Buck McNeely, host of popular outdoor show, dies

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS/Gray News) - The host of popular outdoor TV show “The Outdoorsman with Buck McNeely” has died, his son announced on Facebook.

In the post on The Outdoorsman with Buck McNeely Facebook page, Max McNeely said he was told on Sunday that his father Buck died in his sleep.

“Even though Buck is gone, the show will go on as I have been preparing for this my whole life,” Max McNeely said in the post.

Buck McNeely started the show as a college project at Southeast Missouri State University, his son said.

The show was launched in 1985. It grew and aired on more than 550 TV stations globally, becoming the largest syndicated outdoors show in the world, Max McNeely said.

The TV series is described as “exciting adventures shot on location, internationally and domestically” with celebrity guests that also draw attention to conservation issues.

Buck McNeely was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 1960, according to his biography. Because his father served in the U.S. Air Force, he moved a lot as a child, going to Texas, The Philippines, Washington D.C. and California by the time he was in first grade.

He learned to enjoy the outdoors in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and San Joaquin Valley of California.

Buck McNeely leaves behind a wife and two sons.