CREATURE FEATURE
MYSTIC CIRCLE
SHOCK THEATER


KEN BRAMMING - "DR. LUCIFUR" + "ANNOUNCER"
? - "GRANNY GRUESOME"
? - "FRANTIC FREDDY THE HIPSTER"
? - "BARON VON SLOUCHO"

Ken Bramming was the horror host "Dr. Luucfur for "Shock Theater" on WSIX-TV, Channel 8, Nashville, Tennessee, USA; from November 1958 to April 1967; on Fridays at 10:15 pm; and later moving to Saturdays at 10:30 pm; then "Mystic Circle" on WMCV-TV, (independent) Channel 17, Nashville, Tennessee, USA; on Fridays from October 1968 until November 1969. Bramming was also the pre-recorded Announcer for "Sir Cecil Creape" - "Creature Feature" from 1971-1973, even appearing once on the show as "Dr. Lucifur". To learn more about "Creature Feature", use the below link. Although Bramming sadly passed away in 1997; in 2003 and 2004 "Shock Theater" came back during Thanksgiving on WKRN-TV, using archive footage of Bramming, presenting "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" in 2003 and "House on Haunted Hill" in 2004. From the "Nashville Scene" Nashville's first horror host Dr. Lucifur, debuted on WSIX-Channel 8 (now WKRN-Channel 2) in the summer of 1959. The good (or should that be bad?) doctor was portrayed by Ken Bramming, an announcer for WSIX who had already been doing the voice-over introduction for the Friday-night showing of Shock Theater since its debut on Channel 8 in November 1958. For Dr. Lucifur, Bramming mixed a bit of Bela Lugosi with John Carradine and Vincent Price at their most charming. He created a dapper, silver-haired, suave Transylvanian host dressed in white tie and a black tuxedo, with a black eyepatch and an obvious affection for fine tobacco. A filmed black-and-white intro and outro would run each week with the movie, and the breaks during the actual film would be performed live in the studio. Dr. Lucifur would rarely be seen during the live portions. Instead, much like the short-lived The Continental series parodied by Christopher Walken on SNL, the show was shot "subjectively" from his viewpoint as he interacted with a supporting cast of ne'er-do-wells, including Granny Gruesome, Frantic Freddy the Hipster and Baron Von Sloucho. The skits that Bramming and his compatriots performed rarely had anything to do with the night's feature. They ranged from spoofs on current events (like Dr. Lucifur's campaign for the presidency of Transylvania in the fall of 1960) or parodies of popular TV shows of the day, such as a Batman take-off that featured Nashville restaurateur Mario Ferrari as an Italian-spouting caped crusader. During the first few years of the show's run, Shock Theater was consistently the highest-rated program on Friday and then Saturday late nights in the Nashville viewing area. Ratings continued to be good, but by 1967 both Bramming and WSIX-TV felt the show had run its course. They pulled the plug that spring, with Bramming leaving TV for a career as a radio announcer. Bramming would return as Dr. Lucifur for a brief run on the short-lived first incarnation of Channel 17, WMCV-TV, between October 1968 and November 1969. From then on, he would revive the character on an annual basis for Halloween airings of Orson Welles' 1938 adaptation of The War of the Worlds on radio station WAMB. Bramming passed away on July 7, 1997, but his deep baritone can still be heard every day in the station IDs for WAMB ("Beautiful Music in the Night"). Portrait of "Dr. Lucifur" by Bradley Beard. "Dr. Lucifur" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page) Always a dapper devil, this Nashville nobleman acted as President of Transylvania for 200 years. Today I present Dr. Lucifur, host of Shock Theatre on WSIX-TV Channel 8 in Nashville, TN which ran from November 1958 to April 1967. Dr. Lucifur also hosted Mystic Circle on WMCV-TV Channel 17 in Nashville, TN from October 1968 to November 1969. Dr. Lucifur was portrayed by Ken Bramming, a local Nashville radio broadcaster. Bramming's deep baritone voice was well suited for sending chills down the kiddies spines. Always dressed to kill, he sported a tuxedo and cape, then topped it off with an eye patch and cigarette holder. The Doctor had numerous on-screen companions including Granny Gruesome who once taught the audience how to knit a car out of 1,500 lbs. of steel wool. Bramming later provided the pre-recorded announcer's voice for Sir Cecil Creape's Creature Feature; Creape would make occasional mention his friend Dr. Lucifur on his show. The following are some clips from the show: Shock Theatre hosted by Dr. Lucifur (clips) from The Professor on Vimeo.

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Ken Bramming"	Nashville Scene "NashEvil: From Sir Cecil Creape to Dr. Gangrene A history of Nashville horror hosts"	Internet Movie Data Base "Creature Feature"
Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist "Dr. Lucifur"	E-gors Chamber of TV Horror Hosts "Dr. Lucifur"	Internet Movie Data Base "Shock Theater"
Internet Movie Data Base "Shock Theater"		Internet Movie Data Base "Shock Theater"

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