You may have seen him hanging from a basketball hoop introducing the movie Hoop Dreams. Or working the crowd at Hamburger Mary's, downtown, before a showing of Swingers. If you tuned in before the start of Footloose, you probably laughed when he slid across the set and yelled, “Let's dance!”

        His name is Bob Herzog, and he's the 27-year-old co-host of Cinema 64, an afternoon of movies airing Saturdays on WSTR-TV (Channel 64).

Bob Herzog on the set of Cinema 64, (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        The station shows three contemporary films, and every half-hour or so, Mr. Herzog and partner Jennifer Dalton break in foramusing commentary. They imitate the movies' stars, throw jabs at each other and even integrate some slapstick comedy — all in an effort to keep people tuned in.

        “It's the perfect job for me,” Mr. Herzog, says during a break from taping. “I'm a movie junkie, and I love getting up and acting stupid in front of people.”

Going live

        Channel 64 uses Mr. Herzog in a number of promotional spots. He recently completed filming a spoof on lawyer commercials called “Hammertime” to draw attention to the court shows the station carries.

        Lately, he's getting a lot of attention for a sarcastic Las Vegas-style lounge act with a jingle about the Just Shoot Me/Seinfeld hour on the station.

        “What's interesting about that spot is that it started out as a radio spot,” Mr. Herzog says. “But the producer and I went to this little pub on the west side called the Main Entrance, with all this cheesy lighting, and we thought, "This is perfect. . . .' We had a lot of fun filming that one.”

        His favorite part of the job, however, is the many live appearances he makes for the station. Because Channel 64 is a sponsor for Party in the Park at Sawyer Point, he has been recruited to introduce the bands, run contests and gab with party-goers. You also might see him at Paramount's Kings Island, Coney Island's Sunlite Pool or the Kentucky Speedway, promoting the station.

        “But in all the time I've been there (since July) — and I love every day I get to go into work — my favorite day was hosting the Jerry Lewis telethon,” he says.

        “You get there at 4 or 5 in the morning and you go all day. You're with the national show for 20 minutes, and they come local for 10. It was fun and it was live, which gives you that little extra rush.”

Tough choice ahead?

        Mr. Herzog never really aspired to a career in television. After graduating from Xavier University in 1996, the Covedale native worked in radio, including WBOB-AM (1160), a Northern Kentucky sports station and a country station in Dry Ridge.

        He also spent a year and a half touring with a children's theater company, performing in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Red Badge of Courage.

        In 1999, he got married and started law school at Northern Kentucky University. He was in his third year of studies at Chase College of Law when got the job at Channel 64 after an open audition call, where he was chosen from 330 people.

        “Rarely do you get such an obvious crossroads in your life,” says Mr. Herzog.

        “I take the bar exam in July. And no matter what, I plan to keep the TV job.

        “But if it came down to a law firm offering me a job and Ed, my producer, saying they were going to make me full-time, I'm not sure what I'd do. I mean, how many people get a chance to be on TV and make people laugh?”

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