Robert William "Bobby" Ash (November 5, 1925 – May 20, 2007)[1] was an English-born Canadian actor who became known to children in the Toronto area as Uncle Bobby the host of The Uncle Bobby Show on local station CFTO-TV.
Robert Ash was born in Walsall, England[2] 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, Ash performed for the British Forces in Stars in Battledress. Ash also worked as a comedy performer and circus clown.
After immigrating to Canada (leaving his parents and an unknown woman), Ash answered an advertisement for a television role as a clown in the CFTO program The Professor's Hideaway in 1959.[3] He appeared on CFTO when it began broadcasting in 1961.[4] (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,[5] but returned shortly to Canada to create a new program for CFTO (from 1962 to 1979). Ash took early education course at Seneca College to help his work on television.[3]
Even after retirement Ash continued to live in Toronto (Guildwood) [6] and worked on children's books.
Ash later moved north to Elliot Lake from Toronto and died there of a heart attack on May 20, 2007.[3]