dailyprompt-2042

Oh. So That’s Where She Got It From

/ animar64 / Leave a comment

WP Prompt asks, what TV shows did I watch as a kid? Well, I didn’t just watch these shows- I took inspiration from them and here is my story:

When I was little, my parents and grandparents watched two shows with me- one was Lawrence Welk and the other was Nightmare Theatre.

Before you make jokes about Lawrence Welk- me and my brother and sister loved watching that show with our Grandparents.  We liked the singing and dancing.

As far as Nightmare Theatre went- my family were big on ghost stories and spooky movies so this was must see TV for me:

By the 1960s, most larger cities had their own weekly late night program that offered old horror films, usually hosted by a an actor or actress in ghoulish make-up, chewing the scenery and bombarding the mostly young audience with really bad jokes. For most of Western Washington, it was Nightmare Theatre and The Count. By most accounts, Nightmare Theatre–which ran Friday Nights, usually around 11:30 P.M.–was kicked off on September 25, 1964. What isn’t currently known is when Joe “The Count” Towey stepped in to host the show, as Nightmare Theatre is said to have existed several years before The Count rose from his crypt in order to host the proceedings. It is a certainty, though, that Nightmare Theatre’s mascot was around by 1968.

Me and my Mom and my  Grandma Ginger used to watch Dark Shadows when I got home from school-  I was in Kindergarten at the time and I made it home just as the opening title started to run. I named all of my dolls after the female characters all except for Maggie- I thought she was a cry baby.

Star Trek made me want to learn about science and it made me want to be an astronaut  so that one day I could fly my own spaceship. Plus I was crazy in love with William Shatner and to be honest,I still am.

Rod Serling and the Twilight Zone made me want to be a writer- and guess what I am still writing.

Two things from the Twilight Zone set me on my path- the first was the intro. It was like someone was telling me HOW to write and I just followed the instructions.

The second Twilight Zone tie in  was when I saw  ” An Occurrence  At Owl Creek  Bridge” I didn’t actually see the episode air. I saw the film in school and my teacher explained how it had been featured on the Twilight Zone ( which caught my ear ). My Aunt Sharon actually watched that episode and told me it was the best scary movie she had ever seen in her life, so when I was about 6 years old she told me the story and it stuck with me.

However, when I saw the ending of the movie I knew I was going to be a writer for the rest of my life- in that brief moment  the lights went on, and I became both a voracious reader and I started to write stories-to this day when characters in my stories buy the farm I see Abby put her hands lovingly around Peyton’s neck.

What was there not to love about Klchak as the Nightstalker? He was a writer, he fought monsters and the first Nightstalker movie took place in Seattle, Washington. I took that as a sign and asked for a typewriter for Christmas.

So there you have it- my favorite shows as a kid and the WHY. I hope  you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane!

Must See TV

/ animar64 / 4 Comments

When I was growing up in the late 60’s and early 70’s my favorite TV shows were Dark Shadows, Star Trek, The Avengers and Wild Wild West.

Out of that lot Star Trek had the biggest impact on me because that’s where I found my love of science and nursed a dream of flying a space ship one day.

But the show that was closest to my heart was Nightmare Theatre.

Starting when I was almost five, every Friday night I would park myself in front of our TV with my stuffed Snoopy, a bowl of popcorn and I would wait for the Count to rise from his Coffin and show me a movie that was guaranteed to scare me out of my five year old brain.

How bad did those movies scare me?

We used to live in an old spooky looking house and my bedroom at the time was upstairs.In order to get to it I had to walk up a scary set of stairs and through an unfinished attic to my bedroom. Some nights I never made it up the stairs because I was sure that whatever monster I had seen on TV was waiting for me in closet which- true story- I wouldn’t use. I never opened that door. I used to shove my close under my bed to avoid using it. Anyway. I would fall asleep on the stairs.

Then one Friday night after seeing a particularly disturbing film, on my trip to bed I had this picture of the  Count and His Coffin at the top of my attic stairs and I could  see his coffin open and clear as being able to see my own face in the bathroom mirror I saw him sit up  and….

I wasn’t afraid to finish my trip up the stairs, through the spooky attic to my bedroom.

I loved the Count to pieces- seriously. I was a fan and keep in mind my Dad’s family started to watch Nightmare Theatre when it first aired in 1964 and that is the  year I was born. So he was a family hero and we all loved him.

Here’s some info on The Count- The Vampire who scared  the  Monsters in my attic away and helped me learn to not be afraid of the dark- indeed- he taught me to enjoy it.

Joe Towey- ” The Count “

From Wikipedia: Nightmare Theatre was one of the more prominent late-night horror programs of the 1960s and 1970s. During its fourteen-year run, this show introduced several generations of television viewers to the horror films of yesteryear, across the Pacific Northwest. Created and starring Joe Towey  and produced by Seattle-based KIRO-TV, and utilizing much of the same cast and crew as the similarly popular The J.P. Patches Show Nightmare Theatre reached an audience that stretched as far north as Alaska, as far east as Idaho, and south into Oregon, as well as Canada] Its residential horror host, Joe Towey (The Count) – , has accrued a cult following over the years, much in the same vein as his make-up laden peers Maila Nurmi (“Vampira”), John Zacherle (“Zacherley”), and Cassandra Peterson (“Elvira”).

Joe Towey– The Count ( from Wikepedia )

After the show ended in 1978, Joe continued to make live appearances as The Count for such special events as parties and charity auctions in Washington State, usually alongside longtime friend and partner-in-crime Chris Wedes aka J.P. Patches.[1] (Chris made at least one guest appearance on Nightmare Theatre, but he never directed the show as some sources erroneously claim.) Towey died in 1989 at the age of 55, having been in ill health for more than a year. During his thirty-year stay at KIRO-TV, Joe Towey received two Emmy Awards for his work as director on The J.P. Patches Show, and another for set designer on Nightmare Theatre.

Joseph C Towey BIRTH 18 May 1933 DEATH 9 Apr 1989 (aged 55) Seattle, King County, Washington, USA BURIAL Holyrood Cemetery Shoreline, King County, Washington, USA

RIP Joe Towey

You were a bright spot in my childhood.