Marvin (horror host)

Marvin was a television horror host, played by Terry Bennett, who originally appeared on Chicago's WBKB from 1957 to 1959.

His character was a demented beatnik who wore thick glasses and a black turtle neck sweater, and was an instant hit.

The show became so popular that station management soon expanded the series with a new half hour segment after the movie called The Shocktale Party.

Marvin was joined by several other characters: "Orville", a hunchback, "Shorty", a giant wearing a rubber Frankenstein mask, and a band called "The Deadbeats", who were members of the Art VanDamme quintet, and wore white makeup with black circles around their eyes.

[2] When Shock Theater was cancelled in 1959 to make way for ABC's Fight Of The Week, fans petitioned the station to bring the show back, drawing thousands of signatures, but to no avail.