Jon Bauman
Encyclopedia
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
, and game show host. Bauman's popular Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer" (sometimes called "Bowzer J. Bowzer" and sometimes "Choo Wate"), was a gangly, slender-armed greaser in a muscle shirt.
Biography
Bauman started attending The Juilliard School at age 12 and is a 1964 graduate of Martin Van Buren H.S. in Queens Village, NY. After his heyday with Sha Na NaSha Na Na
Sha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
, Bauman was a VJ on the music channel VH-1 during its first two years. He has appeared on several television series, such as Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, and has also done voiceovers for animated series, such as Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, and animated feature films, including My Little Pony: The Movie
My Little Pony: The Movie
My Little Pony: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the Hasbro toy line, My Little Pony. It was released on June 20, 1986 by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group...
and The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones is an animated TV movie, featuring the first meeting between the characters from The Flintstones and The Jetsons...
. He also hosted the Hollywood Squares half of the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour is an American television game show that combined two long-running game shows of the 1960s and 1970s – Match Game and Hollywood Squares – into an hour-long format....
. In addition, Bauman hosted The Pop 'N Rocker Game
The Pop 'N Rocker Game
The Pop 'N Rocker Game is a syndicated weekly game show from Ron Greenberg Productions and Alan Landsburg Productions, premiering on September 17, 1983, and running for a full year. It combined musical trivia with in-studio performances; two bands were featured on each episode.Jon Bauman, better...
, a weekly syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
rock 'n' roll game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
, which launched a few weeks before the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour premiered.
Jon Bauman Productions produced The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll, a ten-hour series for the A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
network.
Bauman currently tours extensively with his Bowzer and the Stingrays group at fairs, amusement parks, cruise ships, malt shoppes and conventions all over the world. They currently headline "Bowzer's Ultimate Milkshake Party".
Bauman lives in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with his wife, Mary. Their two children, Nora and Eli, are recent graduates of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Bauman has spoken on behalf of musicians who are upset about contemporary groups who use classic groups' names even though none of the members performed on any of the albums. Supporters include Charlie Thomas of The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
, Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson (singer)
Mary Wilson is an American singer, formerlymember of the Motown female singing group The Supremes during the 1960s and 1970s. Wilson was the only singer to be a consistent member of the group in its eighteen-year tenure...
of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, and Carl Gardner of The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
. Before his death, Drifter Bill Pinkney
Bill Pinkney
Bill Pinkney was an American performer and singer. Pinkney was often said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. He was chiefly responsible for its early sounds...
was also a supporter. Bauman has also helped pass legislation that would compel any group using the name of a classic group to have at least one of the original members. The measure is known as the Truth in Music Act.
Bauman continues to appear with Julie Lancaster in an infomercial for Time Life's Oldies But Goodies collection of CDs.
Bauman is referenced in the The Chanukah Song
The Chanukah Song
"The Chanukah Song" is a humorous song written by comedian Adam Sandler with Saturday Night Live writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. Sandler subsequently performed the song as part of his...
by Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
.
External links
- http://truthinmusic.org/tim_msnbc.htm
- http://www.bowzerparty.com/bio.htm
- http://www.classicsquares.com/sequelsii.html
- http://www.celebritynooz.com/watn/bowzer.html
- http://www.vocalgrouphalloffame.com/truth.htm