SHOCK THEATRE

PAUL REYNOLDS - "SHOCK ARMSTRONG"

"Shock Theatre" was a hosted horror movie show host with Paul Reynolds as "Shock Armstrong", The All-American Ghoul. Reynolds hosted the show between 24 September 1964 until April 1967 WTVT, Channel 13 Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Program Director Bob Olson was not ready for the fan reaction to the news of Shock's cancellation. Protestors appeared at Channel 13's doorstep with placards demanding the return of Shock Armstrong! Noting the crowd's feelings, and having nothing better to program at 11:30pm, Olson relented and Reynolds was back in costume. It was a short-lived triumph, however. After 13 years at BIG 13, Reynold's last appearnce as Shock was Friday, 26 January 1968. From 1968, the show continued without a host, with the final episode in 1974. Paul Reynolds: Paul Reynolds was born August 28, 1927 in Tampa. His interest in broadcasting was sparked when a friend involved him in producing a weekly church radio program. The future 'Shock' Armstrong would often take a newspaper to his bedroom and read it aloud to hone his presentation skills. Reynolds graduated from Hillsborough High and in 1946 joined WDAE radio, where he became an associate of another future WTVT legend, 'Salty' Sol Fleischman. Reynolds left Florida to major in speech and languages at Northwestern College while also acting as chief announcer for the school's radio station, KTIS. It was there he met his future wife Connie, who worked in the school's cafeteria and delivered meals to Reynolds during his air shift. Returning to Florida a married man, Reynolds worked briefly for WPIN radio and then served as sports director and disk jockey at Nelson Poynter's WTSP radio station in St. Pete. Paul and Connie started a family, eventually having two daughters, Carol and Alice and a son, Daniel. By the mid 1950's, Reynold's "Million Dollar Bandstand" show, heard at 8:00pm Monday through Friday, was the top-rated disk show in the Tampa Bay area. Reynold's quick wit, likeability, and a talent for voices were always a winning combination. In his spare time, Reynolds displayed a flair for music and played tympani with the St. Petersburg and Clearwater symphony orchestras. At one point, when Reynolds was holding down the 11:00pm to 4:00am night shift at WTSP, he was anointed "Night Mayor" of St. Petersburg by then Mayor Samuel Johnson. When Reynolds joined WTVT in 1955, he would host a number of teen shows between 1955-1960, - "Record Room", "Open House" and "Teen Party". The versatile Reynolds was also a fill-in host for vacationing Mary Ellen. Only then, he was usually under makeup as "Bozo The Clown." This might be the reason that program manager Bob Olson thought of putting Reynolds into costume for "Shock Theatre." After Mary Ellen's departure in early 1964 Reynolds got his own Saturday morning time slot and hosted cartoons in his Bozo persona. Between 1964 until 1968, he was the host of "Shock Theatre" as horror host "Shock Armstrong". Reynolds left the station and moved to Atlanta where he worked as a pioneering consumer ombudsman for WXII-TV, and later WAGA-TV. Unfortunately, Reynold's 'Shock' costume and 'Bozo' outfit were stolen from the Reynold's near-vacant Florida house while apartment hunting in Atlanta. Reynold's career flourished in Atlanta, and viewers back in Tampa Bay consoled themselves with memories of his zany antics on 'Shock Theatre.' Reynolds, who delighted audiences in Florida and Georgia for 40 years, died in 1996. Portrait of "Shock Armstrong" by Bradley Beard. "Shock Armstrong" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)" When TV announcer Paul Reynolds was handed a Frankenstein mask, a University of Tampa football jersey sporting #13, and an order to host horror movies, a legend was born. Today I present Shock Armstrong, host of Shock Theatre on WTVT-TV Channel 13 in Tampa, Florida, which ran from September 25, 1964 to April 1967. The show's opening found Shock asleep in his coffin and an alarm clock with electrodes wired to his neck; the alarm would ring thunderously with Big Ben's bells to awaken him and then the episode would begin. Shock lived in a disheveled attic bedroom and was known for his offbeat antics which included smashing a TV, taunting his neighbors, cuddling up with a tommy gun, and brewing up nuclear dishwater. It was Shock's twisted high jinks that made him immediately identifiable with kids and made the show an instant success. Wake me tomorrow for another episode. There are no known clips from the show:

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Shock Theatre"	Big 13 "Shock Theatre"	Internet Movie Data Base "Paul Reynolds"
Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist "Shock Armstrong"		E-gors Chamber of TV Horror Hosts "Shock Armstrong"

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