The John Zeps Show

It all started in 1983. John Zeps and Eric Rozens met in Television Production class their junior year at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis. Shortly after meeting for the first time, they were astonished to learn that both of their parents were Latvian immigrants who came to the United States in the early 1950's. This forged an immediate friendship and the two have been great friends ever since. Both are truly fond of their Latvian heritage.
We learned about television production in the class, camera work, lighting, props, talent, newscasts, weathercasts, special effects, editing, etc. The teacher would show up at the beginning of class, give an assignment and leave. Well, at 17 years old and heavily influenced by David Letterman at the time, it wasn’t long before we came up with the idea to do our own show. Once we realized that we were pretty much unsupervised for the majority of the class time, it was no problem to hurry through our assignment and use the rest of the time filming what became known as “The John Zeps Show.”
John was the host and Eric Rozens became affectionately known as the repetitive “special guest.” Other cast members included Mike (Skippy) Coleman, and Jeff (Jeffuel) Horton. Eric was usually very receptive to John’s constant abuse and relentless reminders stating, “It’s my show” along with the typical, complimentary beatings he received. He yearned for the limelight but John always let him know whose show it was.
Once the show was established, word leaked to the student body. It wasn’t long before people who had only heard bits and pieces about the show and its wacky antics were cutting class and sneaking into the TV production classroom to watch that day’s episode. Apparently an insider had told others where the top secret VHS tape was hidden. John then came up with the idea to create a “viewer mail” box to be left in the classroom. It wasn’t long before the box was packed full of comments, suggestions and a lot of girls’ phone numbers. Then, much as we’re finding now, people just loved the show. Life was good and we were TV stars, well kinda.
The original VHS tape is still in John’s possession and we will be editing some of the vintage clips to add to our Myspace soon. You’ll enjoy some of the classic moments from the show including visits from Eric Rozens, Claus Klevenheim, E.T. and countless others. You’ll also enjoy seeing the old unforgettable commercials for “Cabins”, “John Away” and “Tongue Rid.”
Well, it’s been 25 years and John and Eric have decided it’s time to breathe new life into the show.
We’re currently in the process of designing a set, recruiting production personnel, building props and obtaining equipment to produce a top-notch variety/comedy show. We’re interested in promoting local music as well as other amateur filmmakers. We will most likely feature work from both and have discussed the possibility of showcasing an original musical performance on each episode.
These Latvian brothers are determined to create a quality, variety program featuring amateur film, comedy, art and music in Indianapolis and Broadripple.
So far the response has been overwhelming and we truly want to thank everyone for their support!
Please direct email inquiries to: [email protected]
Thanks!