Old Ironsides 75th Anniversary - Moe Bettermann Reunion Show

Left to right: sidekick Matt Wolkis (?), Eric Lobo, and Moe Bettermann.

In the 90's, very late night Sacramento TV viewers could sometimes catch Mr. Lobo, Sacramento's answer to Elvira, introducing trashy sci-fi and horror films, at say, 3:05 a.m., on Channel 10.

Mr. Lobo remains active wherever a splash of gore indicates sci-fi and horror have collided in the Sacramento area.



Michael Rowe, who plays Stan the Man with Moe Bettermann, clued me in to the reunion of the Moe Bettermann Show.

The Moe Bettermann Show, a comedy/interview show modeled after The Tonight Show, ran at Old Ironsides (a bar across from Waffle Square, at 10th & S Streets) from 1992 through 1999, before disbanding so everyone could get married, have kids, and enjoy real lives for a change.

But life wasn't the same without the Moe Bettermann Show, so what better than a reunion show in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Old Ironsides? (And if I'm not mistaken, the show is now revived, and will continue henceforth until people feel they need real lives again, which hopefully will be never).

In its eight years, The Moe Bettermann Show showcased many significant comics and became an important fixture in Sacramento's entertainment firmament. Indeed, I remember seeing it once before (in 1995, my girlfriend Katherine Arthur appeared on Moe Bettermann's 'Slice of Life' segment, promoting her 'Personality Poems' - poems tailored to the individual.)

I particularly liked the last Moe Bettermann Show Community Calendar entry: "Clowns For Frowns: On Sunday morning at Pancake Circus (21st & Broadway - just three blocks from my house), cartwheeling clowns will surprise jittery Vietnam Vets suffering PTSD by spraying seltzer water and popping balloons!"

Johnny Steele is one hella funny comic! In this picture, he notes that Mr. Kannellas (the bar owner) "will need his stove lights back soon".

He talked about presenting his vaulting childhood comic ambitions to his father: "'One day, I'll stand on a six-inch-tall stage and play to 14 people across from Waffle Square!' My father replied: 'You dreamer!'"

He talked about Pittsburg - California's cultural center; watching an introduction-to-vasectomy video over at Kaiser; Frank Sinatra responding to the Pope's admonitions for people in third-world countries to have more children - "It's Witchcraft! Come on, you crazy nut, come outta that hut, and grab some butt!"; and trying to update his material from the 1990's for the Moe Bettermann reunion: "My manager responded to my Ted Kaczynski jokes by saying 'can't we update the references?'; to which I replied 'but then it's not funny!'"

The one-armed character played here is T.T. Jenkins "America's Very First Crack Baby".
Sinitra (together here with her hubby) played "The Weather Lady".