BOBBY HENLINE

Bobby Henline is a retired Army Staff Sergeant, last serving with the 82nd Airborne Division. He spent 13 years in the Army, completing four tours. While on his fourth tour in Iraq, three weeks after his arrival, an IED exploded under his Humvee – April 7, 2007, is a day he will never forget.

The four soldiers with him did not survive. As Henline stumbled out of the wreck, a human torch, he was extinguished by the soldier he had replaced in the Humvee. With burns covering 40% of his body, fractured bones in his face, and his head burned to the skull, Henline was put into a medically induced coma for two weeks and flown back to the States.

During his initial six-month hospital stay, Bobby remained upbeat, positive, and relied on humor to get him through each day. Putting nurses in headlocks, trying to keep other wounded soldiers’ spirits up by telling them jokes, and singing a ditty over and over garnered the attention of his occupational therapist. She challenged him to go to an open mic night and try his hand at comedy, making him promise with a pinky swear. He kept his promise, and that experience started a new chapter in his life. 

Comedy helps Bobby keep his Post-Traumatic Stress Growth on track and keeps him sharing his story and healing with others using a positive, funny, inspirational approach that keeps audiences rolling on the floor.

Today, Henline continues his quest to make people laugh in a variety of venues as “The Well Done Comedian.” His professional comedy includes performances at Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, Las Vegas; Laugh Factory, Chicago; and Hollywood Improv, Los Angeles, to name a few. As an actor, credits include the following movies and TV series: MBF: Man’s Best Friend, Sophie and the Rising Sun, and “Pyro Paulie” in the Showtime hit series Shameless. 

Henline’s story and lived experiences have been featured in film, print, and electronic media, including the documentaries Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor, Healing Bobby, and Weight of Honor; on CNN, PBS KET, NPR, Today.com, and Time.com; Time Magazine, People Magazine, The Huffington Post, Guideposts, and Readers Digest; as well as television, radio, and podcasts from around the world.