Bobbie Eakes

Bobbie Eakes was born in Warner Robins, Georgia, the youngest of five daughters. Her parents, Audrey and Bob, met while both were serving in the Air Force. When she was born, her father was stationed at Robins A.F.B. near Warner Robins. His military career took the family to Tyndall AFB, FL and Lakenheath RAFB, England. When he retired in 1972, her parents chose to return to Warner Robins. Then a sixth grader, she went on to attend C.B. Watson Elementary, Rumble Jr. High School, and Warner Robins High School. At WRHS, she was elected Sophomore Class President and was active in Beta Club, Spanish Club, Student Council, Regents, Junior Civitan and was a J.V. and Varsity Cheerleader. She participated in the WRHS Follies revue and won the lead roles in many of the musicals. At age 16, Bobbie was featured as a soloist with the United States Air Force Reserve Band in their Fourth of July Concert at the Warner Robins Civic Center. Five years later, she was honored to perform with them again for another Independence Day Concert at the International City Stadium. She credits those early performances as the impetus for her future career in entertainment. Her first paying job at age 16 was lead singer in a local Bluegrass band Stagecoach. In 1978, she won the title of Miss Junior Civitan International, a contest judged on community service, essay competition, public speaking and leadership skills. In 1979, Bobbie won the title of Miss Georgia TEEN and went on to become First Runner-Up to Miss TEEN USA. Later, competing as Miss University of Georgia, she was crowned Miss Georgia 1982 and competed in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City where she was selected as a Top Ten Finalist. In 1983, Bobbie was spotted in the Miss America Pageant by television producers in Los Angeles who were developing a prime time talent competition with the working title Talent Challenge which would later be known as Star Search. The casting director flew her to Los Angeles to audition for the job of co-host at a point in the show's development when they were considering a male and female host. She was paired with comedian Garry Shandling to test for the job which eventually went solely to Ed McMahon. The trip was not a complete loss as she landed a role in the very last episode of Laverne & Shirley (1976). This role enabled her to join the Screen Actors Guild. In 1984 and 1985 in L.A., she appeared in several commercials and was lead singer in two cover bands, The Reporters (which traveled L.A., Riverside and Orange Counties), and Ecstasy (the house band for the popular club Sasch in Studio City). In 1986, she answered an audition call from producer Fred Silverman who was looking for a replacement lead singer in his all-girl rock band Big Trouble. She appeared with the group as house band in the nightly syndicated sketch comedy series Comedy Break, which then signed with Epic Records. The group recorded one self-titled CD, released two singles, performed at the Montreux Pop Festival in Switzerland and performed their first single Crazy World on American Bandstand. During that time, she was a guest VJ for MTV, which at the time was a music video channel. While busy with Big Trouble, she guest-starred on such shows as Cheers, Full House, The Wonder Years, Matlock, JAG, and Falcon Crest, among others. In 1987, after the band broke up, Bobbie joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), as Macy Alexander. Over the years, she was nominated for several Soap Opera Digest Awards. In the early 1990s, she and co-star Jeff Trachta recorded two CDs for European label Arcade Records. Their records achieved double platinum sales status and the duo toured and performed to thousands of fans across Europe and South Africa. She promoted her own hair care product line in Australia called BE. The company sponsored a racing stock car, and Bobbie and her husband enjoyed seeing the car emblazoned with her name at races in Australia. When she left The Bold and the Beautiful in 2000, she signed with Sony Music Nashville, and happily accepted an offer to record a duet with Collin Raye. The pair recorded "Loving This Way". While touring with Raye, Bobbie performed at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry. In 2003, she joined the cast of All My Children (1970) as Krystal Carey. Her portrayal garnered her two Daytime Emmy Nominations for Lead Actress. While in NY on All My Children (1970), Bobbie recorded a smooth jazz CD which debuted on the smooth Jazz Billboard charts at #21.