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The Bowman Body hosted horror movies on three different channels for more than 20 years in Virginia, but most people remember his Shock! Theatre days in the Richmond market on WXEX (now WRIC). His Friday night ratings even beat Johnny Carson and the Tonight Show's regional ratings.
The character, played by broadcasting veteran, Bill Bowman, first appeared in the summer of 1970 for a week long "Horror Film Festival" but was so popular that the show became a permanent fixture. It ran in Richmond through most of 1976 and was reborn as Cobweb Theatre in Charlottesville from 1977-78 when Bill Bowman took a job in with WNVC in Northern Virginia. From approximately 1982-1987, he appeared again in Monsterpiece Theatre.
Since then he's been the subject of two documentaries, hosted new episodes on DVD, made uncounted public appearances. Welcome to the site!
B&W photos courtesy of Charles Allen Sugg
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Bill Bowman, known to many for his movie host persona, The Bowman Body, is facing an extreme hardship right now, and he needs immediate help. He will not ask for himself, so we humbly ask for your aid on his behalf.
Despite a lifetime of working and responsible saving, massive medical debt and life expenses have pushed Bill Bowman to financial ruin at 87 years of age. In less than one year, Bill has endured the loss of his wife, multiple injuries and surgeries, rehab, hospice, compiling debts and most recently, Covid-19.
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