Robert Cottle
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Robert S. Cottle (August 7, 1920April 25, 1999) was an American television host.


Early life

Robert Cottle was the son of Earle W. and Gladys E. (Pierce) Cottle. He grew up and attended local schools in
Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...
. During World War II, Cottle was a
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for the
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at
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.


Television career

In the 1950s, Cottle began a career in television as a host for children's TV shows, often appearing as "Captain Bob." One of his first shows, ''The Nature World of Captain Bob'' began in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, it was a thirty-minute Saturday morning art instruction program offering sketching techniques for wildlife subjects and set in a sea shanty. Later, in 1953, the show moved to
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where it ran for another 14 years. In addition to hosting his own TV shows in the Boston area, Cottle took over as host for the NBC TV show ''
The Ruff & Reddy Show ''The Ruff and Reddy Show'' (also known as ''Ruff and Reddy'') is an American animated television series produced by H-B Enterprises for NBC. It has been referred to as the earliest original color Saturday-morning cartoon, following " Mighty Mo ...
'' in September 1962. The show ran for two more years, at times beating CBS-TV's ''
Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...
'' in the
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. Cottle appeared for the last time on national TV in the 1963
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, which aired on NBC and CBS.

From 1976 to 1982, '' The Nature World of Captain Bob'' aired Saturday mornings on WCVB (Channel 5) and was re-run for several years afterward well into the early 1990s.


Later life

In the late 1960s, Cottle and a friend, Robert Bourque, created the Prophetron Zoltan Fortune Teller machine, to which Cottle lent his voice. He continued to host local TV shows in Boston and in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, including the show ''The Magic Window'', on
WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent WSBK-TV (channel 38). Bo ...
.


Personal life

Cottle had a son, Robert S. Cottle, Jr. with his first wife, the former Bette Volpe, a native of
Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 United States census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus on both sides of the Medford and Somervill ...
. In 1987, Bette Cottle died, and Cottle remarried to his high school sweetheart, Beth Willis Johnson. They moved to
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, and, in 1997, to
San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...
, where Cottle died in 1999 from a stroke, aged 78. Robert and his wife Bette lived in Norwell for many years in the 1960s to 1980s. He also had a pet crow.


References


External links


*Northeast Historic Film Archive of Captain Bob episod

*
Captain Bob Cottle
TVParty.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Cottle, Robert 1920 births 1999 deaths United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II American television personalities People from Brockton, Massachusetts Military personnel from Massachusetts