So long Uncle Bunky

Like the animal drawings that made him a north Mississippi icon, Robert “Uncle Bunky” Williams was many things at once — father, husband, cartoonist, illustrator, TV pioneer, lawman, community volunteer, history buff and a devoted fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Williams, a lifelong Columbus resident, died Tuesday at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle at age 83 after a battle with cancer.

For all of his many interests, it was Williams’ love of children — especially abused and neglected children — that stands as testament to the man often referred to as the “Captain Kangaroo of Columbus,” a title he first earned during an 18-year run on WCBI-TV, where he hosted the children’s program, “Fun Time With Uncle Bunky,” using his cartoon creations to delight generations of children, the first of which are approaching retirement age.

“A book came out a few years ago about children’s television around the country,” recalled local historian Rufus Ward, a long-time friend. “When you got to the chapter on Mississippi, almost all of it was devoted to Uncle Bunky.”

In 1970, the state’s first public television station initially refused to carry “Sesame Street” because the show featured an integrated cast. By then, black children had been members of the studio audience on Fun Time for years. Uncle Bunky made sure of it, despite some early objections.

“I got a couple of calls complaining about it,” Williams recalled in a June interview. “I just ignored them.”

“To my knowledge, Uncle Bunky had the first integrated TV show in Mississippi history,” Ward said.

‘Every kid…grew up watching’

Beginning in 1958, when local TV was still very much an experiment, Williams’ show, broadcast each afternoon Monday through Friday, caught fire with children wherever the broadcast reached.

“I’d say every kid from Meridian to Tupelo grew up watching Uncle Bunky,” Ward said.

The show was built around Williams’ skills as a cartoonist. Uncle Bunky had, in fact, turned down an offer from Walt Disney for a job as an illustrator in favor of staying in Columbus.

It was during one of those early “Fun Time” shows that Williams’ trademark “crazy animals,” a mash-up of animals — the face of one animal, legs of another, tail on another, etc. — first emerged.

Williams explained the origins of his animal drawings during his June interview: “I would go around to each child and ask him a question, like, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ He might say, ‘A fireman,’ so I would draw a picture of him in a fireman’s uniform. Sometimes, I would ask about their pets and draw those.”

One day, a particularly imaginative child asked for a picture of an animal with a camel’s head and a horse’s body.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“We got tons of mail after that show,” he said. “It took off.”

A success, then career change

Soon, children throughout the Golden Triangle were begging their parents to take them to the station so they could be part of the studio audience.

“It was such a big deal,” said Ward, who grew up watching the show. “Every kid wanted to be on the show. Probably every Cub Scout Troop or Brownie Troop in the Golden Triangle was on that show at one time or another.”

When the show, which started in 1958, ended in 1976, Williams moved on to his second career with the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department. Williams served first as a narcotics officer, later moving into a position where he worked with the abused and neglected children the sheriff’s department regularly encountered, a natural fit for Williams, given his love of children.

“Even in narcotics, what he really wanted to do was help people,” Ward says. “Right up until the end, he would get calls from people saying, ‘You saved my life. I was heavy into drugs and you helped turn me around.’ His love of people was what stood out.”

Although best known for his animal drawings, Williams used his talents in other areas, too, including illustrating covers of college football game programs and artwork for retail advertising.

Throughout two careers and into retirement, he found a way to lend his talents to the community, making appearances at innumerable fund-raising events for charities.

Most notable was his 17-year association with Camp Rising Sun, a week-long summer camp in Lowndes County for children who have fought cancer.

Williams’ visits were always a highlight of the week.

He made his last appearance the camp in June, his hands shaking perceptibly as he happily drew the animals the 41 campers imagined.

“He was always one of the favorite activities,” said Allison Kizer, board president and co-director of the camp. “A lot of the kids didn’t know what ‘crazy animals’ were, but as soon as he sat down and started, they were just crazy about it. “I’m just so glad he got to visit one last time in June. The kids just loved him.”

Last wish

By then, Williams had come to terms with his illness. He had made the decision not to receive treatment for his cancer a month earlier and spoke with enthusiasm about his plans for his funeral, which he said would feature a Chicago Cubs theme.

“He was a Cubs fan from his childhood,” Ward said. “About a month ago, when the Cubs found out that Uncle Bunky wasn’t doing well, they sent him a bunch of Cubs stuff and he was delighted. He was a devoted fan. He never made it to Chicago for a game, but he was as devoted a fan as a season-ticket holder.”

During his last visit to Camp Rising Sun, Williams talked about his one unfulfilled goal.

“What I want to do, the last thing I want to do, is start a foundation to help abused children,” he said. “We have foundations for everything else. We should have one for abused children. That’s what I want. When I pass on, don’t buy flowers, make a donation to the foundation.”

Fred Kinder, a board member at Camp Rising Sun and a member of the Columbus Exchange Club, said the Exchange Club is working on setting up a foundation in Uncle Bunky’s name.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Lowndes Funeral Home.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected]