BOWMAN BODY'S SHOCK THEATRE FILMOGRAPHY!
Hi there, horror movie fans!
While the Bowman Body has done a lot of different versions of his show, his first claim to fame was on Petersburg's "Big 8," WXEX TV beginning in the summer of 1970. The station had acquired the Screen Gems “Shock!” and “Son of Shock!” packages which featured the 72 classic (and some not so classic) Universal horror films including Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. In June of 1970, Bill Bowman gave form to the Bowman Body.
The first year featured a few weeknight “horror film festivals,” but the station had no idea how many people were watching until the September shows when Bowman casually mentioned that if fans liked the program they should write in because otherwise he’d be “selling hotdogs on Virginia Beach.” Hundreds of letters came in including one from the College of William and Mary with over 400 signatures.
The show had a Halloween special (see below) and then a seven day run in November before going on the air every Friday night starting in February of the following year. Many fans remember the Bowman Body theme song that mentions “every Saturday night,” reflecting the show’s occaisional change of night. Air times shifted somewhat too and there was a brief hiatus in 1973 when Bill Bowman went to WVIR in Charlottesville to help get the station off the ground before returning to the Richmond airwaves . . . largely because the public demanded it.
The list you see here is based on research of TV schedules printed in the Richmond Times Dispatch. These are probably 95% accurate, but such info was not a top priority at any given newspaper. Additionally, schedules might be cut short if space on the page was too tight. In some places, therefore, you will see “No Info.” And in a few spots, other events, like holidays and special coverage displaced the show. Finally, there were double features sometimes, but no records exist.
And oh yeah . . . about Halloween 1970. More than one person attests to this, even though the paper shows no record, so we are going with the fans. . The most vocal of them is Wayne Lumpkin, who wrote:
“As a 12 year old kid in 1970 I was ate up with monsters and ghosts. I enjoyed Shock Theatre and the Bowman Body when I first saw him that year in June. Sometime around the last week of October I found out Shock Theatre was going to air "A Special Halloween Shock Double Feature" Saturday night at 11:30 October 31st. I was excited, mainly because it was 2 treats for me......I got to listen to the first 30 minutes of Richmond Revisited on WLEE 1480 AM radio and then to watch the Bowman Body.I could never find any newspaper ads for the event so maybe it was a last minute decision by the powers that be at WXEX (just a guess) Anyway, it aired and I got to record the audio (terrible thou it sounded) I know the first feature was The Mummy but for the life of me I can’t remember the second feature. My recording has Bowman Body with a little assistant named Barkley and they both read the names of people who wrote in with many, many requests for his appearance. (BARKLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!...IF YOU'RE OUT THERE LET US KNOW SO WE CAN FILL THIS VOID) Bowman also mentioned the wild time he had at the Halloween frolic in Colonial Heights early that week and ended the night by saying Shock Theatre would return in November 1970.”
1970
Monday 06-22-70 THE RAVEN
Tuesday 06-23-70 THE BLACK CAT
Wednesday 06-23-70 THE MUMMY
Thursday 06-23-70 THE INVISIBLE MAN
Friday 06-23-70 FRANKENSTEIN
Monday 07-20-70 DRACULA
Tuesday 07-21-70 DRACULA'S DAUGHTER
Wednesday 07-22-70 THE WOLF MAN
Thursday 07-23-70 FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN
Friday 07-24-70 SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
Monday 07-27-70 HOUSE OF HORRORS
Tuesday 07-28-70 MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE
Wednesday 07-29-70 THE INVISIBLE RAY
Thursday 07-30-70 NIGHTMARE
Friday 07-31-70 MAN MADE MONSTER
Monday 09-07-70 THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS
Tuesday 09-08-70 MUMMY'S GHOST
Wednesday 09-09-70 THE SHEWOLF OF LONDON
Thursday 09-10-70 SON OF DRACULA
Friday 09-11-70 WEREWOLF OF LONDON
Monday 11-22-70 4-D MAN
Tuesday 11-23-70 HUMAN DUPLICATORS
Wednesday 11-24-70 THE BLOB
Thursday 11-25-70 THE GORGON
Friday 11-26-70 THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. RX
Saturday 11-27-70 NIGHT KEY
Sunday 11-28-70 MAD DOCTOR OF MARKET STREET
1971: Friday @ 11:30
2-19-71
2-26-71
3-5-71
3-12-71
3-19-71
3-26-71
4-2-71
4-9-71
4-16-71
4-23-71
4-30-71
5-7-71
5-14-71
5-21-71
5-28-71
6-6-71
6-11-71
6-18-71
6-25-71
7-2-71
7-9-71
7-16-71
7-23-71
7-30-71
8-6-71
8-13-71
8-20-71
8-27-71
9-3-71
9-10-71
9-17-71
9-24-71
10-1-71
10-8-71
10-15-71
10-22-71
10-29-71
11-5-71
11-12-71
11-19-71
11-26-71
12-3-71
12-10-71
12-17-71
12-24-71
12-31-71
THE MUMMY'S TOMB
NIGHT MONSTER
THE MAD GHOUL
THE SPIDER
HORROR ISLAND
SEALED LIPS
CALLING DR. DEATH
DEADMAN'S EYES
THE MUMMY'S HAND
THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM
WEIRD WOMAN
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
PILLOW OF DEATH
THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD
SECRET OF THE CHATEAU
CAT CREEPS
MYSTERY OF THE WHITE ROOM
DESTINATION UNKNOWN
CHINATOWN SQUAD
X FROM OUTER SPACE
MYSTERIOUS MR. MOTO
THE GORGON
CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB
NO INFO--"SHOCK THEATRE" LISTED AT 12:30
THE TRUNK
MR. MOTO'S GAMBLE
MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE
IT'S ALIVE
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
13 FRIGHTENED GIRLS
MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD
WEREWOLF OF LONDON
THE INVISIBLE MAN
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE
NIGHT MONSTER
THE BLACK CAT
THE MUMMY
FRANKENSTEIN
DRACULA
THE WOLF MAN
SHE WOLF OF LONDON
MAN MADE MONSTER
THE INVISIBLE RAY
DEAD MAN'S EYES
THE CAT CREEPS
NEW YEAR'S EVE-NO MOVIE
The Gorgon (Trailer) (
"I NEVER HEARD OF THAT MOVIE . . .?"
While the Bowman Body was memorable, not all the films he showed were, and you will notice some puzzling titles. Some, like Chinatown Squad and The Cat Creeps, were part of the original Shock! package because they were mysteries and apparently, that was close enough. Also included were Universal "Inner Sanctum" mysteries featuring Lon Chaney, Jr. giving us such terrifying titles as Pillow of Death. But the contract required rotation of the films, so WXEX couldn't just run Frankenstein when ever they wanted. So the station borrowed horror, mystery and sci-fi titles from other general movie packages it owned which explains things like The Mysterious Mr. Moto, X From Outer Space and the occaisional gem, like The Gorgon.
1972: Friday @ 11:30
1-7-72
1-14-72
1-21-72
1-28-72
2-4-72
2-11-72
2-18-72
2-25-72
3-3-72
3-10-72
3-17-72
3-24-72
3-31-72
4-7-72
4-14-72
4-21-72
4-28-72
5-5-72
5-12-72
5-19-72
5-26-72
6-2-72
6-9-72
6-16-72
6-23-72
6-30-72
7-7-72
7-14-72
7-21-72
7-28-72
8-4-72
8-11-72
8-18-72
8-25-72
9-1-72
9-8-72
9-15-72
9-22-72
9-29-72
MURDER IN THE BLUE ROOM
SPIDER WOMAN STRIKES BACK
NIGHT KEY
CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN
HOUSE OF DRACULA
THE MUMMY'S HAND
SON OF DRACULA
HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE INVISIBLE MAN
THE MUMMY'S CURSE
THE FROZEN GHOST
HORROR ISLAND
THE RAVEN
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE
THESE ARE THE DAMNED
THE GORGON
FRANKENSTEIN VS. THE SPACE MONSTER
4-D MAN
HUMAN DUPLICATORS
THE BLOB
DINOSAURUS
CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB
MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE
VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS
NIGHT MONSTER
BLACK CAT
FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD
THE INVISIBLE MAN
THE MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD
MURDER IN THE RUE MORGUE
INVISIBLE RAY
CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN
SHE WOLF OF LONDON
RETURN OF THE GIANT MONSTERS
HOUSE OF DRACULA
THE WOLF MAN
THE BODY SNATCHER
CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE
NO INFO: Shock Theater moves to 12:30 *
1972: Friday @ 12:30
* In late September, the show moved to 12:30 AM (technically Saturday) and Playboy After Dark reruns then Perry Mason took the 11:30 slot. Also, on Halloween (a Tuesday), WXEX ran The Creeping Unknown. It is unclear whether or not Bowman hosted . . .
10-6-72
10-13-72
10-20-72
10-27-72
11-3-72
11-10-72
11-17-72
11-24-72
12-1-72
12-8-72
12-15-72
12-22-72
12-29-72
BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN
FACE OF MARBLE
I BURY THE LIVING
I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE
HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE LIVING GHOST
PHAROH'S CURSE
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE
SON OF DRACULA
7TH VICTIM
GOG
MAN FROM PLANET X
VOODOO ISLAND
1973: Friday @ 11:30
1-5-73
1-12-73
1-19-74
1-26-74
THE APE
THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD
THE MANSTER
IT, THE TERROR FROM OUTER SPACE
From January 27-May 18, 1973, Shock Theater was off the air. ABC launched a show called ABC's Wide World of Entertainment, in early January and WXEX more or less had to start carrying it. Every other week they had a multi-artist "concert" and carried oddities during the off-weeks like Monty Python's Flying Circus. The fans were not happy . . .
During this period, Bill Bowman was helping establish a new station in Charlottesville, WVIR. At the time, it was the smallest market in the country and had never had a television station. Most of the people involved had no television experience at all and Bill was instrumental in getting the fledgling station aloft. This kept him occupied until mid-summer.
In the meantime, management looked for a way to get Shock Theatre back on the air. On Saturday nights, WXEX ran Rollin' (aka Rollin' Down the River), a syndicated musical variety show hosted by Kenny Rodgers. When the contract ran out in May, Shock Theatre returned. For a short period, station artist Reed Wolliver hosted as "Count Drac." Wolliver (who passed away in March 2020) had appeared on the show with Bill in various roles including Count Drac. His most infamous moment came when he reclined in a metal lawn chair which collapsed and he unleashed a spray of profanity . . . which they forgot to edit out.
Bill Bowman in the center poses for a promotional pic for the new station he helped set in motion, WVIR 29.
1973: Saturday @ 12:30
5-19-73
5-26-73
6-2-73
6-9-73
6-16-73
6-23-73
6-30-73
7-7-73
7-14-73
7-21-73
7-28-73
8-4-73
8-11-73
8-18-73
8-25-73
9-1-73
9-8-73
9-15-73
9-22-73
9-29-73
10-6-73
10-13-73
10-20-73
10-27-73
11-3-73
11-10-73
11-17-73
11-24-73
12-1-73
12-8-73
12-15-73
12-22-73
12-29-73
THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD)
THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN
THE MUMMY'S GHOST
DRACULA
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE MUMMY'S TOMB
SON OF DRACULA
HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE MUMMY'S HAND
FRANKENSTEIN
WEREWOLF OF LONDON
GHOST OF FRANKENSTIEN
THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE
THE LOST MISSLE
THE BODY SNATCHER
SON OF KONG
THE BEAST WITH 5 FINGERS
VOODOO ISLAND
BEDLAM
THE CAT PEOPLE
ISLE OF THE DEAD
DESTINATION MOON
MAN FROM PLANET X
DIE, DIE MY DARLING
THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD
THE WALKING DEAD
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
INVISIBLE WOMAN
MUMMY'S CURSE
1974: Saturday @ 12:15
1-5-74
1-12-74
1-19-74
1-26-74
2-2-74
2-9-74
2-16-74
2-23-74
3-2-74
3-9-74
3-16-74
3-23-74
3-30-74
4-6-74
4-13-74
4-20-74
4-27-74
5-4-74
5-11-74
5-18-74
5-25-74
6-1-74
6-8-74
6-15-74
6-22-74
6-29-74
7-6-74
7-13-74
7-20-74
7-27-74
8-3-74
8-10-74
8-17-74
8-24-74
8-31-74
9-7-74
9-14-74
9-21-74
9-28-74
10-05-74
10-12-74
10-19-74
10-26-74
11-2-74
11-9-74
11-16-74
11-23-74
11-30-74
12-7-74
12-14-74
12-21-74
12-28-74
HOUSE OF DRACULA
THE RAVEN
THE MUMMY'S GHOST
DRACULA
THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS
GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN
THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB
THE BLOB
4-D MAN
INVISIBLE MAN
THE MUMMY
TERROR IS A MAN
DONOVAN'S BRAIN
IT! TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
BRIGHTON STRANGLER
7TH VICTIM
CURSE OF DRACULA
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE RACE TRACK
DEAD MAN'S EYES
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA
INVISIBLE AGENT
CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OLYMPICS
PILLOW OF DEATH
CHARLIE CHAN ON BROADWAY
HOUSE OF HORRORS
CHARLIE CHAN IN ROME
JUNGLE CAPTIVE
CHARLIE CHAN IN THE DESERT
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER
CHARLIE CHAN IN EGYPT
THE CRIME OF DR. HALLET
MARK OF THE VAMPIRE
THE MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET
THE FLAME BARRIER
FRANKENSTEIN
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN
THE WOLFMAN
THE MUMMY
THE MUMMY'S TOMB
THE MUMMY'S GHOST
THE MUMMY'S CURSE
THE MUMMY'S HAND
KING KONG
SON OF KONG
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG
THE THING
THE MAN FROM PLANET X
SHE WOLF OF LONDON
WEREWOLF OF LONDON
1975: Saturday @ 12:15
1-4-75
1-11-75
1-18-75
1-25-75
2-1-75
2-8-75
2-15-75
2-22-75
3-1-75
3-8-75
3-15-75
3-22-75
3-29-75
4-5-75
4-12-75
4-19-75
4-26-75
5-3-75
5-10-75
5-17-75
5-24-75
5-31-75
6-7-75
6-14-75
6-21-75
6-28-75
7-5-75
7-12-75
7-19-75
7-26-75
8-2-75
8-9-75
8-16-75
8-23-75
8-30-75
9-6-75
9-13-75
9-20-75
9-27-75
10-4-75
10-11-75
10-18-75
10-25-75
11-1-75
11-8-75
11-15-75
11-22-75
11-29-75
12-6-75
12-13-75
12-20-75
12-27-75
1-3-76
THE MAD GHOUL
MAN MADE MONSTER
BLACK FRIDAY
INVISIBLE RAY
MURDER AT THE RUE MORGUE
NIGHT MONSTER
THE BEAST WITH 5 FINGERS
OCTAMAN
ISLAND OF LIVING HORROR
CURSE OF THE VAMPIRES
DECOY FOR TERROR
TOMB OF THE LIVING DEAD
CREATURE'S REVENGE
VAMPIRE PEOPLE
TOWER OF TERROR
INN OF FRIGHTENED PEOPLE
BEAST OF THE DEAD
DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE
BLOOD LEGACY
LEMORA: LADY DRACULA
GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE
THE LAST WAR
GORATH
CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB
THE BLOB
HUMAN DUPLICATORS
WALKING DEAD
MAGNETIC MONSTER
THE MANSTER
No Movie--Democratic National Telethon
FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE
CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN
RED PLANET MARS
THE BODY SNATCHER
IT: THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE
THE LAST MISSILE
BLACK SLEEP
THE NEANDERTHAL MAN
INVISIBLE INVADERS
KING OF THE ZOMBIES
REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES
GOG
I BURY THE LIVING
CURSE OF DRACULA
LIVING GHOST
VOODOO ISLAND
RETURN OF DR. X
CREEPING UNKNOWN
RIDERS TO THE STARS
THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE
THE MUMMY'S TOMB
NIGHT MONSTER
INVISIBLE AGENT
1976: FRIDAY @ 12:00
Records indicate that Shock Theater moved back to Friday nights in 1976 (with the exception of the first weekend--see above). It ended in September. The Screen Gems contract ran out and by the end of the year, Bill Bowman had left WXEX for new opportunties. The last movie shown on Bowman Body's Shock Theatre was I Bury the Living . . . something poetic about that perhaps . . .
1-9-76
1-16-76
1-23-76
1-30-76
2-6-76
2-13-76
2-20-76
2-27-76
3-5-76
3-12-76
3-19-76
3-26-76
4-2-76
4-9-76
4-16-76
4-23-76
5-7-76
5-14-76
5-21-76
5-28-76
6-4-76
6-11-76
6-18-76
6-25-76
7-2-76
7-9-76
7-16-76
7-23-76
7-30-76
8-6-76
8-13-76
8-20-76
8-27-76
9-3-76
9-10-76
INVISIBLE WOMAN
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG
BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS
THE BODY SNATCHER
KING KONG
SON OF KONG
THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD
FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS
MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE
DINOSAURUS
THESE ARE THE DAMNED
ISLE OF THE DEAD
THE PHAROH'S CURSE
TERROR IS A MAN
DONOVAN'S BRAIN
THE THING (note: 1 am . . . Kentucky Derby delay)
DESTINATION MOON
THE WALKING DEAD
FACE OF MARBLE
THE LIVING GHOST
RED PLANET MARS / MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (double)
THE CREEPING UNKNOWN
THE FLAME BARRIER
THE MANSTER
BLACK FRIDAY
CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN
MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1 am--football delay)
NIGHT MONSTER
INVISIBLE RAY
THE APE
FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE
THE NEANDERTHAL MAN
INVISIBLE INVADERS
I BURY THE LIVING
