Robert Cottle

Infobox Person
name = Robert S. Cottle


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birth_date = August 7, 1920
birth_place = Brockton, Massachusetts
death_date = April 25, 1999
death_place = San Mateo, California
death_cause = Stroke
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nationality = American
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occupation = TV host
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spouse = Bette Volpe Beth (Willis) Johnson


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Robert S. Cottle was the son of Earle W. and Gladys E. (Pierce) Cottle. He grew up and attended local schools in Brockton, and during WWII, was a B-17 Flying Fortress flight instructor for the USAF at Lackland AFB.

Television career

He married Bette Volpe, from Medford, Massachusetts, and later they had a son, Robert Cottle Jr. In the 1950s, Mr. Cottle began a career in television as a host for children's TV shows, and became known to many adoring fans as "Captain Bob." One of his first shows, "The Nature World of Captain Bob", began in Hartford, Connecticut. Later, in 1953, it moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where it ran for another 14 years. [ [http://www.tvparty.com/lostboston2.html TV Party.com] ]

In addition to hosting his own kids TV shows in the Boston area, Mr. Cottle took over the helm as host for the NBC TV show "Ruff and Reddy" in September, 1962. The show ran for another 2 years, at times beating out CBS-TV's "Captain Kangaroo" in the Nielsen ratings. Mr. Cottle appeared for the last time on national TV in the 1964 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which aired on NBC & CBS. [ [http://www.toontracker.com/ruffredd/ruffredd.htm Toontracker] ]

Later life

In the late 1960s, Mr. Cottle and lifelong friend Robert Bourque created the Prophetron Zoltan Fortune Teller machine, to which Mr. Cottle lent his voice. He continued to host local TV shows in Boston and in Hartford, Connecticut, including the show "The Magic Window", on WBZ-TV.

In 1987, his wife, Bette, died, and he later married his high school sweetheart, Beth (Willis) Johnson. They moved to Block Island, Rhode Island, and in 1997, they settled in California.

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