SATURDAY THEATER

C.J. THOMPSON
MIDNIGHT

"Saturday Theater" was a hosted horror movie show with C.J. Thompson as host; screening on WSLS-TV Channel 10 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA between February 1963 and February 1965. It replaced "Family Theater" in 1963. For more information on "Family Theater" use the below link: C.J. THOMPSON & MIDNIGHT From Virginia Creepers: From February 1963 to February 1965, C. J. "Tiny" Thompson hosted the Saturday afternoon horror and sci-fi movie show known as "Saturday Theater" on WSLS 10 in Roanoke, Virginia. The show aired in the late afternoon, starting at 6:00 pm for the first year and then switching over to a 5:30 start time to accommodate new programming before switching back to a more "family" oriented movie. Thompson said he remembered little from the show with the exception of a few things. First, his co-host was a Mynah bird named "Midnight" and he wore a trademark white jacket was a professional necessity as Midnight spent a lot of time on his shoulder. Otherwise the studio was simply bare walls with the lights dimmed save for the spotlight that framed him and the bird. The bird was very popular at the station and actually lived with Thompson and his family. Midnight got more fan mail than Thompson and appeared on other shows as well including the one that got him in hot water. Apparently, the bird spent a lot of time at the station and not everyone treated him with respect. Thompson recalled that people got in the habit of telling him to "Go to Hell" on a regular basis and he soon picked up the phrase which he debuted on Club Quiz. It was his last appearance on that show. Thompson also recalled that one of the sponsors was a local ice cream company. They had trouble with promos because the ice cream had a tendency to melt under the hot lights and between host segments and looked rather unappetizing. To solve the problem, a station artist sculpted a bowl of ice cream with a scooper from white modeling clay. Apparently, no one told Thompson who told the audience how delicious the product was and took a big bite, which made him gag instantly. The show fared very well with kids showing relatively recent creature features like Attack of the Crab Monsters and The Brain from Planet Arous. However, every August the show would change programming and run dramas for four weeks before returning to horror and sci-fi. No one could recall why. The program wrapped its final episode in February on 1965, and Thompson returned to his hometown of Bluefield, WV and worked a long broadcasting career at WHIS, now WVVA, channel 6. Tiny Thompson passed away November 6, 2012 at the age of 80. There are no known clips from the show.

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Saturday Theater"

Virginia Creepers "Saturday Theater"

Internet Movie Data Base "C.J. Thompson"

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