Who Is Bijou Bob?

Back when this blog was initiated, we began a string of posts written by “Bijou Bob”. In fact, the articles published here have been written by a number of people working on the Matinee at the Bijou series. So … who IS Bijou Bob? Well, now might be as good a time as any to introduce the Bijou inner circle who, together, write as Bijou Bob, and who work tirelessly behind the scenes to create the sequel series.

The team is comprised of a handful of talented TV veterans who were part of the original series, combined with an extended group of film and media experts and enthusiasts...and yes, as you will see, there is a Bob involved. (Careful readers will recall that in our post “Bijou Bob Answers Back" we showed Bijou Bob as a monkey at a typewriter. Actually, we don’t have a typing monkey on our staff, but when we get funded we mean to acquire one.)

Let’s meet the Bijou Bob crew, beginning with members of the original team:

BOB CAMPBELL
Bob is co-creator and producer of the original series which aired on PBS from 1980-88. He is a former front-row kid, a lifetime film buff, and recognized as a leading authority in classic American movie history and content. In addition to the Matinee series, Bob created and c0-produced an anthology film series called The Uncle Sam Movie Collection. Producing credits include a Disney series called The Fabulous Fleischer Folio, among many others. Bob grew up in southern California and has lived in southern Oregon since 1977.

SAM HARRISON
Sam directed seasons 4 and 5 of the original Matinee series, and returns to helm the sequel. He's a graduate of UCLA’s Theatre Arts Film School, with over 30 years experience directing, producing and writing over 200 film and video productions. Having enjoyed directing the likes of Ned Beatty, Rip Torn, Aldo Ray and James Mason, Sam is looking forward to the opportunity of working with our talented host, Debbie Reynolds. Sam and his wife Jeanne reside in Carmel, California.

RICH MENDOZA
Rich created “At the Bijou” the theme song for the original Matinee at the Bijou, and is currently composing a new theme song to be performed by Ms. Reynolds. Rich left Grey Advertising Worldwide in 1999, after serving 20 years as VP/Associate Music Director, to launch his own music production company, Amazing Tunes. In addition to writing and singing on hundreds of jingles, he’s very active in childrens’ television. Among the shows he’s written for are Schoolhouse Rock (ABC), The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Nickelodeon), The Book of Pooh, PB&J Otter and JoJo’s Circus (Disney). His work in advertising and tv have given him the opportunity to work with the likes of Johnny Cash, The Muppets, John Malkovich and Mike Nichols. (You can read Rich’s reminiscences of working with Rudy Vallee in an earlier post.) In addition to his maestro role, Rich is an executive producer on the series this time around and manages The Bijou Blog.

MARK DuMOND
Mark is president of The Chudwig Group, Inc., which owns Matinee at the Bijou. He, along with Bob and Peter Bedell, are producers on the sequel series. Mark is an Emmy award winning producer, director and writer, and was a director and producer of The Uncle Sam Movie Collection series. He recently completed a 20 year career as general manager of what is now known as Pilot Rock Productions, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier media production facilities. Mark recently launched Media Du Monde, Inc., a media production company based in the Seattle area. He and his wife Sheri live in Renton, Washington.

TOM WINMILL
Tom is a Chudwig Group principal and an executive producer of the sequel series. He is a successful marketing executive, and a producer of The Uncle Sam Movie Collection series. Tom is the sales and marketing director for COBI Digital HD. He and wife Debbie are longtime residents of Ashland, Oregon

RON HALL, GREG LUCE, CONRAD SPROUT
Founder-owners respectively of Festival Films, Sinister Cinema and Hollywood Select Video, each is an executive producer of Matinee at the Bijou and brings to the series a lifetime of knowledge and experience in locating and acquiring rare cinematic treasures - many of which will be showcased on upcoming episodes. Ron was profiled in an earlier entry, and we will have much more to say about Greg and Conrad in future posts.

PETER BEDELL
Pete is a multi-talented editor and video artist, with decades of multi-media experience. In 1995, the Matinee series underwent an extensive makeover for a domestic re-release and international distribution. Pete produced a new opening sequence and edited the re-release versions. Currently he operates a Discreet “Smoke” High Definition post production suite at Medford’s COBI Digital HD, where much of the production of the sequel series will take place.

LARRY ADDINGTON
Larry art directs the print and online presence of Matinee at the Bijou, and often weighs in on other creative and biz aspects of the show. He’s a supremely talented artist, designer, architect and musician and runs his own venerable artistic design business called 20/20 Design, based in Ashland, Oregon.

Journey To The Lost Content

PBS is the perfect venue for audiences to experience rare cartoons, shorts, serials and features that are rarely seen since the 1930s, 40s and 50s. So....

Matinee at the Bijou producers have been scouring data bases of existing film archives, and the film lists of newly discovered private collections, to program our first new season of 12 matinees. Each episode is programmed around Bijou’s new serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe. So the hunt is on for 12 terrific cartoons, shorts and features to flesh-out each new show.

It’s estimated that 50% of all films made prior to 1950 no longer exist. One of our goals in bringing back Matinee at the Bijou is to leverage the series’ home on PBS to attract the attention of film collectors around the country who possess rare and often lost films among their cinematic treasures.

To achieve this goal, four distinguished veteran film authorities, each with their own eclectic film libraries, are working together to locate, restore (if necessary) and create top-quality Hi-Def masters, directly from 35mm or 16mm celluloid sources, required to achieve true high definition.

For example, executive producer and Sinister Cinema owner Greg Luce, has contributed an excellent print of Radio Ranch (1940) This is a rare example where a studio re-edited a 12-chapter serial down to a feature-length version for theatrical re-release. Many classic serials were reconfigured this way by studios for release to TV in the 1950s and 60s. Radio Ranch is the feature version of The Phantom Empire, a campy cowboys vs aliens romp starring singing cowboy Gene Autry. This is the original studio release, complete with the proper title, which was altered to Men With Steel Faces on some versions. The PBS version will be the first HD incarnation to be released for broadcast and DVD.

Bijou executive producers Ron Hall (Festival Films) and Conrad Sprout (Hollywood Select Video) are also seeking and finding rare and rarely seen content for the sequel series. Ron has access to some excellent sources for celluloid masters of rarely seen cartoons and shorts, while Conrad is focusing on finding color versions of some films heretofore only available in black & white.

And of course, Bijou Bob has been collecting films and working with film aficionados and collectors since the original Matinee at the Bijou series first premiered on PBS back in 1980. So we’ll be sharing some of our own discoveries along the way as well.