| Notes |
- Terry Sams, known to a generation of young Augusta television viewers as "Trooper Terry," has died at the age of 80.
Sams, of North Augusta, entertained thousands of area children from 1962 to 1982 on Channel 6.
"We had live birthday parties and the kids were the stars," he recalled in a 2007 interview, estimating about 156,000 children participated in the program during its 20-year run.
The children from his show are now parents and grandparents, he said, and he knew of at least two viewers who named their children after him.
Sams also had a serious side, reporting news, weather and sports.
Growing up in Tennessee, he said he had no intention of becoming a television personality. He actually wanted to be a musician.
But at 16, he took a radio job at WBEJ, then another one in Johnston City, Tenn., then Lexington, Ky., until he landed in Augusta in 1961.
After retiring, Sams remained active in the community as an advocate for The Salvation Army and at First Baptist Church of North Augusta, where he played the trombone during church services.
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1934 - 2014 (80 years)
