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August 31 An Evening of Creature Features Creatures and Zombies Invade Santa Cruz! October 23, 2008, Santa Cruz is taken over by creatures, monsters, ghouls and zombies and the town may never be the same! Bay Area Film Events brings its latest show to the Del Mar Theatre in Santa Cruz. Two big features for a Halloween season that can’t be beat. “An Evening of Creature Features” is a horror-fying double feature! The show opens with “Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong! A Journey into Creature Features”. For 14 years, from January 1971 through September 1984, CREATURE FEATURES ranked in the Nielsen ratings as one of the most popular TV shows in San Francisco Bay Area television history. Broadcast on KTVU Channel 2 in Oakland, California, the Saturday night series was hosted by former TV advertising writer Bob Wilkins for eight years, followed by San Francisco Chronicle entertainment writer John Stanley who kept the series alive for another six. To those who grew up watching with family members and friends, the mixture of host commentary and classic (and not-so-classic) horror movies remains a nostalgic memory. Wilkins' wit and unusually droll personality and Stanley's celebrity interviews and satiric mini-movies are all part of this full-length documentary journeying back through those years. Featuring interviews with Wilkins, Stanley and other key figures close to the show, as well as classic clips, this historic journey illuminates an era of television that should never be forgotten. Our second feature is the classic horror film that ushered in an all-new era of ghastly gore! George Romero’s original and never equaled, “Night of the Living Dead”. Chaos descends upon the world as the brains of the recently deceased become inexplicably reanimated, causing the dead to rise and feed on human flesh. Speculation rests on a radiation-covered NASA satellite returning from Venus, but it only remains a speculation. Anyone who dies during the crisis of causes unrelated to brain trauma will return as a flesh-eating zombie, including anyone who has been bitten by a zombie. The only way to destroy the zombies is to destroy the brain. As the catastrophe unfolds, a young woman visiting her father's grave takes refuge in a nearby farmhouse, where she is met by a man who protects her and barricades them inside. They both later discover people hiding in the basement, and they each attempt to cope with the situation. Their only hope rests on getting some gasoline from a nearby pump into a truck that is running on empty, but this requires braving the hordes of ravenous walking corpses outside. When they finally put their plans into action, panic and personal tensions only add to the terror as they try to survive! Hosting this evening of Thursday night frights is KFJC’s host of the “Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show” Robert Emmett. Robert Emmett is the host of “The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show” every Saturday morning from 9am to 12noon on KFJC 89.7FM or netcast at www.kfjc.org. Each week Robert plays a wide variety of the best music you’ve ever seen, soundtrack music from films, TV and more. Robert also hosts a talk/interview show on Monday nights from 6pm to 7pm called “Thoughtline”. Our two special guests for the evening are “Creature Features” host John Stanley and “Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong!” producer, Tom Wyrsch. For six years (1979-84) John Stanley hosted the highly rated "Creature Features" in the San Francisco-Bay Area TV market, introducing science fiction and horror movies to a midnight audience, and interviewing the leading actors, producers and directors of the time. He also spent 33 years as an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, specializing in interviewing TV and movie stars. He has written 13 books, including six editions of The Creature Features Movie Guide series. His novels include World War II and Bogart/'48. He edited and published Them Ornery Mitchum Boys by John Mitchum. He is a noted Elder hostel instructor (specializing in movies, TV and music) and he constructed crossword puzzles for TV Guide publications for eight years. Tom Wyrsch has worked diligently over the years to keep the Creature Features flame burning bright. Through books such as the Bob Wilkins and John Stanley Scrapbooks, DVDs of classic clips and interviews from the show, products, convention appearances and now our feature documentary, Tom has promoted both John and Bob and kept the Creature Features success growing and becoming more popular over twenty years since its final broadcast on KTVU. Proceeds from this event will go to assist in the care of original “Creature Features” host Bob Wilkins. "Don't stay up late, it's not worth it," Bob Wilkins warned as he leaned back in his yellow rocking chair, smoke wafting from his big cigar. But monster movie fans in Northern California stayed up with him every Saturday night anyway. “Creature Features” was an immediate success with its grade-Z horror films and Bob's dry sense of humor. His cool, low-key deadpan helped him rise above it all. Bob once remarked, "We kicked off this show with “Horror of Party Beach”, and we knew we had our work cut out for us that night… and it seems it's been that way every Saturday night." Bob hosted the show from 1971 through 1979, as well as the children’s show “Capt. Cosmic and 2T2”, becoming one of the best-remembered and much loved personalities of Bay Area TV history. Unfortunately Bob is now suffering from Alzheimer’s, a disease causing his memory to diminish and taking away his wonderful sense of humor and deadpan wit. As Bob is one of the biggest inspirations for all of us that do these movie shows, we are showing our appreciation for his constant motivation over the years, as well as countless hours of entertainment he has provided. Proceeds from this show will go to pay for the care of Bob Wilkins and help his family to get through this very difficult time. More surprises to come! Mark your calendar, bookmark our site and get ready because THE CREATURE’S GONNA GET YOU THAT NIGHT! April 01 Sacramento, Another Memorable Show!Bob Wilkins returned to Sacramento, where it all began, on Sunday March 25, for the second of our two sold-out Creature Features Forever shows. We thought it would be very hard to top the emotions and enthusiasm of the El Cerrito show, but Sacramento came out and really showed its love for Bob and generosity to the Alzheimer's Society. Mr. Lobo and John Stanley returned from the Cerrito show and were joined on stage by local Sacramento TV legends Harry Martin and Geoff Wong, as well as HARDWARE WARS producer Ernie Fossileus and the creator of CAPTAIN COSMIC's 2T2 robot, Gary Tomsic. 2T2 was conspicuously absent, but is retired and living in a garage outside of Sacramento. The City of Sacramento came through with a certificate recognizing Bob's career and status as a Sacramento star. This was presented to Sally Wilkins by Mr. Lobo. All in all, the two shows have become BAFE favorites. They may not have been our biggest shows, but they did turn out to be two of our most important. We want to thank all the Creature Features fans for coming out and supporting Bob Wilkins and the Alzhiemers Aid Society of Northern California. Donations to the Society can still be made. Please go to www.bobwilkins.net for information on how to donate and please mark all donations "For the care of Bob Wilkins". T-shirts that were sold at both shows are still available at www.novemberfire.com. There were two styles that fans will want to check out. Just click on either (or both) of these links: Captain Cosmic and Bob Wilkins/Creature Features. Tell 'em BAFE sent you! March 24 Wilkins Tribute on KTVUCREATURE FEATURES FOREVER, A TRIBUTE TO BOB WILKINS made the KTVU channel 2 10 O'Clock News on Thursday (3/22/07). Check out the segment on You Tube, courtesy of Chad from the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater! Click here and let Dennis Richmond take it from there! And if you haven't bought your tickets for the Crest show in Sacramento, HURRY HURRY!! At last count there were only 26 tickets left! Check out the link on the main BAFE webpage and get 'em now. If you miss this one, you'll never, ever forgive yourself and you'll have to live with that the rest of your life! ;) A Special Night of Creature FeaturesThursday night (3/22/07) at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater was a special night indeed, as a packed house of CREATURE FEATURE fans turned out to pay tribute to original host and Bay Area TV legend Bob Wilkins! The evening kicked off with a special poetic history of Bob Wilkins, as recited via video by John Stanley. This was shot at the Broadcast Legends' luncheon in Emeryville (9/23/02) as part of their CREATURE FEATURES Tribute Luncheon. As the familiar themesong faded out with "the creature's gonna get you tonight!" Will Viharo took the stage to pay tribute to Bob and introduce the evening's host, Mr. Lobo. After a brief open and background of Bob, a 15-minute video of The Best of Bob Wilkins played to a nostalgic crowd of fans. Clips of Bob from Sacramento's 7 ARTS THEATER, CREATURE FEATURES and KTVU's CAPTAIN COSMIC had the audience in the right mood for the evening. At this point, BAFE's Bob Johnson took the stage to read a proclamation from Mayor Ron Dellums, making March 23, 2007 "Bob Wilkins Day" in the city of Oakland in recognition of Mr. Wilkins' career and influence on local television and some of Hollywood's biggest names, including George Lucas. The proclamation was presented to Bob's wife, Sally Wilkins, how graciously thanked everyone for coming out and spoke about the Alzheimer's Society, the fight against the disease and how everyone could help Bob and others like him. With business concluded, it was time for the guests! Mr. Lobo lead a panel of former CREATURE FEATURES co-horts of Bob's. The first was John Stanley, the successor to the CREATURE FEATURES thrown and current author of the book, "I Was a TV Horror Movie Host". Next up was Bob Shaw, who is now KTVU's Entertainment Reporter, but was the $25.00-a-month producer of CREATURE FEATURES and Bob's right hand man with movie facts and knowledge. Last, but not least, was Bill Longen, Events Coordinator at San Francisco's Castro Theatre and the film editor at KTVU in the days of both CREATURE FEATURES and CAPT. COSMIC. John started off with a story about meeting Ray Bradbury and discovering one's sense of wonder, the reason we were all there that night. A clip of John's speech can be seen on You Tube at this link. Bob Shaw and Bill Longen both told their stories of the olden days at channel 2 and then all three took their seats on stage with Mr. Lobo to discuss Bob Wilkins, CREATURE FEATURES, working in local television in the days when stations produced more than just the news and took questions from the audience. This was followed by an amazing 16mm reel, which contained 45 minutes of VERY rare clips from Bob's early career from the collection of Tom Wyrsch. Included in the reel were interviews with such luminaries as Boris Karloff (the last one done before his death), Jack Benny, Milton Berle, William Shatner, George Takei, James Doohan, Darth Vader and more. Also featured in the clips were Harry Martin, Gary Owens, Jim Nabors, Ray Harryhausen, Roy Thinnes and others. After the clips, Mr. Lobo returned to the stage to recap the evening, relay the Wilkins family's request for donations to be made to the Alzheimer's Aid Society of Northern California (which can be earmarked for Bob's care - please see address below) and to announce Scott Moon's drive for fans to send birthday cards to Bob Wilkins for his 75th birthday on April 11 (link at the end of this blog entry). And then, with the aid of the Cinsomniac's Oath, the screen was filled with castaways, a deserted island and walking, laughing mushrooms in the first film Bob ever hosted back in 1966 on KCRA in Sacramento, ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE (MATANGO). There are a few tickets left as of this writing for the show on Sunday (3/25/07) at the Crest Theater in Sacramento, so grab them fast! It looks like another sell out! And check back here after for a recap and pictures from that show. In the meantime, donations to help with Bob's care can be sent to the following address. Please mark on the payment, "For the Care of Bob Wilkins". Alzheimers Aid Society of Northern California P.O. Box 1824 Sacramento, CA 95825 Information on how to send birthday cards to Bob Wilkins can be found at www.bobwilkins.net An appreciation of ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE is currently up at SciFi Japan. Also included is "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson, the original short story that became the basis for ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE And you can download an MP3 of Rob Emmett's NORMAN BATES MEMORIAL SOUNDTRACK SHOW from 3/24/07, talking about Thursday's show and previewing the Crest encore here. March 16 Creature Features on the Radio!The Bob Wilkins show at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito is completely sold out! Tickets flew out of the theater like a bat out of the KTVU newsroom! Tickets for the March 25th show at the Crest Theater in Sacramento will be available online soon at Tickets.com and at the Crest Boxoffice. In the meantime, you can enjoy Creature Features on the radio this and next week! Thanks to Rob Emmett, host of Thoughtline and The Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show on KFJC radio 89.7FM, fans can relive the days of Creature Features through their radios and computers! The schedule is: Saturday March 17, 11am: John Stanley talks about his new book, "I Was a TV Horror Movie Host" Monday March 19, 6pm-7pm: John Stanley and BAFE's Bob Johnson talk about the upcoming Creature Features Forever shows at the Cerrito Speakeasy and Crest Theatre. Saturday March 24, 11am: BAFE's Bob Johnson and Cinema Insomnia's Mr. Lobo talk about how things went at the Cerrito and preview Sunday's Crest show. Listen on the radio at 89.7 FM or on the internet via KFJC's Netcast! March 11 Cerrito Tickets Almost Gone!Tickets for the El Cerrito Bob Wilkins Tribute show are going fast! As of this writing, there are about 30 tickets left, so grab them NOW before they disappear. There will not be any left to buy at the door the day of the show. Tickets are available at the Cerrito Theater Box Office from now until they're gone after 5pm. Just ask for management and they can sell you the tickets. Tickets are only $10.00 each and the show is definitely going to be a blockbuster! Featuring a new 35mm print of ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE and hosted by CINEMA INSOMNIA'S Mr. Lobo. Special guests include John Stanley, Bob Shaw and recently added creator of HARDWARE WARS, Ernie Fosselius. Rare 16mm and video clips from Bob Wilkins' career and Bob will also be in attendance! More info at our regular BAFE website! March 05 Tickets for El Cerrito Show on Sale This Weekend!Tickets for the Bob Wilkins Tribute at the Cerrito Theater on March 22 go on sale this Sunday, March 11 at 3:00pm at the Cerrito Theater's IT Club. Tickets are $10 each and with only 120 seats to sell, we are expecting them to go FAST! So, don't miss out on a chance to see rare Bob Wilkins clips, Bob himself and a new, 35mm print of ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE. This is a once in a lifetime event. Plus, we will be presenting Bob with a proclamation from the City of Oakland, proclaiming Friday March 23 as Bob Wilkins Day in Oakland. For more information on the show, head over to the main BAFE website! See you all at the IT Club this Sunday! Get there early!! Special commemorative posters will be available for sale at both the Cerrito and Crest shows. See the picture below for a peek at the poster, done for us exclusively by artist Strephon Taylor! February 06 Bob Willkins Show Update! Second Show Added!Two Bob Wilkins Tribute Shows Raise Awareness for Alzheimer’s Research
Oakland, CA - February 9, 2007 - Bay Area Film Events proudly presents two shows commemorating the career of local TV legend Bob Wilkins and 40 plus years of hosting horror films, including the 35th anniversary of CREATURE FEATURES. Both shows will benefit and bring attention to the newly established Bob Wilkins Foundation for Alzheimer’s Research.
Join Us for Two BIG Shows!
The events kick off on Thursday March 22 with an 8:00PM show at the newly opened Cerrito Speakeasy Theatre in El Cerrito. Bob Wilkins and his family will be in attendance along with the evening’s host CINEMA INSOMNIA’s Mr. Lobo from KTEH Channel 54, and special guests that include KTVU Channel 2’s movie critic Bob Shaw and former CREATURE FEATURES’ host John Stanley. The feature film for the evening will be the first movie Bob ever hosted back in 1966, ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE. Advance tickets for the El Cerrito show will go on sale Sunday, March 11, starting at 3:00PM at the theater’s IT Club.
The festivities then move to Sacramento’s Crest Theater on Sunday March 25 at 7:00PM for another great show. Bob and his family will once again be in attendance with Mr. Lobo and local Sacramento TV great Harry Martin, children’s TV host Captain Mitch, and others! The Sacramento show will feature another Bob Wilkins classic, HORROR OF PARTY BEACH.
The shows will feature clips and highlights from Bob’s career and other special surprises! As both theaters have limited seating capacities, make sure you buy tickets in advance for El Cerrito, or in the case of Sacramento, get there early!
For up to date information on both shows, go to www.bayareafilmevents.com.
Bob Wilkins, A Local TV Legend:
Bob Wilkins started his long-spanning television career in 1966, hosting SEVEN ARTS THEATER for KCRA in Sacramento. He would later go on to host CREATURE FEATURES at both KTXL in Sacramento and Oakland/San Francisco’s KTVU.
"Don't stay up late, it's not worth it," Bob Wilkins warned as he would lean back in his yellow rocking chair, smoke wafting from his big cigar. But monster movie fans in Northern California stayed up with him every Saturday night anyway. From 1971 through 1979, Bob Wilkins brought the best and worst of fantasy, horror and science fiction to audiences throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, in the Sacramento Valley, and nationwide through KTVU’s status as a cable super station. His dry wit and deadpan humor won over audiences, and CREATURE FEATURES would often beat SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE in the local ratings.
In 1979, after hosting two shows for KTVU (CREATURE FEATURES and CAPTAIN COSMIC) as well as another version of CREATURE FEATURES for KTXL in Sacramento, Bob left television to pursue a career in marketing and advertising from which he is now retired. He still makes personal appearances and speaks with throngs of fans who turn out to meet him.
Fighting for a Worthy Cause:
Bob is currently one of the millions of people throughout the country suffering the effects of Alzheimer’s. The goal of these shows is to raise awareness for the disease and also to bring attention to the Bob Wilkins Foundation for Alzheimer’s Research and generate funds for his care.
The family of Bob Wilkins recognizes and appreciates the valuable work being done by the Alzheimer’s Aid Society of Northern California. Because of the ever-increasing needs filled by this caring non-profit organization, his family is requesting donations, which can be directed towards Bob Wilkins' care.
For your convenience, contact information for the Alzheimer’s Aid Society of Northern California is provided here. Donations should be sent to the address listed below designated "for the care of Bob Wilkins".
Alzheimer’s Aid Society of Northern California
P.O. Box 1824
Sacramento, CA 95825
January 06 Paying Tribute to Creature Features' Bob WilkinsCREATURE FEATURES FOREVER: A TRIBUTE TO BOB WILKINS 8:00PM, March 22, 2007 at the Cerrito Theatre in El Cerrito. Join us for a special evening commemorating the career of "Creature Features" host and local legend, Bob Wilkins. Featured on this program is a mint 35mm print of the first movie Bob ever hosted back in 1966, “ATTACK OF THE MUSHROOM PEOPLE.” Plus rare 16mm footage of Bob in action and personal remembrances by those who have known and worked with Bob over the years. Hosted by Cinema Insomnia’s Mr. Lobo, guests include Creature Features host and author John Stanley, KTVU’s Bob Shaw, Tom Wyrsch and others. Bob Wilkins himself, along with his immediate family, will be in attendance. They invite you one and all to join them for this unique homage to a living legend. His family, in recognition of his 15 years as the one of the most popular TV personalities in Northern California, has established a Bob Wilkins Foundation through the Alzheimer's Aid Society of Northern California. A special show program will be handed out to each attendee, detailing Bob’s career and information on the Bob Wilkins Foundation. You won’t want to miss this very special evening. |
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