I was born in Calgary, Alberta on December 5th, 1975 at approximately 8:00 p.m. My parents moved to Alberta, as everyone was doing at that time, hoping for much greener pastures. They were originally from Blenheim, Ontario.

 

A year and eight months after I was born, my brother was born. Since we were so close in age, we grew up fairly close, and played together a lot. I still consider my brother to be my best friend to this day.

 

As with most people, the details of my early years are a bit fuzzy at best. I was a huge fan of Sesame Street. I watched a lot of television actually, which was the norm in the 1970s. I believe the first crush I had on a star was on Robin (a.k.a. Bert Ward) from the old Batman TV show. This is also where my life-long love of superheroes started, during my very early years. Watching Batman, and also Super Friends, was huge for me. I often think that that’s where I learned my moral fibre from: Superheroes.

 

I also watched a lot of kids shows, like Mr. Dressup, The Friendly Giant, Magic Mirror, and The Buckshot Show. The Buckshot Show was a long-running local children’s television series that aired on CFCN television in Calgary, Alberta, from 1967 to 1997. From 1967 to 1992 it was a daily program, airing at noon. From 1992 to 1997 it aired Saturdays. At the time of its cancellation it was the longest-running children’s TV show in Canadian history. The show’s host, the cowboy-hatted Buck Shot, was played by Calgary entertainer Ron Barge. Other characters included Benny the Bear, Clyde the Owl and Farley, all performed by puppeteers Jim Lewis and Phil Gordon-Cooper. (Information taken from Wikipedia.) This show would showcase old cartoons and shows in the midst of their usual playtime.

 

My first television appearance was on the Buckshot Show. I actually got to tell Buckshot what I wanted for my birthday, as some lucky kids got to do at that time in Calgary. This reminds me of a funny family story. After I had finished with my interview with Buckshot, my brother got jealous of me. He was sitting in the back of the audience (which I recall was not a large audience, just all the parents of the kids on the show) with my father. He told him that he was going to go to the front of the audience to sit with my mother, who was up front so she could take pictures. He ran right past my mother and wound up on stage to talk to Buckshot. It’s funny looking back, but I remember being quite mad at him at the time.

 

The rest of my early years are, as I mentioned earlier, fuzzy to remember at best. Next came the ever daunting school life.