jack forbes

JACK FORBES—An American Actor

 

Jack Forbes is an American actor born October 5, 1959 in Long Beach, California.  His mother, Tottie Forbes, was a film actress and dancer/showgirl at Earl Carroll’s Vanities, a renowned Hollywood dinner-theatre in the mid-1940s.   

 

Jack is a natural athlete.  He learned to swim at age three and was water skiing by age five.  Jack was a water ski racer in Long Beach through his early teens.  At age 11, Jack started surfing, learned to play guitar and studied Judo for one year with John Ogden in Long Beach.  Jack lettered three years in Water Polo at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach.  Jack’s first try at acting was an acting class scene in 10th grade at Wilson, where he played the Dormouse in the Tea Party scene from Alice In Wonderland.   

 

Jack attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, graduating with a Bachelors Degree, Honors, in Political Science with a minor in Sociology.  At U.C.S.B., Jack was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.  Jack was a part-time pool lifeguard at the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara during the school years in Santa Barbara, and an ocean-beach life guard through four summers at California State Park, Huntington Beach, California. 

 

After college, Jack spent the next winter as a full-time professional ski patrolman for the Sun Valley Ski Patrol in Sun Valley, Idaho.  The following year, he commenced his law school education at Pepperdine University, School of Law, graduating three years later with a Juris Doctor Degree, Cum Laude.    While attending Pepperdine, Jack worked in the Honors Law Clerk program at the prestigious United States Attorney’s Office, Criminal Division, Central District of California.  One of Jack’s Law Clerk assignments was in prosecution of the case of United States v. Richard Taxe, in which defendant Taxe became the first defendant in history to be convicted of federal felony sound-recording copyright violations.   

 

At Pepperdine Law School, Jack was a published member of the Pepperdine Law Review, was Chairman of the Pepperdine Moot Court Board, and was a member of the Pepperdine National Moot Court team.  In his senior year at Pepperdine, Jack began work for the Orange County Public Defender’s Office as a Writs & Appeals law clerk in Santa Ana, California.  Upon graduation and passing the California Bar exam on the first attempt, Jack was immediately hired as a Deputy Public Defender.  As a Deputy Public Defender, Jack worked in several of the Orange County courthouses, handling Juvenile Court matters, misdemeanors, felonies and Writs & Appeals cases.  After 5 ½ years as a Deputy Public Defender, Jack left the office to commenced work as a lawyer in private practice.  While continuing in his civil litigation and criminal-defense law practice, Jack became a professional actor.

 

Jack’s first job as a professional actor was in the role, not surprisingly, of a lawyer on Divorce Court, a Screen Actors Guild union show.  He later worked on that show again in the role of a cult-leader litigant.  Jack studied with several acting coaches over the years, including among others, Al Mancini and Cal Bartlet of the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and Bobbie Chance of Expressions Unlimited (now, Hollywood Actors Studio).  

 

One highlight of Jack’s acting career was his lead role in the short film Reflexus, which won Audience Choice Best of Festival Award in the first internet film festival in history—the Warner Bros/Toshiba Reel Time Film Festival.  Jack played the recurring Guest Star character, Dell Cooper, in TNT’s critically acclaimed cop drama, SouthLAnd.  Jack had a Supporting role in the feature film, Atlas Shrugged 3: Who Is John Galt?.  In several prime time television dramas including ER and Judging Amy, Jack has had Guest Star roles.  He played retired C.I.A. Agent Shane Stasko as the lead in the web series Dead Bang.  Jack was a recurring character in the Spelling pilot Deep, and was the lead detective on the pilot episode for Dick Wolf’s acclaimed reality re-creation dramatic series, Arrest & Trial.   

 

Over the years, Jack has been a lead actor in scores of national commercials, including at least four which aired initially on various Super Bowls (Chevrolet, Tru Value Hardware, AT&T World Net and a Phillip Morris Youth Smoking Prevention PSA in which he hits baseballs to his son as the son ages from 5 to 16).   Jack was the obstreperous attorney for Bud Light in the hilarious Taste Test Trial series of eight national commercials for Miller Lite, featuring spots with Flavor Flav and Gene Simmons, among others.  Most recently, Jack portrayed “Wild Ray” in the popular Firestone Complete Auto Care commercial entitled Used Car, which aired a reported 722 times over its initial 13-week cycle alone, including airings on NBC during the 2014 Winter Olympics broadcasts.  

 

Jack is a writer/singer/musician/producer/self-publisher of music and books and has written several screenplays and teleplays.  One of Jack’s recent screenplays, “Left-handed Stick,” is based in part on the true-life coaching successes of 1960 Winter Olympics, Gold Medal, Ice Hockey coach, John P. (“Jack”) Riley.  

 

Jack is a Black Belt in Chinese Kenpo Karate and an expert in Pakamut (also known as Arnis/Escrima/Kali or simply, “Sticks”).  Jack raced cars for years with the Sports Car Club of America, Cal Club branch.  Although still an avid snow skier and surfer, Jack’s primary current sport is indoor badminton, for which he trains with Coaches Andy Tran, Calvin Alcala and Panita Pongshatvithas..  

 

Jack is represented: theatrically, by Linda McAlister of Linda McAlister Talent; commercially by Pantheon Talent Group; and for sports and stunts by Linda McAlister Talent.  

 

Biography of Professional American Actor, Jack Forbes