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The Latest Virginia Creepers News
We stay pretty busy trying to keep things moving forward, but whenever we can we will update this site so you can know what is going on. Forgive us if we fall behind a few days now and then. . .
September 22: Opportunity for fans to get involved with the film!
Virginia Creepers Materializes at Monster Fest 5 in Chesapeake on October 4, 2008!
Sean Kotz, director/producer of Virginia Creepers will be on hand at Monster Fest 5 to film, conduct interviews, answer questions, build the network, live the dream and shock the monkey (whatever that means . . .)
Anyway, this will be an event! Dr. Madblood will be there! Penny Dreadful will be there! Author Beth Massie will be there! And there will be an all night movie marathon! Horror! Chills! Public Restrooms!
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July 15: Release Date Rescheduled:
Our story has expanded!
For various reasons, we have decided to take more time with this production. There were exciting developments this summer and we feel we need to tell the whole story--which may require traveling to Tennessee, North Carolina and even California. Additionally, there are some events we want to cover and we are investigating the possibility of preview showings of the film before release. Unfortunately, that means delaying the release, but we would rather have this done right.
Virginia Creepers will be released sometime in 2009. We are investigating some showings at film festivals and horror cons in early 2009 with the most likely DVD release date sometime in August or September.
Sorry folks, but we want a quality film and there is more to the story than we first anticipated.
June 1: Sponsorship packages now open! Click here to find out how to tie your business to this great film and dvd!
May 31: Whew . . . what a month of May!
Where to begin? Well, in the month of May, we finished most of the interviews we have planned for the film. Here is a list of what we did, kiddies:
- May 13: RICHMOND: More with Bowman Body; fan interview with Michael Joyner; fan interview with Herb Tate (who sat in on Witch Hazel's show in 1959)
- May 14: PORTSMOUTH, VA--Fan Interview with Monster Fest organizer, Rob Floyd;
NORFOLK, VA: The Madblood Gang--nearly 4 hours of taping, keeping these folks late into the night (sorry guys
Group interview with Craig T. Adams (left), Jerry Harrell (center), and Mike Arlo (right), the three longest running cast members from Dr. Madblood's Movie
- May 15: NORFOLK, VA--Interviews with Scary Monsters Magazine writers Deborah Painter, David Hawk, and Paul Knight; Interview with fan, Woody Anderson
- May 16: HERNDON: a good 3 hour interview with Count Gore De Vol in his dungeon;
CENTERVILLE: Karlos Borloff of Monster Madhouse inside his monster-making studio . . . and beyond.
- May 17: CHESAPEAKE BEACH, MD: Dr. Sarcofiguy reveals all;
FAIRFAX, VA: Pat Bauley, aka Dr. Sludge from Slime Theater
Karlos Borloff at home . . .
Also in May, we obtained an old 2 inch quad tape of some surviving footage from Slime Theater. This is stuff no one has seen for 30 years!
May 1: Witch Hazel? Yes . . . and we found her.
Well, if you have been an avid reader . . . and of course you have . . . you know we have been talking about Ronald the Ghoul's Shock Theater in Norfolk in 1959 as Virginia's first horror host show. Alas, this is wrong!
Richmond's channel 12 actually had a host called Witch Hazel (played by Anna Inge) in early 1958 and her version of Shock Theater played in 1958 and 1959, and perhaps into 1960 (we are checking). More interesting than that, we have located Anna in California and are trying to put together an expedition to the west coast. Photos do exist so hang tight and you will see something unwitnessed by the public for 50 years!
April 26: Interviews with Jerry Sandford (aka Ronald the Ghoul) and more with Rick Clark
We got a great interview with horror host pioneer, Jerry Sandford (in red shirt) who played Ronald the Ghoul on Shock Theater on WVEC starting in 1959, where it was a big hit for five years. You can learn more about Ronald here.
Rick Clark, who played "The Keeper" more than 20 years later on the same channel stopped by to discuss the way their careers on TV mirrored one another--both were film editors, both had horror movie shows, both had clown shows and both ended with big Halloween specials.
April 25: Interviews with Dr. Gruesome and Skeeter and Eric Miller, Director of Mark of the Damned
We were graciously invited into the dungeon home of Dr. Gruesome (Mark Bartholomew--left in photo) and Skeeter (Matt Pak--right in photo). This show, which ran in various forms for over a decade, had a great following in the Richmond area and will be seeing a revival of sorts this summer.
We also spoke with Eric Miller, director of the incredible Mark of the Damned, which features Bowman Body; and of the forthcoming film, Taste the Blood of Frankenstein, a cinematic epic featuring none other than Mr. Lobo. We got Eric's reflections on these hosts and the culture of the midnight movie.
April 21: www.scifidig.com Interview
Aaron Macom of Scifidig.com conducted an extensive interview today with director/producer, Sean Kotz, on the film and the shape of local and national TV past and present. The interview will be posted as a podcast. Check back and we will have the link.
April 19: Interviews with Bill Bowman, the Bowman Body, and Michael D. Moore, Reed Woliver, and Tom Blalock (Shock Theater/Cobweb Theater)
Saturday afternoon, we arrived at Bill Bowman's house to discuss the various incarnations of the Bowman Body show--Shock Theater, Cobweb Theater and Monsterpiece Theater--as well as his long career in broadcasting. (For more on the various Bowman Body shows, click here.) Besides being a horror hosting legend, Bill was recognized by the Virginia Associated Press for Excellence and by the state legislature whit a state resolution to honor his work bringing public affairs TV to the air as well as being in the Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
We talked with Bill about the way TV used to be and what life was like as a local celebrity and got a listen to the famous . . . or perhaps infamous . . . Bowman Body theme song. Later, we put together a reunion of Bill's TV pals, with Reed Woliver, who worked with Bill on the original show and Tom Blalock, who played "The Mummy" in Cobweb and Monsterpiece Theaters. And the whole thing was hosted by producer, Michael D. Moore, who is literally the first person in the world to sell mail order videos.
Michael D. Moore with Bill in
1978 . . . he's just a blur.
Michael today . . . with rat
puppet.
Reed Woliver explains what happens when you
toss a frozen roast beef sandwich on to a set.
Tom Blalock, artist and actor
on a few Bowman shows.
April 18: Filming begins at Fantasmo's all night schlockathon in Chesapeake with "The Keeper," Rick Clark.
We were joined this evening by Rick Clark, who played the Keeper of Chamber Theater on WVEC 13 in Norfolk from 1982-1986. We got there before the crowd showed up and interviewed Rick. We talked about the development of the character, fan involvement, makeup and much more, including the 4 hour long Halloween finale filmed in a real graveyard complete with drifting fog.
We also talked to two people who worked on the show with him during this period. Kris Curling (below in blue) played several bit parts, but most notably played the Chamber Maid, a squawking, Pythonesque pepper-pot who, like the Keeper, never revealed her name. Janine Harris appeared on the show a few times, but is most remembered for being hoisted over the Keeper's shoulder and dragged half way up the stair case before pandemonium broke loose.
We are in the process of securing footage from this show and fans should be able to get a nice taste of lizard gizzards, the Keeper's favorite, in Virginia Creepers this October.
April 14: Director/Producer, Sean Kotz to be interviewed on WINA 1070 in Charlottesville.
Monday at approximately 5:30 pm, director/producer Sean Kotz will discuss the project interviewer Coy Barefoot on the central Virginia airwaves and we will be most interested to hear from people who remember Slime Theater! You can listen to the interview here.
APRIL 12: First Fan Filming Event Set
APRIL 18: At Fantasmo Cult Film Event--Chesapeake Public Library. 5:00 pm until . . . .We expect to be filming both Rick Clark (aka "The Keeper" of Chamber Theater" and Jerry Sandford (aka, Virginia's first host, "Ronald the Ghoul.") But THIS IS ALSO A FAN EVENT. If you have memories of any Virginia host, we would like to talk to you. You can check out the Fantasmo blog site at http://www.fantasmocinema.blogspot.com/
April 5: Director/Producer interviewed on Cult Radio A Go Go.
We had the pleasure of speaking with Terry and Tiffany DuFoe who run www.cultradioagogo.com, a recent recipient of the Rondo Award and certified horror host fans, with several horror hosted radio programs each weekend. If you want to hear the interview, you can use the following link to down load an mp3 of the program:
File Name: CRAGG LIVE - HORROR HOST DOCUMENTARY.mp3
Size: 37MB | Download Link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/nekojg
April 1--Dr. Gruesome signs on!
From 1987-1996 and off and on since then, Dr. Gruesome has been scaring up Central Virginia from his lab in the basement of WRHL TV, FOX 35. Here we see Dr. Gruesome (Mark Bartholomew) and Skeeter (Matt Pak) hard at work planning a summer movie special. Both guys have graciously volunteered their time for this documentary and we are happy to have them.
March 31--Ronald from the original Shock Theater signs on!
We have just spoken to Jerry Sandford, aka, Ronald who hosted (as far as we can tell) the very first horror movie TV show in Virginia on WVEC 13 in Hampton/Norfolk. In fact, his show debuted on Friday November 13, 1959 . . . the day WVEC moved from UHF to VHF. We are working on finding photos and any tape, if it exists and will definitely keep you informed.
March 31--The Bowman Body signs on!
Bowman Body! That name rings out in Virginia horror host history very, very loudly and we are pleased to announce that Bill will be actively participating in this documentary. He ran on WXEX in Richmond from 1970-1976, did some guest appearances on Slime Theater and Dr. Madblood, and then he did Cobweb Theater with Michael D. Moore, who is also helping. Finally he did Monsterpiece Theater in Fairfax public TV. And, we have not only found footage long thought to be lost, but we also have found the writer of the Bowman Body Theme song! All that and more in the upcoming film.
March 31--Slime Theater
Yes folks, we have tracked down some of the folks from Slime Theater (WVIR NBC 29 in Charlottesville, mid 1970s), including Dr. Sludge (aka Pat Bauley). Also, entertainer Marc Cline (www.enchantedcastlestudios.com) got his start doing art for Slime Theater will be talking with us. We are currently in the midst of finding some tape and photos of that cool little show, so stay tuned!
March 30--Virginia Creepers announces sponsorship opportunity
We have just set up a sponsorship information page here. If you would like to aid in the production of this film, we encourage you to check it out.
March 27--Virginia Creepers planning filming in Richmond, Tidewater, Charlottesville and Northern Virginia
In order to give the fans of these great shows a chance to recount their tales and memories for the film, we are planning to film in Richmond, Tidewater, Charlottesville and Northern Virginia this spring and summer. Dates are not yet set and we are actively looking for locations.
If you have a store that might appeal to horror and sci-fi fans in any of these areas and would like to have the interview events filmed at your place of business as a promotion or attraction please let us know at sean@horsearcherproductions.com
March 27--The Keeper signs on!
Yes folks, we have tracked down The Keeper, whose show, Chamber Theater ran from 1984-1986 on WVEC 13 in Tidewater. The Keeper ran classic horror films from the Universal package and others and wrapped up his final show with a Halloween double feature of Dracula and Frankenstein with the host segments shot in a graveyard!
March 27--The Virginia Creepers Yahoo Group
Wanna keep up with what we are doing? Things are in the early stages now, but this group will be a primary outlet for info on the project including events, shooting schedules, announcements, ticket and DVD information and much, much more. Creep on over to http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/virginiacreepers/ or click the button to the left.
March 21--Dr. Madblood signs on!
From the strange swamps of Pungo, Virginia, a mad scientist and a collection of crazies haunted Virginia airwaves for more than 30 years. First appearing on WAVY-TV 10 in a Halloween special in 1975, Dr. Madblood's Movie, hosted by Jerry Harrell, was an immediate success. After seven years on WAVY, the show was syndicated for a while to public TV stations through out the state. After a couple annual Halloween specials, the good doctor found his way to a slot on the local Fox affiliate in the late 1980's, WTVZ 33 until 2002, when the show got picked up by SKY TV4 until just recently.
During that time, Dr. Madblood's show created hundreds of characters and storylines and developed a serious following in the Tidewater area and at one time commanded 52,000 regular viewers.
March 21--Karlos Borloff and the Monster Madhouse sign on!
Monster hunter, Karlos Borloff, has been spooking up Fairfax and Falls Church for many years now with a show that is part rock concert, part improv comedy group and 100% madhouse. A wide cast of characters appear not just on the pre-recorded shows but in live performances, live broadcasts and even in a forthcoming set of comic books. Not only that, recently Borloff made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Can a Hollywood star be very far behind?
March 21--Mr. Lobo signs on!
What is a California host doing in this film? Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia is part of the brave new world of nationally local horror hosts. The unique and wonderfully post-modern show is syndicated on AMGTV and can be seen on local cable systems in Roanoke and Tidewater. Mr. Lobo has also been drawn to Virginia in several ways including appearances in two films shot in Richmond.
March 15--Dr. Sarcofiguy signs on!
From the wilds of Fairfax Virginia comes one of the most innovative and comically talented hosts in the country, Dr. Sarcofiguy (a.k.a John Dimes). A successful comedian, stage performer, singer and originator of "The Spooky Movie" in 1995. More than a decade later, the Spooky Movie as an annual theatrical film festival and Dr. Sarcofiguy remains the world's only African American horror host.
March 12--The legendary Count Gore DeVol signs on!
In 1973, Dick Dyszel arrived in Washington DC at WDCA Channel 20 to produce Creature Feature, where he transformed into the most enduring horror host in the nation, Count Gore DeVol. From 1973 to 1978 and again from 1984-1987, Gore poked fun at DC politics, ran horrifying and occasionally horrible films, and presented himself as America's ultimate sex symbol (despite the fact that he was undead). His career is marked by many firsts, including the first stereo broadcast in Virginia, the first uncut airing of Night of the Living Dead, and in 1998, he became the first host to present his show on the internet. A founding member of the Horror Host Underground, Count Gore celebrates his tenth year online, and we will be there to pick his brain about the horror hosting craft.
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© 2008, Horse Archer Productions, LLC All Rights Reserved.