Ron ‘Buck Shot’ Barge, longtime Calgary children’s TV star, dies at 87

It didn’t get much more Calgary than The Buck Shot Show. 

At least a couple of generations of Calgarians grew up watching Ron “Buck Shot” Barge and his sidekick, Benny the Bear, on TV for 30 years. Weekday lunchtime just wasn’t complete without tuning into the songs, the puppets, the birthday list and Buck Shot’s nifty cowboy hat.

This weekend, Ron Barge’s family announced on social media that he had passed away at the age of 87.

“With great sadness we have lost our dear dad Ron ‘Buckshot’ Barge who passed away at home surrounded by family and laughter. We will miss him,” wrote Brenda Barge on Saturday evening.

From 1967 to 1992, The Buck Shot Show aired daily at noon on CFCN (now CTV Calgary). It switched to weekend mornings before finally going off the air in 1997.

According to a social media post from Canadian historian Craig Baird, when the show ended it was the longest running children’s show in Canadian history, having run for one year longer than Mr. Dressup.

After the show was off the air, Barge and Jim Lewis, the puppeteer behind Benny the Bear, continued to entertain around town until 2015, when Buck Shot finally put down his guitar and hung up his hat.

The news of Barge’s passing triggered an outpouring of condolences from Calgarians who grew up with the easygoing entertainer.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith thanked Barge “for all the smiles and laughter.”

“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 in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Opposition NDP Leader and former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi expressed his gratitude and condolences as well.

“I never got on the show when I was young but always got a thrill when I would meet him around town as an adult,” Nenshi wrote on social media.

DerRic Starlight, a Blackfoot comedian and puppeteer, was both a fan of Barge in his childhood, and a colleague as an adult.

Growing up on T’suut’ina Nation with only three channels, Starlight says Buck Shot was daily viewing for him.

“I remember running for the TV, you know, right when kindergarten was over. I had to get home to watch Buck Shot,” he said.

The first time he met Barge, he was a six-year-old on a float in the Calgary Stampede and Buck Shot was interviewing people along the parade route.

“He had this microphone and he was interviewing right on the street. And there he was, you know, it’s like you get to meet a really big star. Huge.”

Later in life, he shared the stage with Barge and says he came to discover a kind man who always offered good advice, including reminding Starlight how much fun his job was.

The one thing Starlight will remember most about Ron Barge is his eyes.

“He would look at you with the kindest eyes. That was his warmth, you know, when he looked at you and there would be a shadow around his eyes with the cowboy hat. But it was his eyes that said he wanted to talk to you,” Starlight said.

Among the many honours Barge received over the years, his guitar was put on display at the National Music Centre. In a tribute to her father as part of the exhibition, Cindy Barge wrote that she knows many Calgarians who can still hum the Buck Shot theme song today.

“That song, my dad’s guitar, and the wonderful troupe of characters, including his puppet pal, Benny the Bear, will last in the memories of so many. I am beyond proud and blessed to call Ron ‘Buck Shot’ Barge my father,” Cindy Barge wrote.