenkins has appeared in many films throughout his career including The Wizard of Loneliness,[3] Executive Decision, The Abyss, Air America, Last Man Standing, Fled, Gone in 60 Seconds, I Am Sam, The Sum of All Fears, Matewan, Courage Under Fire and the 1998 remake of Psycho. He appeared as the father of Fran Goldsmith in Stephen King's TV miniseries, The Stand. Jenkins also had a role in Clockstoppers.[3]

Jenkins also had a recurring role on Cougar Town, as the father of Jules (played by Courteney Cox).[3] Jenkins also appears in The Blanks' music video for "Guy Love" as the owner of an L.A. bar, as he appeared with The Blanks in Scrubs, most prominently band member Sam Lloyd who starred as regular Ted Buckland.

Jenkins portrayed Representative Howard W. Smith in the 2016 HBO TV movie All the Way, in which Smith's segregationist views posed as a central and divisive opposition to President Lyndon B. Johnson's proposal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Jenkins was the voice of Blister on Harvey Beaks.

Jenkins can also sing and play the acoustic guitar, and is seen doing so on the Scrubs episodes "My Tuscaloosa Heart" and "My Musical".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	What Comes Around	Larry
1987	Matewan	Sephus Purcell
1988	The Wizard of Loneliness	Joel Spender
1989	The Abyss	Gerard Kirkhill
1989	In Country	Jim Holly
1990	Air America	Major Donald Lemond
1991	Edge of Honor	Bo Dubs
1992	Crossing the Bridge	Lou Morgan
1995	Past the Bleachers	Milton
1996	Executive Decision	General Wood
1996	Last Dance	Warden Laverty
1996	Courage Under Fire	Joel Walden
1996	Fled	Warden Nichols
1996	Last Man Standing	Capt. Tom Pickett
1998	Where's Marlowe?	Linguist
1998	Psycho	District Attorney
1999	The Last Marshal	Judge Wooley
2000	Gone in 60 Seconds	Televangelist	Uncredited
2000	Lucky Numbers	Dan Schuff
2001	The Tailor of Panama	Morecombe
2001	I Am Sam	Judge McNeily
2002	Clockstoppers	NSA Agent Moore
2002	Home Room	Police Captain
2002	The Sum of All Fears	Admiral Pollack
2007	Welcome to Paradise	Reverend McNamara

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	The Stand	Peter Goldsmith
	Homefront
	The X-Files
	Babylon 5
	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Dr. Paul Stubbs
	Wiseguy
	Early Edition
1999	Beverly Hills, 90210	Pastor Neal
2000	Sliders	Professor Jack Bigelow
2001-2010	Scrubs	Doctor Robert Kelso
2010–2015	Cougar Town	Chick

References

1. "Father, son appear together on stage". The News and Courier. April 6, 1986. pp. 8–E. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
2. Hopkins, Tom (November 16, 1992). "For Father And Son, Prime-Time Roles Are As Easy As ABC". Dayton Daily News. p. 3B.
3. "Ken Jenkins - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.

External links

• Ken Jenkins on IMDb