Robert Renwick Mortimer (born May 23, 1959 in Middlesbrough), is a British comedian and actor, best known for his double act with Vic Reeves (see Vic and Bob).
Bob's father died when he was very young. As a result, he and his three brothers were brought up by mother Eunice. In his youth he had once had trials for the youth team of his beloved Middlesbrough FC. He left school with three A-levels and studied law at the University of Sussex. Here he became involved in the punk movement and political causes. After leaving University, he moved to London and became a solicitor.
One fateful afternoon, Bob arrived home to find his girlfriend in bed with a Hells Angel. In an attempt to drown his sorrows, he and a friend went to Goldsmith's Tavern see a performance by a comedian called Vic Reeves. Bob was impressed by the performance. They were introduced through a mutual aquintance and became good friends. They even formed a band together - called The Potter's Wheel. Bob was soon invited to perform on Vic's stage show, "Vic Reeves Big Night Out," creating such characters as the Singing Lawyer, Graham Lister, Judge Nutmeg and Man With The Stick.
The show became very successful in south London and eventually outgrew Goldsmith's Tavern moving, in 1988, to the Albany Empire in Deptford. Although it was still the Vic Reeves Show, Bob became more integral in setting up the performance, which provided a weekly break from the legal work which was beginning to disillusion him.
A television pilot was filmed in late 1989 and the two soon began filming the first series of Vic Reeves Big Night Out, which stuck close to the variety show format of the live shows. Off-screen, Jim and Bob were now an equal partnership, but didn't become known as ‘Reeves & Mortimer’ until their move to the BBC in 1993.
Mortimer represented Jarvis Cocker at the police station following the Pulp singer's arrest at the Brit awards in 1997 after he flashed his bottom in protest at Michael Jackson's performance at the ceremony.
In July 2002 he fought - and defeated - Les Dennis in the BBC's first "Celebrity Boxing" match.
Mortimer suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis which he controls using steroids.
In 2003, he and Vic were listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he and Vic were voted the top 9th greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.
In 2005 he hosted a comedy panel game for BBC One, 29 Minutes of Fame. This was his first major series without Vic Reeves.