The History Of
Overman Production Group/THC-420 Productions

In June, 1994 at Twice Told Coffeehouse in the Highlands, two great minds met for the first time. They created a video production company that would solicit corporate and commercial accounts that could then finance creative endeavors in the form of television projects. The two men were Victor Overman and Marty Pearl.

Marty Pearl's video background began with his love for acting. He received his first video camera before leaving for Navy boot camp in January of 1989 because his parents wanted him to document his eventual world travels. Instead, he began to create humorous video segments to fill the void of being away from his home and family for long periods. His first efforts were always in front of the camera as on-screen talent. Although he owned the camera, he usually let someone else run it so he could create entertaining characters. While stationed in Sicily from May of 1989 to October of 1990, he learned that being behind the camera was every bit as rewarding. "I realized that being in front of the camera fulfilled a need to be out of control in the form of improvisations. Being behind the camera, however, fulfilled my desire to be in control of the projects I created. It was the discovery of a great balance between the forces that guide me," said Pearl in a 1995 interview.

Pearl created Outhouse Productions in 1989 and renamed it Edge City Productions in 1991. He relocated to Louisville in August of 1991 to work on a public access show called Dominic's Goodtime Emporium. "It was basically a pretty shitty show, but it was a start. I came on board as a director, but Dominic had an ego that limited me as to what I was capable of doing. I envisioned a sketch comedy show that would be produced independently. Until then, everyone on public access produced their show in the Storer studio in St. Matthews. You weren't allowed a lot of creative elbow room because you were given two hours every two weeks to come in and crank out an hour of material - or two episodes - on a crappy stage. I realized I could produce a show completely outside and on location and just drop-off a tape for them to play. Dominic, however, preferred a talk show format that allowed him to mug for the camera an entire episode. We all like to see our faces on TV, but this guy didn't understand what I was offering. I broke away from him and got my own show. You could say I revolutionized public access in Louisville, but somebody else would have caught on eventually," said Pearl.

Welcome to the Monkeyhouse appeared in October of 1991 and quickly built a following for its "new" public access look. A new show was launched in April of 1992 titled Weird Stuff and received some positive media. WHAS-11's Louisville Tonight did a cover story on Pearl's program and this lead to the short-lived late night program Graffiti Box on the ABC affiliate from June to July of 1992. "We basically burned out quick because I recruited actors, actresses and writers, hired a few production people," said Pearl, "but never considered that we would need a business person to sell the show and handle finances. It didn't last long."

Disgruntled and tired, Pearl left the local television scene figuring public access would be a step back he didn't want to take.

Victor Overman, a local market research firm employee, remembered Pearl's television efforts when he met him in May, 1994. Pearl was doing cynical poetry at Twice Told Coffeehouse in the Highlands. "He was definitely the crowd favorite. I knew with my marketing background and his raw creativity, we would make a great team," remembers Overman. A mutual friend of the two had recently acquired airtime on TKR's public access, but wasn't producing a show. He lacked equipment and talent. Overman suggested Pearl jump in and direct. Reluctantly, Pearl agreed and his passion for production was instantly re-charged. Overman then recruited technical geek/genius Ryan Armbrust to assist in production. Pearl called upon old writer friend Harry Allen to create dialogue. The core crew was complete. They formed THC-420 Productions in August of 1994 and launched their first effort under the title The Half-Hour of Power.

Pressed for ideas, but with a renewed interest in special effects, Overman and Armbrust discovered that the Panasonic PV-535 Dual-Cam camcorder they were using to produce the show had a chroma key feature. It allowed them to remove all of the blue from a picture and replace it with an image from the second camera. The second camera was a smaller one mounted on the top of the camcorder itself. On an autumn afternoon in 1994, the two discovered that by placing a puppet through a hole in a blue blanket, they could lay the image cleanly over a human body creating a two-dimensional character. JOHNNY THE PIGBOY was born. Under Pearl's keen direction and Allen's rant-style dialogue, the PIGBOY began to take form. An identity was established, a format created, and a counter-culture show arrived on public access.

The show went off the air in November of 1994 due to creative and technical strain. After four years of study and experimentation, along with the acquisition of new equipment, the hiring of maverick producer John-Peter Leibengood and parody writer Albert Mead, Overman Production Group and its creative subsidiary THC-420 Productions, launched another PIGBOY show titled The BEARDED CLAMBAKE in May of 1998. You know the rest of the story or you wouldn't be here.