Alan Morrell;

When he was on the Rochester TV airwaves in the 1980s, he was known as "Ranger Bob."

Now, the man who introduced the region to the Buckaroo Club and the catchphrase, "Howdee Buckaroos!" is a man of the cloth. Meet the Rev. Canon Timothy Trombitas, of Trinity Anglican Church in Orlando.

"It's been a long process," said Trombitas, 62, "but that's how it is when you come to faith."

Trombitas, who went by the name Tim Kincaid when he was in Rochester, was an entertainer and on-air personality for years before and after his days in Rochester. Most recently, he was a "street performer" named Vladimir Pooey at Disney World in Orlando, a job from which he resigned just earlier this month.

But Ranger Bob is how Trombitas is best remembered. People visiting Disney World as recently as a couple of weeks ago looked him up, Trombitas said, prompted by a 2009 Democrat and Chronicle article that Bob Marcotte wrote about him.

"When people come up to me, they've got their own kids now," said Trombitas, who just started a job as public relations director for the Diocese of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy. "People still (at Disney World) were coming up to me and asking if Ranger Bob was here. One guy in his 30s said, 'You probably remember me, I won a bike on your show.' "

An Ohio native, Trombitas had been doing morning stints with WNYR radio in Rochester — where he got the name "Kincaid," to fit the station's western format at the time — when he joined WUHF-TV (Channel 31) in 1980. WUHF had just started operations that year as a general entertainment independent station.

Trombitas' characters included news commentator Walter Klondike, socialite Henrietta Brisbane and "geriatric powerhouse Granny, who describes her favorite drink as a 'Geritol and tonic,'" wrote Tim Norris in a 1981 Times-Union article.

As Ranger Bob, Trombitas emceed a show called TV POWWW! — so named because young callers would direct "bullets" by telephone voice (shouting "Pow!") at video flying saucers. Ranger Bob, with his kooky antics and outrageous appearance, became a cultural phenomenon. A reporter said his gigantic hat "looks like a bell with his head as the clapper."

There was lots of good-natured humor and plenty of ad-libbing. The show, after all, was filmed live, before a studio audience called the Peanut Gallery.

One time, Trombitas remembered, a child who was about to be on camera told Ranger Bob that he had to go to the bathroom. A commercial break was almost over, and Trombitas asked the child if he could wait. He couldn't.

"He had a microphone on," Trombitas said. "The camera comes on, and he's nowhere to be seen. Backstage, you hear him going to the bathroom. That's when you just look at the camera, and don't say a word."

Another time, Trombitas said, a character had been "kidnapped," and Ranger Bob told viewers the ransom was a cheese sandwich.

"Kids were sending cheese sandwiches to the station," he said with a laugh. "I got in trouble for that."

The show aired in Rochester until 1986. Trombitas went on to work for other Rochester media affiliates, including WBBF radio, before moving to Orlando in 1992. He continued doing the Ranger Bob character until 1995, he said.

A married father of two college-age sons, Trombitas retired Ranger Bob into a character named Grandpa. He started a webpage, www.goingtograndpas.com, where fans can check on their old favorite characters. (Ranger Bob can be found under the heading, "Throwback Thursdays.")

"That show gave people a lot of laughter," said Trombitas, who still occasionally visits Rochester. His wife, Barbara, is from here. "It was all improv. That's what made it fun."

Morrell is a Rochester-based freelance writer.

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About this feature

"Whatever Happened To? ..." is a feature that explores favorite haunts of the past and revisits the headlines of yesteryear. It's a partnership between RocRoots.com and "Join if you're from Rochester New York" on Facebook.

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