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: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-born

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who became known to children in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

area as Uncle Bobby 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 flagship CKVR-DT, channel ...

Early years

Robert Ash was born in Walsall, England 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ash performed for the

British Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified 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, support international peacekeeping ef ...

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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(leaving his parents and an unknown woman), Ash answered an advertisement 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 flagship CKVR-DT, channel ...

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, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccala ...

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 Greater Sudbury, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie in the Northern Ontario region. Once dubbed the "uranium ca ...

from Toronto and died there of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on May 20, 2007.

Bibliography

References

External links

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