Robert William "Bobby" Ash (November 5, 1925 – May 20, 2007) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who became known to children in the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

area as

Uncle Bobby ''Uncle Bobby'' is a Canadian children's television show that aired from 1964 to 1979 on Toronto's CFTO and, for two years beginning in 1968, was a weekly show on the CTV television network (although it continued to be aired on local CTV stations ...

the host of ''The Uncle Bobby Show'' on local station

CFTO-TV CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ( ...

Early years

Robert Ash was born in

Walsall, England Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is the ...

into a family of actors and was brought up in the "pirate" circuses of Britain. Ash's entertainment career began as a child actor with a role in ''No Mother to Guide Her''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ash performed for the

British Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

in ''Stars in Battledress''. Ash also worked as a comedy performer and circus clown.

Moving to Canada

After immigrating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(leaving his parents and an unknown woman), Ash answered an ad for a television role as a clown in the

CFTO CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ...

program The Professor's Hideaway in 1959. He appeared on CFTO when it began broadcasting in 1961. (The character of Kiddo later went on to his own show, with a different actor.) After Ash left his first show, he returned to Britain, but returned shortly to Canada to create a new program for CFTO (from 1962 to 1979). Ash took early education course at

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate and ...

to help his work on television.

Retirement and Death

Even after retirement Ash continued to live in

(Guildwood) and worked on children's books. Ash later moved north to

Elliot Lake Elliot Lake is a city in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is north of Lake Huron, midway between the cities of Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium capital of the world," Elliot Lake has since ...

from Toronto and died there of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on May 20, 2007.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Bobby 1924 births 2007 deaths People from Walsall Canadian children's television personalities People from Elliot Lake Male actors from Toronto British emigrants to Canada Seneca College alumni