COLUMBUS -- Most people plan to spend their retirement years traveling, spending time with family or immersed in a hobby. At 82 years-old, the man who central Ohioans came to know as Fritz the Nite Owl is still perched in position to create movie experiences with crowds.
Frederick Peerenboom's passion for film created the foundation for a career that can clearly be traced back to his days as a speech and theatre student at The Ohio State University where he was also in the Army ROTC. When he went to serve in the Army, Peerenboom wrote, narrated and acted in training films, “Oh some of the training films I wrote or was in, put more GIs to sleep than any guy playing taps,” he told 10TVs Tracy Townsend.
The training would pay dividends when Peerenboom was honorably discharged from the service and returned to Central Ohio. He found work in radio where his vocal training and a signature sound helped him get promoted to booth announcer at WBNS-TV. His shift included the late-night movie on WBNS-TV which led to much more than reading ads.
Who can forget the signature specs? A craft store creation put together by a co-worker with an eye toward copying the style of super star Elton John. The funky specs would reflect the light back at the camera, adding some flair to the overnight movie show, which featured Fritz's quirky take on more than 62-hundred movies--horror, sci-fi and westerns including the Treasure of Poncho Villa set in the early 1900s.
Fritz put in a different performance for each movie -- even if it was a re-run. He says the only rules were to watch the language and the clock. The late-night movie showcase had a 17-year run. Fritz the Nite Owl ran from 1974 to 1991.