Robert Gibby Brand, actor, singer, and confirmed Luddite, made his exit from this sphere on April 17 th , 2026. He was 69. A longtime resident of Kansas City, MO, he passed away at the St. Luke’s Hospice House with beloved family and friends at hand. As was observed over the past 18 months, he had cancer, but cancer never had him. Many thanks to Drs Danica May and Elizabeth Wulff and everyone at the KU Medical Center for their excellent care.

Bob Brand was born on March 9 th , 1957, to Dr. Robert Willard Brand and Natalie (Gibby) Brand of Clifton Springs, NY. He grew up in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, and spent idyllic summers with his family at the Pocono Lake Preserve in Pennsylvania. At an early age he fell in love with classical music and plays, especially Shakespeare. He studied voice and piano with Cathrine Kamm, wife of his minister, Al Kamm. He graduated from Midlakes High School in 1975 before attending Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in English and Philosophy. At graduation he was astonished to learn he’d been made a member of Phi Beta Kappa. (Evidently his verbal skills made up for his grades in math.)

Soon after graduation he moved to Vienna, Austria, where he was a member of the acting company in the International Theatre. There he met the inspiring actress, Janis Stevens, who suggested he study with Peter Sander, who was to lead the MFA Acting program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Bob returned to the US in 1984 and did just that. At UMKC he met his future wife, Linda, who was studying directing. They married in 1987 on his birthday, which was also the Monday of spring break in their last year of grad school - a day no one could call them to rehearsal. In 1995 their daughter Julia was born. She grew up among all the theatre and music community and is an artist; she holds a BFA in Animation from SCAD Savannah.

A typical day for Bob always included 15 minutes of vocalizing, followed by script or score preparation for upcoming productions. He read voraciously, and listened with great focus to music, always classical. He especially admired the pianist Daniil Trifonov, whose subtext with every musical phrase never ceased to impress him. After his daily swim and visit to the library at UMKC, he would then turn his thoughts to food. What should be next on the menu? It was not unusual for Bob to go to Cosentino’s, the nearby grocery store, multiple times in a day. Cooking had long been a passion in the family. In fact, Julia is named after one of the Brand’s household goddesses, Julia Child. Bon appetite!

Robert was an active member and soloist first at Westport Presbyterian Church and later at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, working closely with friend and conductor Charles Bruffy. He also enjoyed performing narration or reading poetry for concerts with such organizations as the Kansas City Ballet, the Friends of Chamber Music, the Westport Arts Center and for concerts led by Bryan Taylor.

While Robert performed occasionally outside the Kansas City area, his career was based in KC.

Important roles included:

Midlakes High School, Clifton Springs, NY: Lt. Cable in SOUTH PACIFIC, Henry Higgins in MY FAIR LADY, Tevye in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

Ohio Wesleyan University: the title role in HAMLET.

The International Theatre in Vienna, Austria: Jimmy Porter in LOOK BACK IN ANGER, Tom in THE GLASS MENAGERIE.

University of Missouri – Kansas City: Bassanio in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, Don

Andres in LA PERICHOLE; Cervantes/Don Quixote in MAN OF LAMANCHA

Missouri Repertory Theatre Showcase: The Writer in THE GOOD DOCTOR

The Coterie Theatre: first production - Akele in JUNGAL BOOK; last production –

Robert Mohr in THE WHITE ROSE.

Quality Hill Playhouse: Noël Coward in NOËL AND GERTIE.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City: Jack Point in YEOMEN OF THE GUARD, Sir Joseph Porter

in HMS PINAFORE, Ko-Ko (with Denyce Graves) in THE MIKADO; General Stanley in

THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE

KC Rep: 19 seasons of A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Poulterer, Nephew Fred, Dickens.

Arizona Shakespeare Festival: Prospero – THE TEMPEST.

Heart of America Shakespeare Festival – 19 seasons. Favorite roles include Chorus in

HENRY V, Polonius in HAMLET, Antonio in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE.

Unicorn Theatre: multiple roles including Alan Turing in BREAKING THE CODE,

Charlotte in I AM MY OWN WIFE, Professor Mashkan in OLD WICKED SONGS, Oscar

Wilde in THE JUDAS KISS, Morgan/Walter in THE INHERITANCE.

Spinning Tree Theatre: Salieri in AMADEUS.

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre: over twenty roles including Gallimard in M. Butterfly,

Joe in TIME OF YOUR LIFE, Dorn in THE SEAGULL and Tateh in RAGTIME.

Kansas City Actor’s Theatre: many plays including his final role, Henry Lehman in THE

LEHMAN TRILOGY.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents and by beloved pets, Bodhi and Shadow. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Linda Ade Brand, his daughter, Julia Ade Brand (fiancé, Aaron O’Dell), first cousins Jean (Cattanach) Sziklas (late husband John) of Simsbury, CT, Gibb Cattanach (Paula) of Albany, CA, and many cousins; father-in-law Donald R. Ade (late wife Janice), sister-in-law Mary Ade (Linda Strachan), and cousins RoxAnn Banks Dicker (Bill Giles) and many other beloved family members. He will be especially missed by best friend Robert Pherigo and his family Lyra and Lucas, Ben Bongers and Lisa Anderson Bongers, Jeanne and Ric Averill, Yvonne Jameson, Bill McCord, and the close-knit theatre and music community in Kansas City.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, May 18th , 2006 at Westport Presbyterian Church/Westport Center for the Arts, 201 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO 64111. Visitation will begin at 2:00 followed by a 4:00 service. A reception will be held at the nearby Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre at the Warwick after the service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to help establish a theatre scholarship in Bob’s honor at UMKC. Checks should be made payable to UMKC Foundation, noting the Robert G. Brand scholarship fund, and mailed to: 

1. Mark Mattison
2. UMKC Conservatory
3. 4949 Cherry Street
4. Kansas City, MO 64110
5. To donate by credit card, please call 816.235.1247.