William Joseph Camfield (June 27, 1929 – September 30, 1991) was a popular
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
personality in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best known as Icky Twerp, host of the kids’ show ''Slam Bang Theatre'', and Gorgon, host of the horror film series ''Nightmare''.
Early life
Camfield was born in
Mineral Wells, Texas
Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census (14,644 in Palo Pinto and 2144 in Parker). The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly popu ...
, the son of a coal miner, Joseph E. Johnston Camfield. Following his father's death in 1935, Camfield and his mother moved to Fort Worth. Camfield graduated from Carter Riverside High School in 1947, and in 1948 went to work as a copy writer for the ad department of Leonard's Department Store. Two years later, the store asked Camfield to write a locally produced television show, “Hometown Harmony.” As he had some performing experience (having appeared in Christmas stage shows with
Paul Jung
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
, the famed
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling) is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Ear ...
clown), Camfield also starred in the show. Following the show's success, the store promoted him to Radio-TV Director, in which capacity he produced and starred in several shows over the next five years, including “Let’s Go Shopping,” “Man about Music,” “Billboard,” and “Meet the Candidate.”
Career
In 1954, Camfield went to work for the newly created independent television station in Fort Worth, KFJZ-TV Channel 11 (now
KTVT
KTVT (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting CBS programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Independent statio ...
), writing advertising copy, creating original programming, and often acting in the programs and commercials he created. For instance, he provided the voice for Hoover the Movie Hound, the puppet co-host of "Million Dollar Matinee," and portrayed Mortimer Moolah on a long-running series of commercials for Texas Consumer Finance. During this time, he also married and started a family, and attended
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...
on a writing scholarship. He graduated from TCU with an English degree in 1957.
In 1957, KFJZ purchased the SHOCK horror film package from
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
and began airing these films (primarily
Universal Horror
Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially concei ...
classics) on Saturday nights. Camfield portrayed the host of the show, Gorgon, an eerie, black-caped character with a sinister laugh. The show was an immediate hit, receiving national attention in magazines such as ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'', and ''
Famous Monsters of Filmland
''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman.
''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publicat ...
''. In 1959, the show went on hiatus, except for annual Halloween specials. In 1962, it was again broadcast on a weekly basis and remained on the air until 1964. Later, in 1972 and 1976, the show was revived for two Halloween specials.
Camfield's other popular character was Icky Twerp (shortened from "Ichamore Twerpwhistle"), host of ''Slam-Bang Theatre'', a morning, before-school kids’ show which presented cartoons and
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
comedies. Icky Twerp was a goofy character in horn-rimmed glasses, striped suit, tousled hair, and an undersized cowboy hat who performed in
slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...
skits with two sidekicks in ape masks, Ajax and Delphinium. (A third ape, Arkadelphia, was added later.) The character acquired legendary status in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and is fondly remembered by his many now grown-up fans, including actor/director
Bill Paxton
William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...
(who used ''Slam-Bang Theatre'' footage in his film ''
Frailty'', a murder mystery set in 1960s Fort Worth) and
underground comics
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
artists
Mack White
Mack White (born December 20, 1952 in Mineral Wells, Texas) is a comics writer and artist who lives in Texas.
Biography
White grew up in North Texas where his father published weekly newspapers in small towns in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, p ...
and
Gary Panter
Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...
'.
In 1965, the Three Stooges invited Camfield, along with several other kids’ show hosts from across the country, to act in their final feature film ''
The Outlaws Is Coming
''The Outlaws Is Coming'' (stylized as ''The Outlaws IS Coming!'') is the sixth and final theatrical comedy starring The Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Jo ...
'' (1965), playing the role of
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...
.
Camfield's Icky Twerp character continued to be regularly seen on Channel 11 until 1972, after which he left Fort Worth to work as promotions director for a television station in Denver, Colorado. Later, he returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to work in sales for KDAF-TV Channel 33. In 1985, he revived the Icky Twerp character on a KDAF show called ''Icky Twerp's Summer Reunion''. With his son, Paul, Camfield performed new skits which were interlaced with summer-themed movies. In 1989, KDAF-TV produced a Slam Bang Theater 30th Anniversary special. Hosted by legendary Dallas-Fort Worth radio and television personality
Ron Chapman
KVIL (103.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''Alt 103.7'') is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station city of license, dual-licensed to Highland Park, Texas, Highland Park and Dallas, Dallas, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dalla ...
, the show was taped before a live audience at the Comedy Corporation in Arlington and included clips from his 30-year career. In addition, the Governor of Texas and the State Legislature passed a proclamation declaring "Icky Twerp Day."
During this time, Camfield also wrote a column about growing up in Mineral Wells for the Mineral Wells Index and for the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' is an American daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
History
In May 1905, Amon G. Carter acc ...
's StarText computer service.
Death
In 1991, Camfield died of brain cancer at his Fort Worth home. After his death, his family established a scholarship for humor and satire in his name at
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...
. His son, Paul, maintains a website in his memory, the Official Icky Twerp Website, which features biographical information, as well as photographs and ephemera from his father's archives; he also makes videotapes of his father's shows available to fans.
In 2001, the Dallas Video Festival posthumously awarded Camfield the
Ernie Kovacs
Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was a Hungarian-American comedian, actor, and writer.
Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years afte ...
Award for “slapstick genius.”
External links
(Official Website via Internet Archive)*
*
*
ttp://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterkid2/id18.html "Texas TV Terror," TV Kid Magazine"The Real Icky Twerp Was Neither," TCU Magazine, Fall 2005 The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
, Jacquielynn Floyd, 2009-08-23
The Bill Camfield Collection Texas Archive of the Moving Image.
* [https://www.facebook.com/bradleybeardartist/photos/705020259610160 "Facebook - Bradley Beard's portrait of Bill Camfield as "Gorgan The Gruesome"}
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camfield, Bill
1929 births
1991 deaths
People from Mineral Wells, Texas
Horror hosts
American male television actors
American male comedians
Texas Christian University alumni
Male actors from Fort Worth, Texas
20th-century American male actors
Comedians from Texas
20th-century American comedians
Television personalities from Texas