SHOCK THEATRE

TERRY BENNETT - "MARVIN"
JOY BENNETT - "DEAR"
RONNY BOM - "ORVILLE"
BRUCE NEWTON - "SHORTY"

"Shock Theatre" was a hosted horror show with Terry Bennett as "Marvin" presenting movies on Saturdays at 10:00 pm on WBKB-TV Channel 7 Chicago, Illinois from 7 December 1957 - August 1959. Bennett's new character Marvin the Near-Sighted Madman. Donning thick glasses and a black turtle neck sweater, Bennett found the role difficult to portray, needing three days just to get into the mood. In describing Marvin, Bennett called him confused. "Doesn't everyone get a boot out of hacking off somebody's fingers?" "Marvin had an assistant - "Dear" played by his spouse Joy Bennett. Through ths shows run, "Dear" would never show her face - the faceless victim of Marvin's macabre sense of humor. The show became a great success, spawning a fan club, The Marvin Fan Club, and with phone calls to the Bennett's home in Schiller Park at 4:00am from fans of the show. Letters and presents began to pour in. A young Donald F. Glut and some friends went to Bennett's home to meet him; with Bennett and the boys having their photograph taken together. Glut now is a respected and well known writer, director, paleontologist and musician. For more information on Donald F. Glut use the below link: This popularity would lead to the show being extended. After each movie was screened the new segment, called "The Shocktale Party" would start; with "Marvin" and "Dear" being joined by "Shorty", who resembled the Frankenstein Monster played by Bruce Newton; and Orville, a grotesque character created and portrayed by Ronny Born. The show even had a studio "Shocktale" band called "The Deadbeats". The band performed "lullabies to die for", "cremation concertos" and "music for murder". The Deadbeat band members were: Clay Campbell - drums Russ Crandall - harp Lenny Druss - flute, clarinet & alto saxophone Patrick Ferrari - guitar Sam Porfirio - accordion Harold Siegel - bass Sadly, after a two year illness, Terry Bennett passed away on 12 October 1977. Joy passed away on 15 December 2005 in Tampa, Florida. Portrait of "Marvin" by Dave Dunlap. Portrait of "Marvin" by Bradley Beard. "Marvin" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)" He was the original beatnik horror host. Tonight I present Marvin the Near-Sighted Madman, host of Shock Theatre on WBKB-TV Channel 7 in Chicago, IL, which ran from December 1957 to August 1959. Marvin was brilliantly portrayed by Terry Bennett, who acted as WBKB-TV writer, producer, and on-air promotion director. Bennett originally created, wrote and produced the morning children's program "Jobblewocky Place", which utilized Bennetts' talents as a ventriloquist and his stable of ventriloquist dummy's and hand puppets. Bennett created the character Marvin when WBKB acquired the Shock Theatre package of Universal horror films. The show became so popular that the station extended the show to include "The Shocktale Party" which ran after the movie and featured Marvin, Dear, and 2 new characters Shorty and Orville, as well featuring its own band called "The Deadbeats". The show was eventually cancelled despite a petition signed by thousands of fans calling for a reinstatement of the show. The following are some clips from Marvin at promotional events and more: Shock Theatre hosted by Marvin from The Professor on Vimeo.

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