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A Xenia-based company will donate a monument commemorating the life of iconic Dayton horror show host Dr. Creep.
Maureen Atkinson, marketing director for Dodds Monument, said Dr. Creep — Barry Hobart — is more than deserving of a tribute.
“He was a local celebrity. He’s from Middletown. He lived in Xenia. He did so many wonderful fundraisers for underprivileged children,” she said Wednesday. “Because he did all the work that he did, we thought it would be nice if in turn we provide a monument for him.”
Atkinson was contacted Tuesday by Midwest Promotions owner Louie Wood. Wood, a Dr. Creep fan, has been collecting money for a monument. Hobart is buried in an unmarked grave at Woodside Cemetery in Middletown.
Wood is now seeking a prominent location for the monument in either Dayton or Middletown.
Due to legal restrictions, it can’t be placed at Hobart’s grave.
Wood decided to contact Dodds because fundraising efforts were slow.
His two-day Dayton Does Dayton music festival at Canal Street Tavern brought in about $300 for a monument.
“He had to have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities in his lifetime,” Wood said. “I really think he deserves a memorial.”
Fred Wehr, general manager of Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum, said that while the site does not have a headstone, it does have a military marker at its foot.
Steve Snider, Hobart's cousin and estate executor, said his family plan is to add a headstone on the site. Snider said Hobart had financial difficulty before his passing. Contributions from the community were not enough to pay for all of his final expenses. Snider said there are unresolved issues related to plots his family has near Hobart's, but Hobart's plot is purchased.
Hobart, who died Jan. 14, 2011, at age 69, hosted WKEF-TV Channel 22’s “Shock Theatre” and co-hosted its “Clubhouse 22” as Dr. Creep in the 1970s and 1980s.
He co-founded the local children’s charity Project Christmas Smiles with Linda Gabbard in the 1970s. The charity helped more than 93,000 area families during a 33 year span.
Hobart entered the Franklin Ridge Healthcare Center in April 2010 due to leg and breathing issues.
He suffered a series of massive strokes in December 2010 and went into a coma.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2384 or arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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