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Gorgon the Gruesome - The mysterious host of the
horror show Nightmare that aired on KFJZ-TV in Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
from 1957 through 1964.
Bill Camfield, who played Gorgon, was the chief writer for the station at the
time. To create a persona for the gothic-themed program, Camfield draped a large
black cape about himself, colored his skin in pallid tones, and placed an
oversized mole on his left cheek. Thus was born Gorgon, the eerie host of
Nightmare whose frightening voice and laughter (accentuated by an echo
device) presided over films about the supernatural.
Each episode the show began with a close-up of Gorgon's eyes which opened
wide as the announcer said "Welcome to... NIGHTMARE!...The following program is
devoted to the pursuit of the unearthly, the terrifying, the shocking." A
thunderclap is heard and then the camera moves slowly down a dark, scary
hallway.
The show's basic bill featured the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man
and The Mummy, but also included such moody atmospheric tales as The House of
Wax (1953), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) and House of Usher
(1960) starring Vincent Price.
Gorgon the Gruesome later resurfaced in a number of annual Halloween
specials (1959, 1972 & 1976). Bill Camfield died in 1991. See also -
"Professor Cerberus"
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