GENE KING - DR. IGOR AND JUNGLE JAY
WQAD TV 8 MOLINE, ILLINOIS
KWGN TV 2, DENVER COLORADO
KZAZ TV 11, TUCSON, ARIZONA

In the dawn of time of WQAD TV 8 Moline, Gene King played favorite kids show host Jungle Jay on the daily Jungle Jay Show, which was in direct competition to Captain Ernie on rival station WOC TV 6 Davenport, Iowa and Grandpa Happy on WHBF TV 4 Rock Island, Illinois. He also played Dr. Igor on the weekly horror show Chiller Theater which is the predecessor to Acri's Creature Feature. Gene unfortunately parted ways with Channel 8 over a contractual disagreement in the mid 1960's and eventually moved to the Denver area. However, the great memories of this time period remain of Jungle Jay and Dr. Igor for Gene's legions of fans in the Quad City area.

No known copies of Jungle Jay or Chiller Theater remain. If you have memories, pictures or film of either of these shows or from his time on WQAD, KWGN or KZAZ, please email me! It would be terrific to hear from you to help tell the story of Jungle Jay, Dr. Igor and Gene King!




12/10/2007 ... Now to Chiller Theater/Jungle Jay. Jay and Dr. Igor were both played by Gene Edward King. He went by the name of Gene Edwards. As the story goes, when he got hired by WQAD before they went on the air, he said he'd use his name Gene King. But since Jim Ketz (King) had already been hired and was going to use the King name, Gene had to use something else. So he used his middle name. Besides doing Jungle and Igor, Gene was also the host of The Home Show... news, farm markets, public service stuff (ala Paula Sands), and they even had live music everyday with the Ernie George Trio.

Jungle/Chiller were on for a couple of years. I remember having Dr. Igor sign my cast when I broke my leg in 1964. When he was signing my leg cast in 10th grade (as "another unsuccessful operation--Dr. Igor"), he told me his name was Gene Edward King. He may have been let go from the station, as they had money problems at one time and let lots of people go. Gene drove an old Cadillac hearse around town and I'm assuming he owned it, as it was always parked at his house on 27th Street in Moline. Where he went after channel 8 is unknown, but I do know Gene died in 1977. As I remember, Jungle Jay was on from 4:00 to 5:00 M-F and Chiller Theater hit the airwaves at 10:30pm.

Think that's about all I can come up with. Jungle Jay was unique for its time in using the jungle pictures. It was actually a pretty good show. Same with Chiller Theater. Both were fairly popular, as they were something new, especially Chiller.

WOC Alumni, historian and author of "Someplace Special...KSTT - Dave Coopman


12/10/2007 ... Do you remember a man from two shows that aired in the early 60s on channel 8? Each day he was I think, Jungle Jim; hosting jungle movies and Saturday night he was Dr. Igor and hosted a scary movie. TV was, what I feel much more entertaining then.

I was 10 when there was an open house in 1963 at the channel 8 studios, they had a meet and greet. Gene King was there as Jungle Jay. And every one that walked through was on TV. Pretty cool back then.

I remember a song Igor sang to the tune of Walk Right In. It went - "walk right in sit right down Dr. Igor going to cut you up!" And every one sent Jungle Jay garters for his socks.

I had a quiet day in my office so I was fooling around trying to remember how he looked, I think the Jay is close ... John Hullinger



12/11/2007 ... I love'd your website. I have several questions pertaining to Chiller Theater.

My memory of the show, was that the lead actor was every week, trying to do "experiments". This actor, I believe also portrayed a character named "Jungle Jay" in an after school children's show, which featured Raymar of the Jungle. This actor I believe left the Quad City area, but I don't know where he went next. Could you identify this actor who portrayed Jungle Jay and the lead in Chiller Theater and where he eventually ended up. Thank you for you time, and the web site.

Chip Goodsman


12/12/2007 ... Jungle Jay hosted the station's film adventure series, with the help of his wacky sidekicks Heathcliff the monkey and Zelda the zebra.

Horror fans were terrorized by Chiller Theater, hosted by light-hearted demons ``Dr. Igor,'' ``Vampira'' and ``Plasma.'' The Saturday night show offered old horror movies and newer science fiction.

Source: Kurt Allemeier, Moline Dispatch


12/12/2007 ... Max wrote on the House of Jitters message board;

Hey, I remember that Igor person myself. Seem to recall he had a very scary beginning with a shot from his view of various signs as he walked down the street. Signs like "Go Back" etc. He also was Jungle Jay. I even seem to remember them meeting one time. He had a female named Vampira if I am not mistaken. Would love to see some old footage of them!


12/12/2007 ... Jay Bowman wrote on the House of Jitters message board;

Am I correct in my foggy memory that Dr. Igor (and his alter-ego Jungle Jay) had the first creature feature on Saturday nights and then a "Jungle Show" (i.e., Tarzan, Jungle Jim, etc.) on Sunday mornings on WQAD-TV 8. My mother took me to a Dr. Igor "show" at some theatre in the Quad Cities when I was probably 8 or 9." Does anyone else have memories of this show?


05/08/2007 ... Michael Conner wrote;

One of the other great shows on WQAD was Acri Creature Feature do you remember that? How about Jungle Jay? Jungle Jay showed Tarzan movies during the day and same guy would do Chiller Theater Friday or Sat nights. Those were some fun memories!


01/12/2008 ... For the first time in over 40 years. Presenting the first found picture of JUNGLE JAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other original program on WQAD-TV is a children's show, telecast from 4 to 5 in the afternoon Monday through Friday. It is called "Jungle Jay," for the host.

Actually it is a daily jungle film adventure series and much of the humor is more for adults than for children.

Jungle Jay's animal cohorts are Heathcliff the monkey and Zelda the zebra. The versatility of this performer is supported by fan mail which averages 150 letter per day, according to station officials.

A recent example of fan devotion wsa shown when, during one of his shows, a garter broke on Jungle Jay's costume. Since then he has been receiving replacements via mail.

The show is interesting and original as it presents jungle movies instead of cartoons each day. - From a clipping in The Moline Daily Dispatch November 1963.


07/24/2008 ... Thanks for your site,

I have long wanted more information to bolster my memories. Here's what I can add: There is a picture of Dr. Igor out there somewhere. I lost my copy of it, but Gene King made a personal appearance during the Christmas season one year at Thriftown (located on the site of the present Jewel-Osco in Moline). He signed autograghs on a small (2"x1" maybe) white fold-out card. The front cover was his photograph (in character); inside he signed his name. Also available were white Dr. Igor sweatshirts with his image sketched on the front. The line of kids to see ol' Doc Igor (I can still do an impression of his vocal mannerisms) was greater than that for Santa Claus, also appearing on that occasion. Can anybody pin down the run of his (2) shows? The attached photograph of my friend Dave Thompson wearing the sweatshirt bears a processing date of Apr 1967. This may have been taken after the show was gone, but might also be contemporaneous. I also remember a spin-off show that ran briefly on Sunday nights at 10:30 that featured another character host and offered up old science fiction movies. I think the host may have been an alien scientist type with a big head. The Jungle Jay show had a sidekick character named Bigfoot Barney and, yes, I also remember the "plotline" where a feud was established between Igor and Jungle Jay --with King playing the Igor character stalking the Jay set. Naturally the two characters could not appear on screen at the same time, so I believe Bigfoot had to represent the Jungle Jay faction during the crossover.

Martin Anderson


10/17/2008 ... Dr. Igor fan Guy Crabill wrote;

I remember Jungle Jay and Dr. Igor. My brother and I grew up near Princeton , Illinois .

If I remember correctly, they were on Channel 8 out of Moline and an ABC affiliate. When the station came on the air, it completed the big three networks in the Quad Cities area.

All the kids caught on quick that Jay and Igor was the same actor.

Jay and Igor had a feud going which seemed to reach a high point when they met for a wrestling match. This match was shown on each character’s program. Depending on which show you watched, the host character was declared the victor.

The match was staged using crummy film overlay and obvious doubles and wasn’t meant to fool anyone.

I also remember on Jungle Jay, his sidekick “Big Foot Barney” was trying to polish us a magic lamp or something, when Jay whipped off his shoe, presented his foot and said “Rub a little toe jam on it”.

Barney and Dr. Igor’s sidekick “Wormy” also had a wrestling grudge match. Wormy cheated and strangled Barney with his tail.

If I remember correctly, Jungle Jay’s sidekick, Bigfoot Barney, played piano. The person mentioned as Ernie George may have been Bigfoot Barney. Dr. Igor referred to him as “Bigfoot Barn Smell.”

Wormy was one of Dr. Igor’s creatures. His costume was an old lion suit with a fright make up head.

I’m tapped out on Jungle Jay/Dr. Igor Trivia for now.

My little brother, who is only 54, may have a better recollection of the show

What a shame all of the tapes are lost and we have to rely on our faulty memories.

Guy


02/12/2009 ... Gene King was my father. His given name was Edward Eugene King. He played Jungle Jay as well as Dr. Igor and also had another show, - The Lunerians, which were short skits in between science fiction films.

He was married twice. He had three children with his first wife. He and my mother, his second wife Pearl, had six children.

After we left Moline, we went to Denver. He was on KWGN Channel 2 with Dr. Igor and Jungle Jay. He played Dr. Igor in Tucson Arizona in the early 70's. The name of the show on channel 11 KZAZ in Tucson was "Dr. Igor's Reign of Terror." At the beginning of the "Dr. Igor's Reign of Terror" show in Arizona, all of the characters on the show were viewed coming out of a casket, one by one. Sort of like those clowns at the circus that all come out of the tiny car.

I am not sure if either of the other two stations may have some film or not. My little sister should have some publicity shots that I gave her several years ago, and I believe I have a fan club card stashed away that has his Dr. Igor character.

My dad was an only child and actually wanted to have a dozen kids when he grew up. He ended up with 9. He had a very difficult childhood. It is truly amazing that my dad developed such an incredible sense of humor. He was so very good at making people laugh.

I have several photos of my dad. I have one from Old Tucson from an appearance where he as Dr. Igor and "Uncle Bob" had a shootout. Inevitably, my fathers pants fell revealing boxer shorts with little red hearts on them.

When he had his show on in Tucson, Ron Quinn, who did the make up on the original Planet of the Apes made some character heads for my dad.

In Denver and in Arizona, Greg Chancellor played the character "Plasma". Greg and my dad were friends for a great many years. Greg gave the eulogy at my dad's funeral in 1977. Greg also wrote speeches for a governor in Colorado. Joe Bassett played the part of Harry Wolfbane (a werewolf type character). I am not sure who played these parts in Moline, but will confirm with my mother.

I was very young (3 years old or so) when we lived in Illinois. It is truly heartwarming to know that many people still remember my father. He was an outstanding man.

I have many many memories of his show. We had tapes of his show, but they were destroyed as we had left them in our garage and they did not weather well. It is refreshing to know that there is someone out there who remembers him as well. He was a wonderful father, actor, singer, broadcaster, comedian and all around entertainer.

-Rhonda Sword



02/12/2009 ... Gene King was my grandfather, though he died long before I was even thought of. He actually died in 1977, my mom was 17. He died due to complications during surgery and we do miss him so much. - Valerie


03/14/2009 ... Hello, my name is Lonnie Bryant. My father, Jim Bryant was great friends with Gene and I grew up with the King clan; Beverly, Debbie, Rhonda, Betty and Eugene.

I have such terrific memories of Gene and his family and his show. My father was on for a short time as "Mortimer Mystic" a head hunter type of character. I was on once as a delivery person delivering a brand new product at the time in Tucson called Dr. Pepper.

That was my 1 and only time on TV. If any of the King kids read this I would love to hear from them as it's been 30 yrs or better since I have seen any of them.

Thank you for this great web site.

Lonnie Bryant


04/27/2009 ... The shrunken head around Dr. Igor's neck came from my sister and me. We thought it added just the right touch. It is a plastic novelty from the old Smokey's Fort Gun Museum which my Father ran outside of Wilton, Iowa from about 1959 through 1962.

The whole family loved Dr. Igor, and later, the Acri Creature Feature ("Eat a cookie and spit up").

Fond memories of my childhood in Iowa.


09/26/2009 ... Hello: I just found your website about the Dr. Igor Show in Tucson, Arizona. My mother was Vampira. Her name is Eleanor Cranford. She is still alive, is 78 years old and lives in Colorado. I do believe that I have some pictures of the whole gang on several personal appearances, along with their hearse. How fun to see your website. Thanks!

Don Doerres


10/18/2009 ... Hi, I'm Dave Baron and I just found your website.

I was working for KZAZ in Tucson in the 70's as a technical director (operated the video side of the control room) and had the opportunity to work with Gene. What a super guy!!

I remember one show, we decided to keep the video rolling when the scene ended but didn't tell Dr. Igor. When Gene (Dr. Igor) came out from behind a curtain, he was joking in his 'regular' voice about how the scene went. Then when we told him over the studio intercom that the tape was still rolling, he then went back to his Dr. Igor voice and the camera zoomed in on his face. It was priceless to see his expression. We all laughed on tape. He reviewed the video later that day and it aired that weekend, uncut and unedited. One of many great shows!!

We had a great time with Gene and I will always remember him. I wish there were pictures and videos of the show but back then we used 2" video tape and never saved any of them.

By the way, Danny Thomas and Monty Hall owned the station at that time. I never had a chance to meet them but we still had a lot of fun back then.

I just wanted to share these momories of Gene. May he rest-in-peace.

Regards,
Dave Baron


01/25/2010 ... Is this the same show that had all the Gas-a-mat commercials? they would show the different characters buying the tokens as Gas-a-mat that you had to buy and feed the machine to get your gas?

I loved that show!!! If so he lived in Northglenn, Co for a while. My best friend and I would walk by his house just to see if we could see him...

How fun.


Jungle Jay, 4:00pm WQAD TV 8 Moline, October 1963.

Dr. Igor, 10:30pm WQAD TV 8 Moline, Illinois, November 1963

Plasma, Vampira and Dr. Igor

Television shows or local origin are always interesting and WQAD-TV has two very unique ones - Chiller Theater and Jungle Jay.

Each Saturday night there's a trio of light-hearted demons who invade the television screen. They are known as Dr. Igor, Vampira and Plasma, who leer at Channel 8 viewers during intermissions of Chiller Theater. This theater dishes up a double portion of old horror movies and newer science fiction "treats."

The domain of the "terrible Three" centers around a realistic looking graveyard where discussions between Vampira and her father, Dr. Igor, take place. Plasma apparently is the unhappy result of one of Dr. Igor's experiments. Appararently he has captured the sympathy or enthusiasm (we know not which) of Chiller viewers enough to warrant the establishment of a fan club especially for him.

The lighting is appropriately dimmed as the Chiller cast twists to an old tune or read the addresses of fans they plan to visit nocturnally. - From a clipping from The Moline Daily Dispatch November 1963

IF YOU HAVE A PICTURE OF GENE EDWARDS AS DR. IGOR ON CHILLER THEATRE OR JUNGLE JAY, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME!

If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Jungle Jay or Dr. Igor and Chiller Theater or from his time at WQAD, KWGN or KZAZ, please click here to email me!

Click here to return to Captain Ernie's Showboat!