A Fond Farewell

To those of us who are a certain age, (that being anywhere within a few years of my age - give or take) and having had a similar background (at least to the point that you lived in the greater Miami metropolitan ADI and had a television set) there are sad tidings. Skipper Chuck has passed away.

Chuck Zink, was a local celebrity in South Florida; in most recent times, doing mostly local advertisements. He is known for being a newscaster and television personality. For those of us who remember our childhood in the sixties, however, Chuck Zink who will always be known as the host of the television children's show, Skipper Chuck's Popeye Playhouse, passed away earlier this month at his home in South Florida.

The Show aired on WTVJ in Miami and was a staple of children's programming since before I was born. It had a cast of great characters. Uncle Don played the organ and there was the Face in the Box. People would walk by the window at the back of the set and have brief interviews; there would be children's songs to sing, and then there was always a cartoon (again, seen through the window at the back of the set) that rounded-out the hour.

I will always remember the time that a friend of mine from grade school had a birthday party at the WTVJ studios culminating with an appearance for us on the Skipper Chuck Show. It was a great time and one that I remember always. It may have been one of the factors that caused me to change my major to broadcast production and set me on the road to a career in the television industry in the first place.


The link above will take you to the official obituary from the Palm Beach Post. I can only say to the Skipper's surviving friends and family, I thank you for sharing him with us. I whish you peace in this sad time.

Don Bergquist - 18-January-2006 - Thames Ditton, Surrey, United Kingdom