Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong

Watch Horror Films– Keep America Strong:
A New Creature Features Documentary
Horror Hosts

Just received this press release from John Stanley. The DVD of this event will be available this summer!

 

Thursday, May 15th at 7:00 PM

The Grand Lake Theater
3200 Grand Avenue Oakland, California

Presented by Creatures At Large. Conceived and Produced by Tom Wyrsch, Written and Directed by Michael Monahan. Camera and Sound by Eric Yee, Edited by Anthony Cava and Robert Napton.

Featured interviews: Bob Wilkins, John Stanley, Bob Shaw, Ernie Fossellius, August Ragone, Sally Wilkins, Erica Stanley, Rob Wilkins, Nancy Wilkins, Scott Moon, and Tom Wyrsch

Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong, a new feature length documentary celebrating the unique and lasting contributions of hosts Bob Wilkins and John Stanley to Bay Area broadcasting, makes its premiere at Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theater in a benefit screening for the Bob Wilkins Foundation. Special guests at this event will include one-time San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley, Sally Wilkins, Bob Shaw, Ernie (Hardware Wars) Fossellius – with others yet to be announced.

KTVU’s Creature Features (1971–1984) remains the most-loved, best-remembered local program in Bay Area broadcast history. "Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong!" was the rallying cry of host Bob Wilkins as he lured unsuspecting audiences into viewing the type of film usually found clinging to the bottom of the cinematic barrel.

After nearly eight years enticing viewers with the irresistible promise of the awful, Bob Wilkins passed the torch to John Stanley, author of six editions of the Creature Features Movie Guide, who expanded the creative boundaries of the program, offering a singularly ambitious vision of Creature Features for many years after. John's latest book, I WAS A TV HORROR HOST, is now available and recounts the history of this fabulous Bay Area-based TV series.

Blending newly filmed interviews with crew, family and fans with rare footage unseen since originally aired, Watch Horror Films – Keep America Strong recalls the strange and wonderful era of local television. The film is an affectionate tribute to a special time and place – and to the special people who entertained and inspired a generation of viewers.

In recent years, Bob Wilkins has struggled with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Proceeds from this film will go directly to the Bob Wilkins Foundation to assist in his care.

Tom Wyrsch is the author of The Bob Wilkins Scrapbook and The John Stanley Scrapbook. He is also the Creature Features Archivist.

Michael Monahan is the Associate Producer and Researcher for American Scary (2006) and author of an upcoming book on the national history of the TV horror movie host.

For additional information, please contact:

Tom Wyrsch
(707) 769-1506
tpw1705@aol.com

Michael Monahan
(510) 843-9457
doktorgoulfinger@gmail.com

Comments

[John Morehead]

Bob Wilkins provided scares and entertainment in the 1970s in northern California for my brother and I, and the fond memories and influence continue to this day. Thanks for making us aware of this documentary. I look forward to securing a copy to add to my collection and to benefitting in Bob's care.

[Michael Monahan]

Thanks very much for posting this information on our upcoming premiere. Public enthusiam has been so great that we've just added a second show at 10pm, May 15th. If 7pm is a bit too early for some folks, they'll have a second chance to catch the film in a classic movie palace setting.

Thanks again for the interest and support.

[Steve]

Thanks for the added show!!! Will the guest speakers be on before the 7:00PM show, or will they speaking afterwards so that the later audience can catch some of them?

[ILoz Zoc]

This is exciting news!

[Michael Monahan]

Advance tickets are on sale at the Grand Lake Theater for both the 7PM and 10PM shows. We're planning on a Q&A following the 7PM show. We expect this will run fairly long, but we've got a fairly hefty intermision scheduled to cover that. I hesitate to say "show up early for the 10PM show to catch this", as I'm not sure how the theater intends to handle the crowdds for the two shows. But we are trying to figure out a way to make sure the 10pm audience gets time to interact with the guests. There will be some Creature Features items for sale, so we'll definitely have some signings between shows. Please contact the theater for any updates 510-452-3556 - and I'll post more info here as soon as we get the details worked out. Thanks again.
Michael