{{Short description|Canadian country singer and television host (1944–2026)}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | honorific_prefix = | name = Blake Emmons | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_upright = | landscape = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = Bruce MacKenzie | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date|1944|8|2}} | birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|3|9|1944|8|2}} | death_place = Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada | genre = Country | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|entertainer|television host}} | instrument = | discography = | years_active = | label = | current_member_of = | past_member_of = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | siblings = | alma_mater = | awards = | website = | module = | module2 = | module3 = }}
'''Blake Emmons''' (born '''Bruce MacKenzie'''; August 2, 1944 – March 9, 2026) was a Canadian country music singer and entertainer. He hosted the 1974 CTV series ''Funny Farm'', the Canadian answer to ''Hee Haw''. Emmons also co-hosted the Nashville syndicated music show ''The Country Place'' with Jim Ed Brown for Show Biz Inc. in the 1970s. In 1985, Emmons appeared on the American game show ''The Joker's Wild'' as a contestant and also appeared as a celebrity guest on the Canadian game show, ''Definition''. He later hosted the game show ''Chain Reaction'' on September 29, 1986, which aired on Global Television Network in Canada and on USA Network in the United States. He chose not to continue as host after the first series of shows due to the fact the shows were produced in Montreal rather than California as originally agreed. He was replaced by Geoff Edwards. Other works on which he appeared include ''Mary'', and ''TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes'' for Dick Clark, as well as hosting the ''Playboy Shopping Show'' on the Playboy Channel. He appeared nationally on CBC Television's ''Countrytime'' in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.film.queensu.ca/CBC/Con.html|publisher=Queen's University|title=Countrytime|work=CBC Television Series, 1952-1982|first=Blaine|last=Allan|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311074242/http://www.film.queensu.ca/cbc/Con.html|archivedate=2010-03-11}}</ref>
==Life and career== Emmons was born as Bruce MacKenzie in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on August 2, 1944, and raised in Prince George, British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cmaontario.ca/ontarios-country-music-pioneers-blake-emmons-october-2022/|title=Ontario’s Country Music Pioneers: Blake Emmons}}</ref>
In the mid-1970s, Emmons hosted the ACT Telethon in Edmonton in support of Camp HE-HO-HA for disabled children. He also was instrumental in creating and hosted the Telemiracle telethon in Saskatchewan for several years beginning in 1977, and remained involved for some time afterwards. Emmons played the male lead "Sheriff Ed Earl Dodd" in the Broadway production ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' as well as the New York Theatrical Production road tour for one year.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
Emmons died in Nipawin, Saskatchewan on March 9, 2026, at the age of 81.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/saskatoon/article/founding-telemiracle-host-and-saskatchewan-musician-blake-emmons-dies-at-81/|title=Founding TeleMiracle host and Saskatchewan musician Blake Emmons dies at 81|first=Hayatullah|last=Amanat|date=March 12, 2026|website=CTVNews}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Blake Emmons |url=https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/47537803/blake-emmons |website=Tribute Archive |access-date=13 March 2026}}</ref>
==Discography==
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Single ! width="45"| <small>CAN Country</small> |- | 1969 | "You're My Woman" | align="center"| 19 |- | 1971 | "Deadest Man Living" | align="center"| 41 |- | rowspan="2"| 1976 | "Let Me Do Something Lord" | align="center"| 9 |- | "Sunchild" | align="center"| 29 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|1039942}} * {{discogs artist|Blake Emmons}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box|before=Bill Cullen in 1980|title=''Chain Reaction'' Host|years=1986|after=Geoff Edwards}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmons, Blake}} Category:1944 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Canadian country singer-songwriters Category:Canadian game show hosts Category:Contestants on American game shows
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