Biography

Jon "Bowzer" Bauman (born September 14, 1947) is an American singer, best known as a member of the band Sha Na Na, and game show host. Bauman's Sha Na Na character Bowzer was a greaser in a muscle shirt. Bauman was born in Brooklyn, New York. He started attending The Juilliard School at age 12 with an expertise in piano playing, and he is a 1964 graduate of Martin Van Buren High School. He graduated from Columbia University in 1968. Bauman was a member of the band Sha Na Na from 1970 to 1983. He was featured in the television comedy/variety show Sha Na Na from 1977 to 1981. In his Bowzer persona, Bauman became instantly recognizable for his "greaser" clothes and hair, his muscular pose with his arm, and his catchphrase "Grease for Peace!" In the late 1970s, Bauman appeared as Bowzer (loosely in-character) on many game shows, including Match Game and Password Plus. After his heyday with Sha Na Na, Bauman was a VJ on the music channel VH-1 during its first two years. He has appeared on many television series, such as Miami Vice, and he has done voiceovers for animated series, such as Animaniacs, and animated feature films, including My Little Pony: The Movie and The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones. He also hosted the Hollywood Squares half of the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Bauman also hosted The Pop 'N Rocker Game, a weekly, syndicated rock 'n' roll game show, which launched a few weeks before the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour premiered.

Jon Bauman Productions produced The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll, a 10-hour series for the A&E Network.

Bauman tours extensively with his Bowzer and the Stingrays group at fairs, amusement parks, cruise ships, malt shoppes and conventions. They headline "Bowzer's Ultimate Milkshake Party".