A Slam Bang Weekend

I shoulda been all over this like white on rice, but to be painfully honest I forgot. Luckily, The Startlegram didn't and neither did a faithful reader who was kind enough to send this bit of gold across the editors desk.

Icky Twerp fans rejoice!

As previously reported on The South 40, this is the 50th Anniversary of Slam Bang Theater with Icky Twerp. Organized by Dallas' local cable-access iMedia Network, the three-day fest will include documentary screenings, '60s music, fan forums, slapstick workshops and a marathon TV screening of classic SBT episodes.

Events Saturday include appearances by Romper Room host Mary Lynn Crow and WFAA/Channel 8 children’s host Jerry Haynes of Mr. Peppermint fame.

You know, I'm sure she's a very sweet lady (and possibly my first case of hot for teacher) but I'm not sure Ms. Crow has quite the tale to tell beyond some wild accidents during the running around in cardboard cars segment. On the other hand, I'd love to get a chance to meet Jerry Haynes. He is a very unique individual. Besides being childhood icon Mr. Peppermint, he reported live on Channel 8 during the Kennedy assassination, appeared in RoboCop AND his son is a member of The Butthole Surfers. I'd love to sit and pick his brain for all the stories he must have stashed away.

But this celebration is about Bill Camfield, an even more unique individual and childhood icon of the 60's. Bill played a cast of characters at the old KFJZ/KTVT when they were a fledgling independent station with a powerhouse signal, but Icky Twerp was his most memorable role as host of Slam Bang Theater a daily schedule of cartoons, 3 Stooges and live skits.

The documentary film Icky Twerp: Electronic Babysitter will be screened. It reveals his tragic life behind the scenes. From his efforts to escape his dirt poor childhood in Mineral Wells, losing his wife to mental illness and a daughter in an car wreck, it shows you both sides of the coin. Thru it all he kept us glued to the tube not wanting to miss a second of him on TV and packing department store parking lots when he made personal appearances.

For a child of the 60's this is a chance to relive some long forgotten good times with old TV friends.

A complete schedule of this weekend's events can be found here.

I'll leave you with these nuggets. Here's a classic Icky Twerp skit, but first one of my earliest childhood memories, a song I still remember to this day...