DR. SAN GUINARY (1971-1981) – BAD MOVIE HOST

DR. SAN GUINARY – From 1971 to 1981, director John F. Jones at KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska hosted the channel’s version of Creature Feature as mad scientist Dr. San Guinary. The program originally aired late Saturday nights after the 10:00pm local news, then was moved to Midnight when KMTV started airing SNL in 1975.

Omaha’s Creature Feature opened with the sound of whooshing winds, thunder and a few screams as the camera grew closer to what was obviously a scale model of a spooky old house where Doc maintained his lab. The joke was that the audience could clearly tell the house was just a model, like so many fake-looking models of buildings in so many bad movies. (Same with the Gizmonic Institute models.)  

In his light green skin makeup and lightly blood-spattered lab coat, San’s schtick was the by-then well-established airing of old and often bad movies like Day of the Triffids or The Giant Behemoth alongside various supporting characters like his lab assistant Igor and occasional pretty nurses.

The doctor, whose voice always had a certain Wolfman Jack sound to it, also did comedy inserts and sketches, of course. The circulating DVDs of Horror Host footage from decades ago featured plenty of Dr. San Guinary’s comedy bits, including his Mystery Door segments (above right).

Doc never knew what would lie behind that door, like maybe a train racing toward him, or himself playing on a rock piano and singing Catfish Boogie, or other oddities and sight gags. Sort of a forerunner of the Hexfield Viewscreen gags on Mystery Science Theater 3000 during its original run.

A generous amount of Dr. San Guinary footage comes and goes online but you can easily tell the original John F. Jones Doc from Chris Palmer’s fan-revival of the character decades later. That’s not a put-down of Palmer, just a heads-up for anyone seeking out San footage.   

There are online examples of some of Doc’s themed comedy sketches scattered throughout the night’s movie, like lab renovations by careless workers or a Halloween night with Dr. San Guinary feuding with neighborhood kids who take their attacks on his house far beyond mere egging or toilet-papering.

Another night featured Doc’s comical treatment of a Ratings War with another Omaha tv station as a literal war, with himself in uniform and helmet. Jones did sendups of George S. Patton in the field, and Edward R. Murrow during the Blitz among his other gags that night. “Combat footage” was presented in the typically lame way that giant monster movies depict tanks, planes and helicopters attacking rampaging kaiju beasts.     

In real life, no Ratings War was necessary because during his first several years Doc’s Creature Feature grabbed roughly FIFTY-TWO PERCENT of the region’s viewing audience for his timeslot. And speaking of kaiju, San showed plenty of Godzilla and Gamera films among his offerings, along with the original King Kong, Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Konga and Big Bug monsters plus black & white dinosaur movies from the 1950s. 

Outside of Creature Feature, John F. Jones made year ’round appearances as Dr. San Guinary to raise money to fight muscular dystrophy. When Jerry Lewis did his Labor Day Weekend telethons, Doc was Omaha’s local host who would check in periodically with Jerry to update the local tote board.

Sadly, John F. Jones died of cancer in 1988, but he is still fondly remembered and is up there with Svengoolie, Son of Svengoolie, Moona Lisa, the Ghoul and other big names among the 1970s wave of Movie Hosts. A documentary about Dr. San Guinary is out there as well as a book about the character and its creator John Jones. The book was written by the “new” Doc, Chris Palmer.  

FOR OTHER MOVIE HOST ENTRIES CLICK HERE:   https://glitternight.com/category/movie-hosts/