Since February, KMTV's San Guinary has turned dying into a viable product after the Saturday night news. Before that, according to San Guinary, "We were running the Best Of The Carson show and dying."

The last ratings - for May - show "Creature Features" (sic) and San, the unlikely host, average about 47 percent of the TV sets tuned in during that time period. A year earlier, Channel 3 had a solid control of third place in the ratings. It wasn't too much of a risk, "Creature Features" had been doing well in other markets. KMTV's real coupe was in creating its blood-frocked host.

The Jones Boy
The name came from producer-director Bill King: it's obviously a split-off from "sanguinary," defined by Webster's as "1. accompanied by much bloodshed, or murder. 2. bloodthirsty." With San Guinary, KMTV probably would define the word as "1. accompanied by much bloodshed, murder to the competition. 2. bloodthirsty climb to the top of the ratings."

The face belongs to another Channel 3 producer-director, John Jones, who apparently needed to put a little entity into his name. Jones has been at 3 since 1965, when he started as a floorman - one of those fellows who points at cameras and gives cues. He's produced commercials, specials ("A Trip, No Vacation" was his) and "Black On Black" for 11 months.

Since February, Jone's life has become a complicated schedule of 40 hours working, many hours in public appearances and dodging the neighborhood kiddie corps. Three or four times a week, there's a pounding on the door as kids come to see if the doctor is in. He's been in shows and parades in outlying communities, and his busy time of the year is comming up.

Personal Visit
In fact, the station's running a look-a-like contest now with the winner perhaps getting a trick and treat on Halloween when ol' Doc Guinary shows up at his door.

Recalls John:"They decided they needed a kind of weird-o host, and everybody kind of looked at me and said, 'Weird-o, your the host'." But showing quick wit beyond the call, Jones soon had public figures and Channel 3 personalities willingly joining him in his ersatz laboratory for openers and closers of "C-F". Mayor Leahy showed up. So did Ron Stander, Dave Blackwell and Tom Henry. And Dr. San isn't always kind. "Somethings coming out of your ear." he snapped Saturday to newscaster Jeff Jordan, who decked himself out in Guinary makeup and costume. "I think it's your brain."

"No, it's my pencil" snapped Jeff. "Oh," adlibbed the doc, "about the same size."

Governor Vetoes
Only one heavyweight has turned down an invite from Guinary. Gov. J.J. declined gently and said: "We'll leave that to the Mayor." But he reportedly did ask for an autographed picture for daughter Candy Exon, who watches the show.

Jeff Jordan, freshly cleaned and scrubbed from his Guinary appearance, popped into the room: "Nobody has a full appreciation for what e does till they take that make-up off." he huffed.

Make-Up Wars
It takes Jones a half-hour to put on all that coloring and airplane glue for gloss. And it takes another painful hour to remove it.

Originally he appeared the same each week, with a stocking over his face, and all it required was changing the audio. But the stocking was too tight and the attention was getting too good, so the doctor had mythical plastic surgery, turned to his invisible sidekick Igor and , viola, our familiar San Guinary.

He had to wear the make-up three days running recently, "and my face was like hamburger afterward."

There's also the distress and raised eyebrows when he goes to drugstores and asks the cosmeticians for green make-up and eyeliner.

Older kids rejoice in the bumbling, non-scary doctor, though little ones tend to shrink with horror and tears when Jones shows up in full dress. There's one notable exception. One-year-old Jason Jones, the heir apparent, thinks it's a gas when dad gets ghoulish. The neighbor's little girl, the same age, doesn't recognize John under all the spookery and goes into the tyke equivelent of apoplexy.

When they see "Creature Features" ratings climbing to a 50% at the witching hour and it's success is so strong that it's now "Creature Double Features," the TV equivalent of apoplexy must be experienced by the competition.