The EPIX channels on Dish Network have a channel, EPIX Drive-In, dedicated to crap horror and action movies from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Next week they are running Scarytale Theater, hosted by The Amazing Savini, (Tom Savin) who looks like a cross between Mandrake and Lon Chaney…so basically great!

Growing up on the west coast, we had a short supply of horror hosts, but we were blessed with Bob Wilkins, the polka-loving, advertising director/host of Creature Features on KTVU (and KTXL). Bob played it straight, and his character was …Bob Wilkins. One of his better bits was reading the TV Guide listings for his competitors and telling viewers to switch over. His calm demeanor, genuine interest in his oddball guests, and ever-present cheap stogie made bad films great, so I’m looking forward to next week’s Scarytale Theater.

From what I understand, Horror Hosts on the east coast are like pizza and cheesesteak; you just can’t find them on the West Coast. Who are your favorites, and is there a thread about these guys in the OFF TOPIC part of the forum? I’d love to read it if it exists.

Chilly Billy Cardille used to host Chiller Theater when I was a kid back in Pittsburgh. He also hosted Studio Wrestling.

Growing up in Scranton in the 1970s, I would watch "Uncle Ted's Ghoul School" on Friday nights around midnight. Uncle Ted was an older guy with a thick blonde mustache and a thicker pair of black glasses, who donned a blond wig and wore a fez. He would tell corny jokes and do magic tricks. He was usually more popular than the horror movie he showed.

During the height of his popularity in the mid 1970s there was a young, local news reporter from the station that aired Uncle Ted who asked the station manager if they could increase his $160/week salary. The manager told him he could earn an extra $20/week if he wrote jokes for Uncle Ted. That reporter did so for a year before leaving and going on to become Bill O'Reilly.

We had Zacherley here in NYC in the early '60s. He was a ghoulish kind of character that hosted the worst Grade B scare-flicks available. The movies were terrible but it was fun to watch to see what Zacherley would do.

Now we know the source of his anger and resent me.

I barely remember O'Reilly when he was in Scranton as I was only ten and didn't follow the local news, but I heard he said some unflattering things about working for Uncle Ted.

Chilly Billy Cardille and Zacherley were the gold standard, but nothing beats the righous anger of the conservative right.

Svengoolie has been working from Chicago on and off since 1970, with the 2nd actor playing the gig since 1979. (Me TV syndicates his show weekly on saturday nights.) Unfortunately he suffered his 2nd heart attack last fall, so hopefully he makes a full recovery and returns.

This weekend I’m heading to Creature Con 2, a Creature Features convention honoring Bob Wilkins, the horror host from the California Bay Area. Bob passed away a few years ago, but the guy who took over the show from him, John Stanley, will be hosting a live, re-created show.

With a few drinks before-hand, this should be a blast!

Rich Koz (Son of Svengoolie then just plain Svengoolie) is probably my favorite but I also love sharing info on the neglected mid-1980's show The Texas 27 Film Vault hosted by Randy and Richard. I've done an interview with Randy himself and have researched some original broadcast dates and other trivia, including a 3-D poster and Laurie the Mystery Clip Technician.

If anybody's curious about this neglected movie host show here is some info:

http://glitternight.com/texas-27-film-vault/

Svengoolie is feeling better and still is producing new shows, but at a slower pace. Part of the reason is due to his health, but partly because of contractual obligations with the studios he gets the movies from. He's one of the few horror hosts who doesn't just use public domain movies.

In my neck of the woods, Lord Blood-Rah's Nerve Wrackin' Theatre is a weekly TV series airing Friday Nights at 10pm on KCTH Comcast Channel 27.

For the rest of the world outside the Bay Area, I guess you can find it on the internets.

For years Bob Carter brought life to bad horror movies in the Indianapolis area with Shock Theater and Nightmare Theater on WTTV. Beginning a long career hosting horror movies on late-night TV, Carter original provided voice-overs for movie stills in between breaks, but eventually became so popular that the personality of Sammy Terry was born.

Through the 60’s and 70’s Sammy Terry was one of the most popular horror hosts in the country, routinely pulling in the kinds of ratings that only the major markets could touch. After two decades of hosting Nightmare Theater and making personal appearances, Bob Carter turned over the mantle of Sammy Terry to his son Mark.

Bob Carter passed away last month. He will be missed.

Mark Carter's Interview about his father's legacy

Back in the late 1950's and through the mid-60's in the NYC area, Zacherley reigned supreme. In the 60's, he also hosted a local TV dance show called Disc-O-Teen, which was shot in New Jersey and broadcast on WNJU, channel 47. My late friend, makeup artist Michael R. Thomas, met his wife-to-be at a Disc-O-Teen reunion; they had both been dancers on the show many years before.

But, in the '60s we also had a show on WNEW-TV channel 5 called Creature Features. For a while, the host was a staff announcer named Lew Steele, who appeared on camera as The Creep, a dignified gentleman sitting on a dimly-lit set and wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. I don't remember any skits or broad comedy or anything like that. He just introduced the films and made a few sarcastic remarks here and there.

I remember that in the later '60s, there was a horror film host in the Philadelphia area who was known as Doctor Shock. He looked for all the world like a portlier version of Zacherley. It appeared to be a pure rip-off, plain and simple. But, the actual explanation was more interesting. I heard this from Zacherley himself, back in 1993: In the '60s, Zach was approached by a Philly TV station (channel 17, I think) that wanted to lure him back there with the offer of reviving his horror film show. Since Zacherley didn't want to relocate or commute (he was also on FM radio here for many years), he agreed to license his character and have it played by someone else, provided they did not call the character Zacherley - and so Doctor Shock (or, Shockey Doc as he was also known) was born. Zach told me that he was friends with the fellow who played Doctor Shock, so there was no jealousy or animosity of any kind. Interesting story.

Signor V.

WPIX Chiller Theater





There is going to be a Chiller Theater Expo in New Jersey next month.