GORGON'S GHOULISH GALLOW-RY

NIGHTMARE attempted to draw viewers into the movies it presented by using settings and props based on the week's feature. Although working on a tight budget, the KFJZ staff was was dedicated to making the show as effective as possible. Here, using pictures taken from the only surviving tapes of the show and photo's from Bill Camfield's scrapbook, we present an array of sets and props used on NIGHTMARE for various films.

Looking back, it's impossible to overestimate the impact that KFJZ-TV's NIGHTMARE had on me personally. It was the show that introduced me to the classic horror movies which have remained a major passion of my life. I probably would have been hooked on monsters if I had seen them stripped of all the locally produced extras, but I can't possibly imagine a better way to have experienced the classic horror films for the first time than wrapped inside the loving package that was NIGHTMARE. I'll always be grateful that I grew up when and where I did and that I was fortunate enough to have someone as talented and creative as Bill Camfield around to help make my childhood a little more memorable.

The Many Faces of Bill Camfield

Although horror fans may remember him best as Gorgon on NIGHTMARE, there's no doubt that Bill Camfield's most famous TV character was Icky Twerp, host of KFJZ's classic kids' show Slam-Bang Theater which ran on the station from 1959 through 1972. As proprietor of the theater, Icky Twerp presided over the antics of a host of zany characters including his crew of apes in slapstick routines reminiscent of the comedy of Ernie Kovaks. Slam-Bang Theater was the home of the Three Stooges short subjects. The Stooges, like the vintage Universal Monsters of the SHOCK package, were experiencing huge renewed popularity due to the release of heir films to television.

For The Three Stooges' last film The Outlaws Is Coming , local kids' show personalities were featured as the outlaws. Kiddie stars across the country whose shows featured the Stooges bid farewell to their young fans for a few weeks and went to Hollywood to appear with the kings of slapstick in their new movie. It was a clever gimmick that assured that every kid in all the major markets would go to the movie to see their local celebrities on the big screen. Bill Camfield appeared in the film as Wyatt Earp. Camfield jokingly said that one reason he enjoyed working with the Stooges was because all three of them were shorter than he was making him feel tall for the first time.

Another role the versatile Camfield filled at KFJZ in the mid-sixties was as co-host of the station's live daily morning show, Reveille.

Bill toward the end of his life with a now-grownup fan

Special thanks to Paul Camfield for generously allowing Monster Kid access to items from his father's personal scrapbook. Paul has a website devoted to Bill Camfield at www.ickytwerp.com. The video tape from which the NIGHTMARE frames on this site were taken is available through Paul's website. It features almost two hours of Bill Camfield TV moments, including the entire intro and close to the only existing episode of the originalNIGHTMARE.

The Official Bill Camfield Website

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