Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart
| Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert La Rue Stewart November 19, 1918 |
| Died | April 6, 2006 (age 87) Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| Resting place | Loyola Memorial Park, Philippines |
| Residence | Philippines and Phoenix, Arizona |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Founder of GMA Network, Philippines |
| Style | Television show host |
| Television |
The News with Uncle Bob (1961) Uncle Bob's Lucky 7 Club (1960s-1970s) The Maestro and Uncle Bob (1978) The Bob Stewart Show Uncle Bob & Friends |
| Spouse(s) | Loreto Feliciano |
| Website | Uncle Bob's Lucky 7 Club |
Robert La Rue Stewart (November 19, 1918 – April 6, 2006), popularly known as "Uncle Bob", was an American entrepreneur, TV personality, radio and TV producer in the Philippines. He was the founder of Republic Broadcasting System (RBS) (now GMA Network).
Stewart came to the Philippines in 1943 as a war correspondent for United Press (UP). He fell in love with the country and after the war ended, he decided to stay and venture in the new republic. In 1948, he met and fell in love with Loreto Feliciano, a widow with three children from Pampanga, and married her the following year. He established the Loreto F. de Hemedes, Inc. (later renamed Republic Broadcasting System, Inc. in 1963) for his wife on March 1, 1950, as a legacy. On June 14, 1950, DZBB AM radio station began broadcasting from a makeshift studio on the 4th floor of Calvo Bldg in Escolta, which was then the business district of Manila. In 1955, the company launched DZXX, another AM radio station devoted to music, the first pop music station in the country.
After 10 years on the radio, Stewart decided to expand into television despite limited knowledge about the new telecommunication medium. But with vision in mind, on October 29, 1961, RBS TV Channel 7 began broadcasting on a surplus transmitter and two cameras, thus becoming the third TV network in the Philippines. On October 30, 1961, Stewart appeared on camera as the news anchor for The News with Uncle Bob.
During the first five years, the studio was barely surviving but a friend in the United States gave Stewart a good deal on American syndicated TV shows which defined the station's programming in the 1960s. Television shows like Combat!, The Flying Nun, Gilligan's Island, Mission: Impossible and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. found their way to the local viewers through Channel 7. Dancetime with Chito, a local dance show with brother-in-law Chito Feliciano and his group, became a hit for the station, pulling in viewers and advertisers.
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