Born on August 28, 1940 in Dayton Ohio, Ken Jenkins is an actor best known for his role as Bob Kelso, Chief of Medicine on the hit NBC medical comedy Scrubs. Although Ken Jenkins has had a long and successful acting career, not many television viewers can cite him as a familiar face. This is because Jenkins’ acting prowess has mostly been witnessed on stage rather than on camera. He discovered his passion for acting when he was in high school and has since then appeared, directed and written plays, averaging about ten plays each year.
Jenkins co-founded the highly-esteemed Actors Theater of Louisville, a non-profit organization which helped a number of well-known playwrights today get a head start in their careers. This institution has produced renowned playwrights such as Beth Henley and Marsha Norman. Nevertheless, achieving great recognition as a thespian did not make him a stranger to television and movies, and soon enough, Jenkins was lured by the glittery world of television and movies.
Jenkins had several guest appearances on different sc-fi series, such as the X-Files, Babylon 5 and Star Trek: the Next Generation. He also appeared on the series Adult Math and Homefront. As for the big screen, he bagged minor roles in films like I am Sam and Gone in Sixty Seconds, The Abyss, Air America, Last Man Standing, The Sum of all Fears, plus the 1998 remake of the classic thriller Psycho. His other screen credits include Stephen King’s TV miniseries The Stand and a minor role in Clockstoppers.
Jenkins’ most popular role remains to be easily on the NBC comedy series Scrubs, where he plays the role of Dr. Bob Kelso, your typical Chief-of Medicine: mean, bitter and cruel to everyone and everything. His second wife, Katharine Houghton, is the niece of Katharine Hepburn.
Spouse: Katharine Houghton (1 January 1970 - present) 3 children
In the 1980s, Ken Jenkins played Frank Hall, a math teacher in the 15-part G.E.D. "Adult Math" telecourse.
Father of actor Daniel Jenkins plus Matthew and Joshua.
His dog Baxter, in "Scrubs" (2001), is his real life dog.
Jenkins' wife, Katharine Houghton is the namesake niece of Katharine Hepburn.