Things I Miss About TV part 2

Back in television's golden age every city had their own locally produced kiddie show, a cavalcade of cartoons, skits and whatever other hijinks the station could afford. And of course every kiddie show had to have their own host to keep the little rug rats in line. Dozens of these hosts often portraying some colorful character like a clown or a hobo kept kids entertained after school across the country.

For example, if you grew up in Baltimore you may have tuned in to Captain Chesapeake.



Or if you lived in L.A. you might remember Engineer Bill. (Love the trains)



But if you're from North Texas then the kiddie show host above all others was Icky Twerp.



Icky Twerp (real name Bill Camfield) was the host of Slam Bang Theater on KTVT channel 11 in Fort Worth, Texas. Wearing horn-rimmed glasses and an undersized cowboy hat he was the master of ceremonies over a show that included The Three Stooges, cartoons of all kinds as well as their own comedy sketches. His style was most definitely slapstick with someone taking a pie to the face in almost every show. As an ardent supporter of The Three Stooges he was even cast in their movie "The Outlaws Is Coming".

To be fair Twerp wasn't the only kids show host in the Dallas area. The CBS affiliate had Mr.Peppermint who always dressed in a red and white striped outfit. Mr.Peppermint was also really boring. If Icky Twerp was like Krusty The Clown with the zany antics then Mr.Peppermint was more like Grandpa Simpson telling tales about onions on belts before falling asleep in the middle of his own story.

Bill Camfield pulled double duty at channel 11 by also hosting the horror movie show Nightmare. That was the nature of local TV in those days. The whole kiddie show format died out in the 1980's and Bill Camfield himself died in 1991. Still, classic kiddie shows and their hosts hold fond memories for many people. Icky Twerp seems to be especially well remembered with a fansite and even his own movie!