SHOCK ARMSTRONG, THE ALL-AMERICAN GHOUL bore a name that was a play on the old radio series Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy. Even in 1964 that was an obscure reference, so it’s possible that many fans of this Bad Movie Host were oblivious to the connection. At any rate, from 1964 to 1968 Shock Armstrong hosted Double-Features on Shock Theatre Friday nights at 11:30pm on WTVT out of Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg, Florida.
Broadcasting veteran Paul Reynolds portrayed Shock Armstrong. Paul had worked at WTVT Channel 13 for years in various jobs like announcer, sports reporter, host of rock and roll shows like Teen Party, Open House and Record Room as well as serving as the station’s Bozo the Clown. In September of 1964 Paul’s boss abruptly told him that WTVT was joining the nationwide tradition of airing old and bad horror flicks hosted by a tongue-in-cheek ghoulish character.
Reynolds donned a quasi-Frankenstein Monster mask worked up by the station’s art department and an old University of Tampa Spartans football jersey sporting the number 13. Paul was already in his 30s by 1964 and remembered the old Jack Armstrong radio show, so that inspired his character’s name.
For his character’s schtick, Reynolds drew from his experience around teens during his DJ and rock show host years. He played Shock Armstrong, the All-American Ghoul as a teenage monster whose show originated from his attic bedroom which was always a mess. Shock’s never-seen mother communicated in nothing but shrill screams which our Movie Host always understood, just like the Peanuts Gang always understood the unintelligible noises made by the adults in their early cartoons.
Shock’s mother frequently yelled at her son to rid up his room or turn down his rock music like so many moms with so many teenagers. He in turn would gripe and complain about that as well as all the other “unreasonable” demands made by adults, who included his cranky neighbor Mr. Wilson. (Nice touch.) Continue reading
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