THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US!Bob Wilkins' "Creature Features" Returns!Tuesday, October 13 • San Francisco

THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US!
BOB WILKINS' CREATURE FEATURES RETURNS!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13 @ 7:00 PM
BALBOA THEATER, SAN FRANCISCO

Go back in time! A complete 1973 Bob Wilkins "Creature Features" show with original show segments, TV commercials, guest interview with Forrest J. Ackerman, and feature film "Creature Walks Among Us" all on the big screen! The third film in the "Creature From The Black Lagoon" series finds the Gillman terrorizing San Francisco. The only safe place to be on Tuesday will be at the Balboa Theatre for this special "Creature Features" event. The first "complete" 1970's "Creature Features" screened in 30 years! Don't miss it this time as it will only be shown once and will never be released on DVD! Free movie posters for new horror films will be given away at the door! Hosted by former "Creature Features" host, author John Stanley!

• See the Event Trailer on Youtube!
• Click here for Advance Tickets!

WILKINS, TSUBURAYA & RAGONE @ WONDERCON February 27th-March 1st • San Francisco

Commemorative Bob Wilkins poster by Mr. Lobo.

WonderCon returns to the Moscone Center in San Francisco, brought to you by the madmen behind the massive San Diego Comic Con International! This year, I will be hosting my usual Japanese Superheroes Now! presentation, as well as a behind-the-scenes journey to the Golden Age of Toho's kaiju eiga with Godzilla and the Master of Monsters. I also will be sitting in on a presentation on the late Horror Host Bob Wilkins, and there will be a special screening of the documentary Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong. Hopefully I can squeeze a book signing in, too!

• Friday, February 27th
5:30-7:00 WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG
For 14 years (1971-1984) Creature Features was one of the most popular programs in San Francisco Bay Area television history, hosted by the late Bob Wilkins for eight years (followed by John Stanley for another six). Wilkins' sharp wit and unusually droll humor and Stanley's celebrity interviews and encyclopedic knowledge are all part of Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong, a feature-length documentary illuminating a bygone era of local television. Watch Horror Films also features interviews with Wilkins, Stanley, and other key figures — not to mention classic clips from the show! Room 220

• Saturday, February 28th
2:30-3:30 JAPANESE SUPERHEROES NOW: 2009!
Author August Ragone (Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) returns for his 15th anniversary roundup of the latest superhero and kaiju productions from Japan: Kamen Rider Decade, Samurai Task Force: Shinkenger, Superior 8 Ultra Brothers and Ultra Galaxy: Giant Monster Battle Neo. Plus, see clips from recent stateside DVD releases, including Gamera the Brave, Inazuman, Super Robot: Red Baron, Kitaro, and more! Room 236/238

• Sunday, March 1st
3:00-4:00 A TRIBUTE TO BOB WILKINS
Join John Stanley, Bob Shaw, Rob Wilkins, Mr. Lobo, Ernie Fosselius, Tom Wyrsch and August Ragone for an information-packed journey through the life and career of the late Bob Wilkins, host of the Bay Area's mega-popular Creature Features horror movie show (1971-1979). The panel will share personal memories about Wilkins and show rare video clips and photos, as well as introduce scenes from the newly released DVD documentary, Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong, which examines the history of one of the Bay Area's most beloved television legends. Room 220

4:00-5:00 GODZILLA AND THE MASTER OF MONSTERS
Author August Ragone (Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) presents a visual tribute to Japan's Master of Monsters, Eiji Tsuburaya, the man who created the special effects for Godzilla and invented the kaiju eiga (giant monster movie) genre. See over a hundred rare, behind-the-scenes photographs from some of his major films, such as Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, all in one big presentation! Room 220

Check out the WonderCon link for a full listing of their guests, events and programs.

TONIGHT ONLY! "CREATURE FEATURES" RETURNS Don't You Dare Miss This Event Tonight in Oakland!

Classic Bob Wilkins in the mid-1970s. Has it really been that long?

WATCH HORROR FILMS—KEEP AMERICA STRONG is the new feature-length documentary all about San Francisco's fondly remembered program CREATURE FEATURES (1971-1984) is having it's world premiere — TONIGHT ONLY — at the amazing Grand Lake Theater in Oakland, CA (right across the Bay from San Francisco). This premiere event is a benefit for the "Bob Wilkins Alzheimer's Fund" to help our much beloved Horror Host with the care he needs. This man was my hero as a kid, and if you remember the show, please try to make it out — but if you can't make it, you may send in donations directly to the fund via the official Bob Wilkins website.

See last month's related story "The CREATURE FEATURES Documentary!" for more details!

AUGUST RAGONE VS. JOHN STANLEY Giant Against Giant... The Ultimate Battle!

On Saturday, April 26th @ 2:00 pm, I will be appearing with author, columnist, filmmaker and former "Creature Features" host, John Stanley at Clayton Books in Clayton, California, for a monstrous double-feature book signing event. It's giant against giant in the ultimate struggle for supremacy of the world!



As a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. John Stanley covered the science fiction, fantasy, and horror scene for more than thirty years, and has authored a fistfull of books, including several editions of the lauded "Creature Features Movie Guide," which Leonard Maltin called "A must", even as Fangoria magazine called John, "The Leonard Maltin of Horror."

John will be appearing to bask in the glory of his recent magnum opus, "I Was a TV Horror Host" — a star-studded overview of the radio, film and television horror host, highlighted by a detailed behind-the-scenes look at his own journey on "Creature Features." As the legendary Ray Bradbury so aptly put it, "Everybody should read this book! EVERYBODY!"

And that means YOU!

Clayton Books is located at 5433 D Clayton Road, Clayton, CA 94517 (just past Walnut Creek on Ygnacio Valley Road). Call 925-673-3325 for more information.

WATCH HORROR FILMS, KEEP AMERICA STRONG The CREATURE FEATURES Documentary!

UPDATE: DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND, A SECOND SHOW HAS BEEN ADDED AT 10:00 PM. BE SURE TO GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY — YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS HISTORIC CELEBRATION OF "CREATURE FEATURES" (or the creature's going to get you tonight)!

The World Premiere Benefit Screening of WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG for the Bob Wilkins Foundation will be screening on Thursday, May 15th at 7:00 PM & 10:00 PM at the historic Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Avenue Oakland, California.

Produced by Tom Wyrsch (author of "Bob Wilkins Scrapbook") and written and directed by Michael Monahan (Associate producer of "American Scary"), WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG is a new, feature-length documentary blending newly filmed interviews with crew, family and fans, with rare footage unseen since originally aired, celebrating the unique and lasting contributions of legendary "Creature Features" hosts Bob Wilkins and John Stanley to San Francisco Bay Area broadcasting.

An affectionate tribute to a special time and place, and to the special people who entertained and inspired a generation of entranced viewers, WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG recalls a strange and wonderful era of locally-produced television. To this day, KTVU’s "Creature Features" (1971–1984) remains the most-loved, best-remembered local program in Bay Area history. “Watch Horror Films — Keep America Strong!” was the rallying cry of host Bob Wilkins as he lured unsuspecting audiences into viewing the type of film usually found clinging to the bottom of the cinematic barrel. After eight years, Bob passed the torch onto San Francisco Chronicle film critic, John Stanley.

Special guests attending the gala premiere of WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG will include "Creature Features" host John Stanley, Sally Wilkins (the wife of Bob Wilkins), Bob Shaw (associate producer of "Creature Features"), Ernie Fosselius (the genius behind "Hardware Wars"), August Ragone (author of "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters") – with more special guests to be announced.

In recent years, Bob Wilkins has struggled with the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Proceeds from WATCH HORROR FILMS — KEEP AMERICA STRONG will go directly to the Bob Wilkins Foundation to assist in his care. The event is being presented by Creatures At Large.

This is a great cause, Bob Wilkins was a big part of my young life and I was lucky to be a part of his, and so I urge all those who ever wanted to thank Bob for all those great years of "Creature Features" and "Captain Cosmic" to attend, as well as anyone who fondly remembers the "Good Old Days" of San Francisco Bay Area television.

Plus, you get to roast me for my rambling and mumbling interview in the film! Now, you have no excuse to not attend!