A Decade of Documentary Film Production

Up Late Storyline:

“Don't stay up late, it's not worth it," Bob Wilkins warned as he leaned back in his yellow rocking chair and smoked his big cigar. But monster movie fans in Northern California stayed up late every Saturday night. From 1966 until 1981 Bob showed grade-Z horror films. "Up Late with Bob Wilkins" is a feature-length documentary film about Bob's shows told by those who watched him faithfully every weekend.

Reviews:

 “The horror hosts I grew up with were creepy and kooky, and often anti-establishment, but all alone in California, Bob Wilkins was frighteningly square, and every bit as effective! Kudos to Tom Wyrsch for keeping alive a fascinating and nostalgic piece of west coast Americana, 1970s-style.” - David J. Skal, author of THE MONSTER SHOW.

“Up Late with Bob Wilkins”, the newest piece of “Creature Features” history from Tom Wyrsch, is a time machine that takes us back to the 1970s when Wilkins hosted one of the most popular TV shows in the San Francisco-Bay Area.  Fans of that era can once again see funny and serious moments Wilkins enjoyed with some of Hollywood’s leading sci-fi and horror icons in movies and TV.  This marks one of Wyrsch’s best documentaries since he premiered “Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong” in 2008. -- John Stanley, author, former Creature Features Host

I knew he was tremendously popular, but until I saw "Up Late with Bob Wilkins" I was unaware of what an innovator Wilkins was. The documentary is packed with entertaining clips of him on air as well as with stories from a number of Hollywood icons he interviewed who clearly adored him. "Up Late" really gives Bob his due as a true original. I found it completely captivating. - Laurie Jacobson, author, Hollywood historian

From San Francisco, CA, Tom Wyrsch grew up in nearby Sonoma County, developing an avid interest in film and filmmaking. As a youngster, he made short 8mm films, but when he watched George Lucas film ”America Graffiti" in the summer of 1972 he developed a deep-rooted desire to make a feature-length motion picture. A close friendship with Bob Wilkins and John Stanley led to his first feature-length documentary in 2008, "Watch Horror Films, Keep America Strong!" and was the stepping stone to more projects. Currently Tom is the director of the weekly TV series "Creature Features" produced in the San Francisco Bay Area.