SUPERNATURAL THEATRE

BILL MILLER - "THE GREAT ZUCCHINI"

"Supernatural Theatre" was a hosted horror movie show with Bill Miller as "The Great Zucchini" at 11:00 pm (initially) on WDCA Channel 20, Washington, D.C. from 27 May 1967 until 5 September 1970. As a character, Zucchini was foul tempered and abusive to Waldo (whom he called a "boob") and the audience (aka, "boobies"). He menaced the screen with a cane and frequently hatched schemes befitting a bitter and twisted mind. According to a remembrance published in Scary Monsters issue 30, he plotted to create a death ray to aim at channel 9 and 7 and in another episode gave intentionally bad romantic advice to his "broken hearts" club. This article also mentions that he was forever trying to escape the station where he was apparently locked in. Portrait of "The Great Zucchini" by Dave Dunlap.

Portrait of "The Great Zucchini" by Bradley Beard.
"The Great Zucchini" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"

His past is a shattered memory; like the fragments of the bottles he loved to smash. Today I present The Great Zucchini, host of Supernatural Theatre on WDCA-TV Channel 20 in Washington, D.C., which ran from 1968 to 1970. The Great Zucchini was once a renowned vaudeville performer and magician. He didn't foresee an anxious audience that turned rabid when his act went sour; they turned up the heat and torched the theatre while Zucchini went down in flames. Horribly disfigured, the Great Zucchini was forced to exist in the catacombs beneath the TV station. He brandished a cane that he wielded with demented fury. He was also known to belittle and torment his trusted assistant Waldo. In 1970, it was reported that Bill Miller AKA The Great Zucchini was fired when he asked the TV station for a raise which left his fans with little more than a shattered memory. In 2016, Bill Miller - "The Great Zuccini" for "Supernatural Theatre", was inducted into "The Official Horror Host Hall of Fame". There are no known clips from the show.

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