PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) – Dozens of fans, friends and family members of Bill Bowman gathered at Old Towne Civic Center on Sunday, Oct. 20 for the Bowman Body’s celebration of life.
“You were never a stranger to Bill,” said friend and organizer Helen Royea. “You were always family to him, and that’s just who Bill was. He treated everyone like his friend.”
Bowman hosted Shock Theatre on Channel 8 for six years in the 1970s, where he performed many improv skits as “the Bowman Body” — a name that people from across state borders came to know and love.
“Bill always said ‘You know when I’m gone, it won’t be a big deal. Nobody’s even going to know that I’m gone,’”Royea shared. “But Bill had no idea how how many people he actually affected, how many people’s lives he touched in all the years,” Royea said.
Bowman’s show became so popular, it would beat the ratings of Johnny’s Carson’s show most Fridays on Channel 8, which was formerly WXEX.
PREVIOUSLY: Local horror legend Bill ‘The Bowman Body’ Bowman has died