Bob Wilkins (Television Personality)
Encyclopedia
Bob Wilkins was a television personality born as Robert Gene Wilkins in the town of Hammond, Indiana
. Wilkins was best known as the creator and host of a popular television show named Creature Features that ran on KTVU
in the San Francisco Bay Area
from 1971 to 1984, and which premiered with Del Tenney
's infamous The Horror of Party Beach
. The programming on Creature Features featured science fiction
and horror film
; everything from the classics, such as The Bride of Frankenstein to turgid turkeys like The Vulture. More often than not, the films were good, and sometimes the show hit benchmarks: George A. Romero
's Night of the Living Dead
had its world television premiere on the show, just a couple of years after its original theatrical release. Wilkins' style of wit was very dry, and fit very well with some of the "schlockers" he was forced to air, which was a big part of his appeal to his fans (somewhat in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000). As host of the show, his droll humor and onmnipresent cigar
became his trademarks.
. He was writing and producing commercials for the station when he was tapped to be a fill in host for an afternoon movie show in 1964. On September 10, 1966, Bob Wilkins got his own time slot, hosting horror films on Seven Arts Theater which followed the station's 11 p.m. newscast. After several successful years, he was courted by former KCRA manager Tom Breen (who was now at KTVU) to bring his show to the Bay Area. Breen was one of Wilkins' best supporters at KCRA, who had always encouraged the then-young host to try novel and new things, and to never be afraid of going for it. Bob left KCRA on his own terms and his last show there was on March 14, 1970. Bob returned to Sacramento Television, this time on KTXL
Channel 40 on May 9, 1970. On a Saturday evening, January 9, 1971, after weeks of teasers, "Creature Features" debuted on KTVU with The Horror of Party Beach
, and immediately became a ratings winner. Soon after, "Creature Features" had the world television premiere of the already infamous 1968 horror film, Night of the Living Dead
. The show eventually expanded to a Double Feature
format, and during its height of popularity, KTVU added a single-feature show on Friday nights. So popular were Bob Wilkins and "Creature Features", that it would often (and incredibly) beat network programming, such as Saturday Night Live
in the local Nielsen ratings
.
specials, including The Star Trek Dream and The Bob Wilkins Super Horror Show, as well as making dozens of public appearances every year. Even with this seemingly heavy workload, including commuting every week to Sacramento from Oakland to tape his sister show on KTXL-40, he was first and foremost a devoted husband and father, even coaching baseball at his son and daughter's school, and rarely staying up past 10 p.m. Eventually, Bob found himself, at the urging of KTVU management, joining the 10 O'Clock News team as their Weatherman. But, after two years, he stepped down because he didn't feel that he could be creative that late at night. In spite of this, he was nominated for a local Emmy Award
for a ski report which used footage from the opening scene of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
.
, The Space Giants, Ultraman
, Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, and Star Blazers
. Japanese imports were a prime focus, though the show also featured old Hollywood serials such as Flash Gordon and Gerry Anderson
's Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. Donning a face-concealing helmet, Wilkins was uncredited, but fans of his Creature Features program recognized him immediately. His sidekick on this show was a robot named 2T2, which emulated R2D2 in the Star Wars
movies.
, he relinquished the Creature Features hosting duties to San Francisco Chronicle
writer John Stanley (1979–1984). Wilkins continued his program on KTXL as The Bob Wilkins Double Horror Show from May 9, 1970 through February 14, 1981. Wilkins's fans include actor Tom Hanks
and Bay Area filmmaker George Lucas
, who watched the Sacramento programs as a youth in Modesto.
Although no longer a fixture on television, Wilkins periodically made appearances at comic book and fantasy conventions, film screenings and tributes, until two years before his passing. After his departure from television, Wilkins concentrated on his advertising agency, which handled accounts such as the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain. In the 1990s, he and his wife, Sally, retired and moved to Reno
, Nevada
.
John Stanley, Wilkins's replacement on Creature Features, reported in an interview on the radio program Coast to Coast
on August 14, 2007 that Wilkins was stricken with Alzheimer's disease
and was then living in Sacramento. He succumbed to the disease at age 76 on January 7, 2009 in Reno.
In 2008, a feature-length documentary on Creature Features, Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong!
, debuted in several theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 75-minute documentary features interviews with Bob Wilkins and John Stanley, as well as other key figures close to the show, both behind-the-scenes and in front of the cameras, and contains vintage clips spanning the history of the show, which took place during an era when local broadcasting was much more a creative and experimental medium than it would subsequently become.
Hammond, Indiana
Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 80,830 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hammond is located at ....
. Wilkins was best known as the creator and host of a popular television show named Creature Features that ran on KTVU
KTVU
KTVU, virtual channel 2 , is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Licensed to Oakland, California, the station has been owned by Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises since 1964, making it the largest Fox affiliate by market size that is not owned and operated by the...
in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
from 1971 to 1984, and which premiered with Del Tenney
Del Tenney
Del Tenney is an American actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He established a legacy in film with several low-budget horror/exploitation films in the 1960s, including The Horror of Party Beach...
's infamous The Horror of Party Beach
The Horror of Party Beach
The Horror of Party Beach is a 1964 horror film in the beach party genre, directed by B-movie maven Del Tenney, which Tenney himself describes as "a take-off on beach parties and musicals"....
. The programming on Creature Features featured science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
; everything from the classics, such as The Bride of Frankenstein to turgid turkeys like The Vulture. More often than not, the films were good, and sometimes the show hit benchmarks: George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
's Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
had its world television premiere on the show, just a couple of years after its original theatrical release. Wilkins' style of wit was very dry, and fit very well with some of the "schlockers" he was forced to air, which was a big part of his appeal to his fans (somewhat in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000). As host of the show, his droll humor and onmnipresent cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
became his trademarks.
KCRA in Sacramento
Wilkins started his on-camera television career in 1963 at KCRA Channel 3 in SacramentoSacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
. He was writing and producing commercials for the station when he was tapped to be a fill in host for an afternoon movie show in 1964. On September 10, 1966, Bob Wilkins got his own time slot, hosting horror films on Seven Arts Theater which followed the station's 11 p.m. newscast. After several successful years, he was courted by former KCRA manager Tom Breen (who was now at KTVU) to bring his show to the Bay Area. Breen was one of Wilkins' best supporters at KCRA, who had always encouraged the then-young host to try novel and new things, and to never be afraid of going for it. Bob left KCRA on his own terms and his last show there was on March 14, 1970. Bob returned to Sacramento Television, this time on KTXL
KTXL
KTXL, channel 40, is a Fox Broadcasting Company-affiliated television station in Sacramento, California, owned by the Tribune Company. Its studios and offices are located in South Sacramento, and its transmitter is near Walnut Grove, California.-History:...
Channel 40 on May 9, 1970. On a Saturday evening, January 9, 1971, after weeks of teasers, "Creature Features" debuted on KTVU with The Horror of Party Beach
The Horror of Party Beach
The Horror of Party Beach is a 1964 horror film in the beach party genre, directed by B-movie maven Del Tenney, which Tenney himself describes as "a take-off on beach parties and musicals"....
, and immediately became a ratings winner. Soon after, "Creature Features" had the world television premiere of the already infamous 1968 horror film, Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
. The show eventually expanded to a Double Feature
Double feature
The double feature, also known as a double bill, was a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatre managers would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.The double feature, also known as...
format, and during its height of popularity, KTVU added a single-feature show on Friday nights. So popular were Bob Wilkins and "Creature Features", that it would often (and incredibly) beat network programming, such as Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the local Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
.
KTVU in Oakland
On KTVU, Bay Area viewers still couldn't get enough of their Creature Features host, a soft-spoken but extremely funny character whose overwhelming popularity enabled him to produce and host a number of prime timePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
specials, including The Star Trek Dream and The Bob Wilkins Super Horror Show, as well as making dozens of public appearances every year. Even with this seemingly heavy workload, including commuting every week to Sacramento from Oakland to tape his sister show on KTXL-40, he was first and foremost a devoted husband and father, even coaching baseball at his son and daughter's school, and rarely staying up past 10 p.m. Eventually, Bob found himself, at the urging of KTVU management, joining the 10 O'Clock News team as their Weatherman. But, after two years, he stepped down because he didn't feel that he could be creative that late at night. In spite of this, he was nominated for a local Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for a ski report which used footage from the opening scene of On Her Majesty's Secret Service
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (film)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the sixth spy film in the James Bond series, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Following the decision of Sean Connery to retire from the role after You Only Live Twice, Eon Productions selected an unknown actor and model, George Lazenby...
.
Captain Cosmic
In 1977, Wilkins launched an afternoon children's program on KTVU, Captain Cosmic, which showcased various sci-fi serials such as SpectremanSpectreman
is the name and title superhero of a tokusatsu sci-fi TV series. Produced by P Productions and created by producer Souji Ushio, this series aired on Fuji TV from January 2, 1971 to March 25, 1972 with a total of 63 episodes , not counting the pre-series pilot episode...
, The Space Giants, Ultraman
Ultraman
is Japanese television series that first aired in 1966. Ultraman, the first and best-known of the "Ultra-Crusaders," made his debut in the tokusatsu SF/kaiju/superhero TV series, , a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q...
, Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot, and Star Blazers
Star Blazers
Star Blazers is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series, . Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an over-arching plot and storyline that required the episodes to...
. Japanese imports were a prime focus, though the show also featured old Hollywood serials such as Flash Gordon and Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
's Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. Donning a face-concealing helmet, Wilkins was uncredited, but fans of his Creature Features program recognized him immediately. His sidekick on this show was a robot named 2T2, which emulated R2D2 in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
movies.
Return to advertising
While at the top of his game, Bob decided to retire from television and go back into advertising. On February 24, 1979, after offering the job to several of his researchers, including film historian David Del ValleDavid Del Valle
David Del Valle is a journalist, columnist, film historian, radio and television commentator on the horror/science-fiction/cult and fantasy film genres.-Career:...
, he relinquished the Creature Features hosting duties to San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
writer John Stanley (1979–1984). Wilkins continued his program on KTXL as The Bob Wilkins Double Horror Show from May 9, 1970 through February 14, 1981. Wilkins's fans include actor Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
and Bay Area filmmaker George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
, who watched the Sacramento programs as a youth in Modesto.
Although no longer a fixture on television, Wilkins periodically made appearances at comic book and fantasy conventions, film screenings and tributes, until two years before his passing. After his departure from television, Wilkins concentrated on his advertising agency, which handled accounts such as the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain. In the 1990s, he and his wife, Sally, retired and moved to Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
John Stanley, Wilkins's replacement on Creature Features, reported in an interview on the radio program Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
on August 14, 2007 that Wilkins was stricken with Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and was then living in Sacramento. He succumbed to the disease at age 76 on January 7, 2009 in Reno.
In 2008, a feature-length documentary on Creature Features, Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong!
Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong!
Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong! is a 2008 documentary about the popular television series Creature Features televised out of Oakland, California 1971 to 1984....
, debuted in several theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 75-minute documentary features interviews with Bob Wilkins and John Stanley, as well as other key figures close to the show, both behind-the-scenes and in front of the cameras, and contains vintage clips spanning the history of the show, which took place during an era when local broadcasting was much more a creative and experimental medium than it would subsequently become.