OFF BEAT CINEMA

TONY BILLONI - "BIRD THE PAINTER"
CONSTANCE CALDWELL - "ZELDA"
EDDY DOBOSIEWICZ - "MAXWELL TRUTH"
JEFFREY ROBERTS - "THEODORE"



From Wikipedia:
"Off Beat Cinema" is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout the United States in late-night time slots. It originated from WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York from its launch on Sunday October 31, 1993 until July 2012. It shifted to local competitor WBBZ-TV on August 4, 2012. "Off Beat Cinema" features a broad range of films described by the show's staff as "the Good, the Bad, the Foreign..." but mostly cult movies such as Night of the Living Dead, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and even more art house fare such as The Third Man in a format not unlike the Creature Double Feature of the 1970s and 1980s. On occasion, a clip show will air featuring episodes of short features (the annual Christmas special follows this format, with another example being the "Night of Superheroes" that included Flash Gordon and Commando Cody serials and the Fleischer Studios Superman shorts). As with most hosted movie programs of its kind, a large portion of Off Beat Cinema's film catalog consists of films that lapsed into the public domain.



Portrait of "Bird the Painter" by Bradley Beard.
"Bird the Painter" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"
He hangs at the Hungry Ear Coffee House where the coffee is always hot & the movies are oh so cool! Tonight I present Bird the Painter, co-host of Off Beat Cinema which began on October 31, 1993 and aired on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, NY and in 2012 began airing on WBBZ-TV in Buffalo, NY. Off Beat Cinema is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout North America on the retroTV Network along with a series of independent stations; visit their website for a complete list of affiliates. OBC promises to show you "the movies that must be shown" - the good, the bad and the foreign (in their original languages, of course!). Bird the Painter is an interpretation from Tony Billoni. This art and entertainment innovator sees Bird in many ways as an exaggerated extension of himself. Given that he has immersed himself in the arts culture for decades and grew up with the likes of Vincent Gallo and Marc Freeland, it is a logical step for Bird to symbolize the stereotypical beatnik artist by tapping into all the characters that he has encountered through his experiences in the abstract ambiance of the arts. For Bird, there are no bad films, only misguided actors. Watch it... you'll dig it!



Portrait of "The Mysterious Zelda" by Bradley Beard.
"The Mysterious Zelda" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"
She's a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Tonight I present The Mysterious Zelda, co-host of Off Beat Cinema which began on October 31, 1993 and aired on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, NY and in 2012 began airing on WBBZ-TV in Buffalo, NY. Off Beat Cinema is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout North America on the retroTV Network along with a series of independent stations; visit their website for a complete list of affiliates. The show is filmed in the Hungry Ear Coffee House, a whacked-out poetry basement located somewhere in downtown Buffalo, NY. It's a mad pad, Dad... the kind of place where Boris Karloff could sit with Ed Wood and discuss the transcendence of the ego and how that applies to Moe Howard getting a cream pie in the face. I think you get the picture. Zelda, as portrayed by actress Constance McEwen Caldwell, is a veteran of the theatre stage who joined the cast of OBC in 1996, and adds some beauty and poise to the coffeehouse. However don't let the cool calm exterior fool you. Behind those shades is a chick that is spirited and fervid. Especially when it comes to film noir and choosing the proper coffee to consume while you radiate in the glow of a black and white cathode ray tube. Heed Zelda's advice and you will soon realize that Godzilla was simply trying to make the world a better place.



Portrait of "Theodore - Cinematic Theologian" by Bradley Beard.
"Theodore - Cinematic Theologian" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)
Dig it Daddy-O but don't blow his bubbles. Tonight I present Theodore – Cinematic Theologian, co-host of Off Beat Cinema which began on October 31, 1993 and aired on WKBW-TV in Buffalo, NY and in 2012 began airing on WBBZ-TV in Buffalo, NY. Off Beat Cinema is a two-hour hosted movie show that airs on television stations throughout North America on the retroTV Network along with a series of independent stations; visit their website for a complete list of affiliates. Theodore, Jeffrey Roberts' alter ego, spent his youth in the darkness of dusty second-run movie houses, soaking up the atmosphere while sticking to the seats. In between scarfing Milk Duds, he became well versed in essential topics like killer shrews, green slime, and Lon Chaney Jr. A promising early career blowing bubbles for The Lawrence Welk Show was cut short when Theodore discovered The Hungry Ear coffee house, where he promptly moved into the attic and went unnoticed for years. Since emerging recently to bestow the lowdown on that week's film du jour with Zelda and Bird, his whereabouts the rest of the time are sketchy, though he can sometimes be found outside of bakeries where he is (in his own words), "waiting for good dough, man. Waiting for good dough..."


The following is a promo for the show:

"Off Beat Cinema" - Promo from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.

LINKS


Internet Movie Data Base
"Off Beat Cinema"

Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist
"The Mysterious Zelda"

Mad Swag
"The Official Off Beat Cinema Store"

Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist
"Bird the Painter"

Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist
"Theodore – Cinematic Theologian"

Wikipedia
"Off Beat Cinema"


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Last modified: April 2023