Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Bye Uncle Bobby, and thanks for all the memories ...

Okay, I grew up in Southern Ontario, and for a time the only stations we had at our house were CKCO from Kitchener and CFPL from London, and on a really good day you could get CHCH from Hamilton ... I've mused previously on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein ... but as I wander down memory lane other tid-bits of my childhood television viewing pop up ...

I can remember watching Big Al on CKCO ... and Romper Room with Miss Betty ... Then when we got cable, we were able to watch CHCH regularly, and saw the Tiny Talent Show each Saturday afternoon (that was usually the signal to turn off the tv and do something else ...) and from the ABC affiliate in Buffalo NY there was a childrens'show called Commander Tom and another called Rocketship 7 where Dave Thomas, along with a big robot made of kitchen appliances and heating ducts, showed Gumbi, Davy & Goliath cartoons and other shorts for kids ...

But one of my favourites that I had completely forgotten about until I read of his death this morning on the CTV news site was Uncle Bobby, who for many years hosted a childrens' programme on CFTO from Toronto. I can only recall snippets of his programme ... but I'm clearly not alone. Click Here, to visit a site celebrating Uncle Bobby and his tv show ...

To learn more about Uncle Bobby - check out the CTV news story that marks his passing at the tender age of 82 ... I haven't thought about Uncle Bobby for years, but today I kind of miss him and what his show meant to me ...

Rest in Peace Mr. Ash, and thanks for all the memories ...

1 comment:

Candygirlflies said...

Oh, my God... I still have vivid memories of my father mocking Uncle Bobby mercilessly... It was a "Battle of the Brits", of sort...

My favourite spot on the show was "Bimbo the Birthday Clown"-- can still remember the entire jingle by heart (dammit), and regularly sing it for my own kids just to get a rise out of them.

RIP, Uncle Bobby, you oddball, you!!