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memorial service for tv legend buck shot set for sept. 20: wear your flames jerseys
the family of ron “buck shot” barge has set sept. 20 as...
aug 23 2024
3 minute read
ron "buck shot" barge with the beloved benny the bear puppet, who was featured on his long-running children's tv show. calgary herald archives.
the family of ron “buck shot” barge has set sept. 20 as the date for a memorial service for the beloved tv entertainer.
barge, the creator and star of the buck shot show, passed away last weekend at the age of 87. his sept. 20 memorial service will occur at noon at the centre street church, 3900 – 2nd street n.e., and will also be streamed online. attendees are asked to wear their calgary flames jerseys, or wear red, to reflect barge’s long lasting love of the hockey team.
“our daddy loved the c of red at flames games,” daughter brenda barge recalled.
when the flames moved to calgary from atlanta, barge was thrilled and on the first day season tickets went on sale he stood in line to get a pair. he was the 383rd person to buy flames season tickets and he never missed a home game, his family says.
barge’s passing resulted in an outpouring of love and support for the calgarian, whose show aired on cfcn (the forerunner to ctv calgary) for 30 years, starting in 1967.
“if you grew up in calgary and you’re my vintage, the buck shot show was legendary,” calgarian darren haynes wrote on the social media platform x.
“keep benny the bear in your thoughts. hum a few bars of 16 chickens and a tambourine,” he wrote, referring to a popular puppet and song featured on the show.
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“ron barge, aka buck shot, was a big star & calgary icon, but such a friendly & humble man,” ctv’s shaun frenette added on x.
tributes for barge also arrived from provincial ndp leader naheed nenshi and alberta premier danielle smith.
“for decades, buck shot and his sidekick benny the bear brought joy, laughter, and countless memories to generations of children and families across alberta,” smith wrote. “thank you for all the smiles and laughter.”
the buck shot show was the longest running children’s tv in canadian history when it was cancelled in 1997. barge created the show three decades earlier when canadian tv stations were looking for local content to replace american shows, as per then-new crtc directives.
he’d been working behind the scenes at cfcn when he made the pitch to start the show, which featured skits, music and local kids. children who appeared on the show over the years included laureen teskey harper, wife of former prime minister stephen harper.
“my teacher knew buckshot and arranged for us to tour the tv studio and we sang smokie the bear on the show live,” teskey harper recalled recently. “buckshot was a lovely man and was kind and generous to our turner valley elementary school grade 2 class.”
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barge was also an accomplished musician and entertainer who played piano with the house band in the palliser hotel’s rimrock room and then became a singer/piano player with the stardells at the 400 club for two decades.
he also was an active volunteer and support of myriad of charitable causes in calgary.
“above everything ron did, his love of family was paramount,” his obituary read. “family did not stop at his wife or kids; family was anyone who needed help, a friendly ear to listen to their problems or a child who was sick and needed a pick me up at the children’s hospital where he would visit and bring benny the bear to lift their spirits.”
the family says that people who want to make a donation in barge’s name can do so at the alberta children’s hospital foundation.
barge is survived by his wife shirley; his children ken barge, angie barge, brenda barge, cindy barge and their significant others; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
ron “buck shot” barge, in 2012. he died last weekend, shortly before he would have turned 88.
to read more about barge, click here .
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