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Dr. Paul Bearer remembered on TV tonight
By Cloe Cabrera | Tribune Staff
Published: October 25, 2012
TAMPA - Tonight, Dr. Paul Bearer, the longest-running horror movie TV host in Florida, will be remembered during a special two-hour Halloween edition of the "Tampa Natives Show." The public access program will air live 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Verizon Channel 30, Bright House Channel 950 and Comcast Channel 20.Published: October 25, 2012
"A lot of us came of age watching Dr. Paul Bearer," said Mario Nunez, the show's co-host. "He was such a strange man. He had the glass eye, drove around in the hearse. He was just so corny you loved him. And he was king of puns."
Dick Bennick played Dr. Paul Bearer on "Creature Feature" on WTOG, Channel 44, from 1971 until his death after heart surgery in 1995.
He'll long be remembered for his classic sign-off, "I'll be lurking for youuuuuuuuu."
Tonight, Steve Canella, the show's co-host, will dress as the ghoulish comedic undertaker. The show will feature clips from "Creature Feature" and some of the props from the show. There also are a few other surprises on tap, Nunez added.
The "Tampa Natives Show" is a weekly program about growing up in Tampa in the '50s, '60s and '70s, and features stories and interviews as a way to help preserve its history. It airs at 7 p.m. Thursdays.