Bob Bingham

Robert Franklin Bingham (October 29, 1946 – February 8, 2025) was an American actor and singer born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Edmonds, Washington. He attended the University of Washington for three years, studied singing under Ernest J. Anderson, and trained in acting with Larry and Pamela Liester's Home Adjunct, Inc.

Bingham made his first professional appearance in 1970 in a touring production of the musical Hair, beginning at Seattle's Moore Theatre, where the run lasted more than three months and set a local record, before continuing to Miami, Florida. He went on to originate the role of Caiaphas in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, performing the part across multiple productions: the first United States concert tour, the original Broadway production, which ran from 1971 to 1973, and a production in Paris. During the 1970s, Bingham also led a Buddhist group dedicated to world peace.

In 1972, Bingham appeared in the film El fantástico mundo de los hippies, directed by Juan Orol. The following year, he reprised his role as Caiaphas in the 1973 film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar, alongside Barry Dennen as Pilate, Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene, and Carl Anderson as Judas. In 1974, he played God in the original production of Arthur Miller's Up from Paradise in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bingham subsequently retired from show business and worked in a managerial role as COO at a Talon zipper factory.

In April 2015, Bingham participated in a question-and-answer session at the Hollywood Boulevard Cinema alongside Ted Neeley, Barry Dennen, and Kurt Yaghjian, held in conjunction with a national screening tour of a remastered version of the 1973 film. That same year, his recollections of making the film were included in the documentary DVD Superstar: the Making and Reunion of the Film.

Bingham lived in Brewster, New York, with his wife, Idilcia Aracena, and their two children, Franklin and Yasamin. He died on February 8, 2025, in Carmel, New York, at the age of 78.