Robert Estes was born on July 22, 1963, in Norfolk, VA, and has been acting in television roles since 1981, when he had a role in an episode of the TV series,Simon and Simon. He became most famous for his roles as Lt. Chris 'Sam' Lorenzo in Silk Stalkings, and, later, Kyle McBride in Melrose Place. He also had on-going roles in Suddenly Susan, and Providence, and guest roles in numerous other shows.
Career Highlights: Terror in the Mall, Trapper County War, Sweet Temptation
First Major Screen Credit: Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989)
Biography
A stalwart of American television in both prime-time and daytime venues, performer Rob Estes capitalized on his devastatingly slick and suave image throughout his career. A native of Norfolk, VA, Estes attended USC after high school. The actor first turned viewers' heads in the soap opera venue, as passionate lifeguard Glenn Gallagher on NBC's seminal Days of Our Lives -- a role he held from 1986 to 1987. Thereafter, he landed a string of guest assignments on various series and roles in TV movies, but scored his next major career coup on an after-dark drama, the "guilty pleasure" series Silk Stalkings (1991-1999) -- in which he played the lead, sex crimes expert Chris Lorenzo. The program had an unusual history: NBC and the USA cable network originally co-produced it and ran it concurrently on each Thursday from November 1991-November 1993, but from 1993 on, CBS dropped it, the USA network produced new episodes in exclusive syndication, and Estes remained with the cast for two additional years.
Thereafter, Estes amassed a long and extensive series of ongoing roles on prime-time series. These included restaurant proprietor Kyle McBride on the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of Melrose Place (1996-1999); multi-episode guest turns as John Hemming and Oliver Browne in, respectively, the medical drama Providence and the Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan; and obnoxious, abusive ex-husband Nick Townsend on the blockbuster procedural series CSI: Miami. In 2007, Estes signed on to portray Lt. Tom Hogan on the short-lived ABC procedural drama Women's Murder Club. Shortly after that program's May 2008 cancellation, the CW network announced Estes' enlistment to play Mills family patriarch-cum-Beverly Hills high-school principal Harry Mills on its much anticipated series drama 90210, a spin-off of the original Beverly Hills 90210. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Estes first became interested in an acting career while training to be a stunt double. One of his first acting jobs was in the daytime dramaDays of Our Lives playing Glenn Gallagher (1986–1987). He later gained widespread recognition for his role as Sergeant Chris Lorenzo in Silk Stalkings (1991–1995), half of the "dynamic duo" alongside Mitzi Kapture.
In 1993, Estes had a guest role on the primetime FOX soap opera Melrose Place, playing Sam Towler. Three years later, the producers of the series brought him back but cast him in a different role, that of restaurateur Kyle McBride. Estes played the role from 1996 to the series' cancellation in 1999.
Estes starred in the comedic TV movieI Do, They Don't (previously titled Blended), which also starred his Melrose Place co-star and real-life wife, Josie Bissett. The movie premiered on ABC Family Channel in March 2005. He made his return to series television playing Sean Cole in the ABC television crime drama The Evidence.
He completed a recurring role on CSI: Miami as Nick Townsend, the abusive ex-husband of Natalia Boa Vista. In a January 2007 episode, he was murdered by the husband of a killer to cover up her crime.
In 2008, he was cast in 90210 for the CW, as Harry Wilson [1]. The series, like Melrose Place before it, is a spin-off from the original 1990s hit series Beverly Hills, 90210. This therefore means Estes has played three different roles within the franchise since 1993.
In 1992 Estes married actress Josie Bissett, another cast member of Melrose Place. In 2005, they separated, with Estes reportedly moving out of their Seattle home at his wife's request. The couple have two children, Mason Tru (born July 21, 1999) and Maya Rose (born April 14, 2002). In January 2006 the couple announced their plans to divorce.[2]
