Monster Mash

Gonzo journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson has replaced Morton Downey Jr. in “The Monster Tour,” a “rock ‘n roll horror comedy” scheduled to shoot in Atlanta late this fall.

Downey, who dropped out to be a panelist on TV’s revamped “To Tell the Truth,” according to “Tour” producer Bill Reynolds . was to have played a record distributor. Angela Bowie, will portray the Fist Lady in the “wacky” feature about a heavy-metal group that wreaks havoc at a swank hotel after turning into such assorted creatures as were-wolves, Frankenstein, etc.

L.A.-based rock group the Royal Court of China has signed up as the band. Director Hal Pierce in now courting comic Sam Kinison to play a second record distributor (Kinison is resisting).

“They’re a little controversial, like Angela Bowie,” explains Reynolds of the casting choices. “It’s a low-budget picture-we need all the publicity we can get.”