TV Horror Hosts.

[John Battles]

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE TV HORROR HOSTS , WHETHER THEY'RE CURRENT , BEFORE YOUR TIME , OR SOMEONE YOU GREW UP WITH AND HAVE FOND MEMORIES OF(And , I hope most of you heeded the advice of KING GHOULARDI , and never quite grew up.). Any good stories about meeting any of them , in or out of character? I'll catch up , later. My original thesis was deleted. iT WAS A BAD FIRECRACKER , GROUP , IT DID'NT GO BOOM BOOM.

[John Battles]

 I always thought Bryan Gregory should have been The Crypt Keeper , but , his dreams of breaking into Horror films were snuffed out , early on......

 I like Elvira , too , and not just for the obvious reasons. I'm sorry for the bad blood between she and Vampira , but , if Ernie Anderson filed suit against all the Ghoulardi wannabees , he never would have had time to make any REAL bread , saying "THE LOOOOOOVE BOAT".
 That does'nt minimize our Queen's plight. I wish they could have made peace , but , you know what? I ain't in it. Besides looking great (Still !) Cassandra Peterson has perfect comic timing. Her first "Elvira " movie is nearly as funny as "Pee Wee's Big Adventure ".

The video series she did for Rhino was great , because it's all cool 50's - 60's schlock instead of more recent drek.    It was painful to watch Vincent Price at The Horror Awards , with Elvira having to help him walk to the podium. You knew he had about a year to live , and that's about all he got , but , I COULD'NT HELP THINKING HE WAS SAYING TO HIMSELF ,

"If this is assisted living , IT'S AIN'T BAD !"........ 

Jamie said:

Elvira was always a personal hero of mine (even in childhood!) and I was always frightened/yet intrigued by the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt. 

[MikeL]

John, I took your advice (I don't know why I didn't think to do that sooner.  I must be getting senile), and I did find a website that pays homage to TV horror hosts.  They did have a bio on Scorpio, along with this picture.  One person who contributed to the bio said Scorpio was supposed to be some kind of wizard.  He doesn't look all that old in the picture, but I seem to recall that he spoke in a very gravelly voice, which made him sound old, and I guess to my eight-year-old mind at the time, that made him seem old.  BTW, my most vivid memory of "Thing Theater" was watching the first Godzilla movie.

John Battles said:

Sorry MikeL , I'm not able to reply directly to your comment , it seems. "Thing Theatre" , so cool. Maybe there's something about Scorpio on Google (Yeah , I know , the answer to everything!). Any movies you remember seeing?
 
John Battles said:

Very cool , low budget Cormanesque spooky atmospherics on this Sammy Terry clip. It says he's back on the air , too? He's kind of a ham , but , we love it.
 
John Battles said:

 Hey , thank everybody for all the  feedback. I will be back , shortly , I do want to comment on the hosts you've all mentioned. AND if you had a good show that did'nt have a Horror Host , please talk about that , too. Now , it's time ...For Dinner With Drac. HA HA HA HA HA HAAA....

John.

[MikeL]

BTW, here's a link to that website I just mentioned...

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/tvhorrorhosts/hostsa.html

[John Battles]

That's right.I misspelled chuck acri. This looks great.Thanks.MikeL

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

I get MeTV in Seattle via cable.  It's on a Bellingham, WA station that I wouldn't normally get if I relied on an antenna system.  (Those digital boxes really suck)
 
John Battles said:

A Chicago boy ? Put 'er there. Or , maybe you get Me Tv (The only reason to have a TV , from where I stand.) somewhere else....You don't have to say where....Svengoolie was originally played by Chicago and Cleveland DJ , Jerry G. Bishop. He had Ernie Anderson's permission to do a character based on Ghoulardi , though with a more Hippie bent. He was great , there's cool clips on You Tube , inc. one with Tempest Storm !!! But , Richard Koz replaced him as "Son OF sVENGOOLIE" , I think , in the late 70's. He was off the air for several years , but , came back , doing the same act , as just "Svengoolie".  Bishop was way funnier , BUT , Koz is keeping it alive , and the kids love him , which is great.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Svengoolie.  That's te name of the host I was trying to remember.  He's current and on MeTV on Saturday nights.

[John Battles]

Do you , and our friends outside of Chicago , also get MeToo and Antenna , the  sister stations ? 
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I get MeTV in Seattle via cable.  It's on a Bellingham, WA station that I wouldn't normally get if I relied on an antenna system.  (Those digital boxes really suck)
 
John Battles said:

A Chicago boy ? Put 'er there. Or , maybe you get Me Tv (The only reason to have a TV , from where I stand.) somewhere else....You don't have to say where....Svengoolie was originally played by Chicago and Cleveland DJ , Jerry G. Bishop. He had Ernie Anderson's permission to do a character based on Ghoulardi , though with a more Hippie bent. He was great , there's cool clips on You Tube , inc. one with Tempest Storm !!! But , Richard Koz replaced him as "Son OF sVENGOOLIE" , I think , in the late 70's. He was off the air for several years , but , came back , doing the same act , as just "Svengoolie".  Bishop was way funnier , BUT , Koz is keeping it alive , and the kids love him , which is great.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Svengoolie.  That's te name of the host I was trying to remember.  He's current and on MeTV on Saturday nights.

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

There was another show during the 70s that was pretty great and even though it didn't have movies it was in the same vein but was more like a sketch show.  Hillarious House of Frightenstein, I think it was called.

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

Never seen MeToo but we do get Antenna TV but I think they are competetors as they are on a rival station trying for the same audience.  We also get one more channel:Retro Television.
 
John Battles said:

Do you , and our friends outside of Chicago , also get MeToo and Antenna , the  sister stations ? 
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I get MeTV in Seattle via cable.  It's on a Bellingham, WA station that I wouldn't normally get if I relied on an antenna system.  (Those digital boxes really suck)
 
John Battles said:

A Chicago boy ? Put 'er there. Or , maybe you get Me Tv (The only reason to have a TV , from where I stand.) somewhere else....You don't have to say where....Svengoolie was originally played by Chicago and Cleveland DJ , Jerry G. Bishop. He had Ernie Anderson's permission to do a character based on Ghoulardi , though with a more Hippie bent. He was great , there's cool clips on You Tube , inc. one with Tempest Storm !!! But , Richard Koz replaced him as "Son OF sVENGOOLIE" , I think , in the late 70's. He was off the air for several years , but , came back , doing the same act , as just "Svengoolie".  Bishop was way funnier , BUT , Koz is keeping it alive , and the kids love him , which is great.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Svengoolie.  That's te name of the host I was trying to remember.  He's current and on MeTV on Saturday nights.

[John Battles]

You're right. It aired , briefly , in Chicago , when I was'nt living here. It originated in Canada . There is a DVD "Best of" that comes recommended to all fans of Rock'n'Horror. They had a real "Wolfman Jack" that would spin Rock'n'Roll hits (This was pre - Disco.), which the monsters would dance to. The host looked like Barnabis Collins....if he had green Vulcan blood. PLUS ! Vincent Price would do cameos , too ! But , yeah , it was more sketch - oriented. Good fun , tho'.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

There was another show during the 70s that was pretty great and even though it didn't have movies it was in the same vein but was more like a sketch show.  Hillarious House of Frightenstein, I think it was called.

[John Battles]

Yeah , you're right. Antenna is SO similar to Me Too , it's easy to mistake one for the other. Those three stations are about all I watch , anymore. I never had TV Land , but , now , I don't think I'm missing that much. Nickelodeon USED TO have the best weeknight lineup - Dobie Gillis , Car 54 , Mr. Ed, Patty Duke , then , locally , we'd get The Honeymooners and Sgt, Bilko AT 10 AND 11 , I think....Elvira had a new show , I forget what station , and it was great . All classic schlock horror , plus she could incorporate more "Adult" humor. It died on the vine.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Never seen MeToo but we do get Antenna TV but I think they are competetors as they are on a rival station trying for the same audience.  We also get one more channel:Retro Television.
 
John Battles said:

Do you , and our friends outside of Chicago , also get MeToo and Antenna , the  sister stations ? 
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I get MeTV in Seattle via cable.  It's on a Bellingham, WA station that I wouldn't normally get if I relied on an antenna system.  (Those digital boxes really suck)
 
John Battles said:

A Chicago boy ? Put 'er there. Or , maybe you get Me Tv (The only reason to have a TV , from where I stand.) somewhere else....You don't have to say where....Svengoolie was originally played by Chicago and Cleveland DJ , Jerry G. Bishop. He had Ernie Anderson's permission to do a character based on Ghoulardi , though with a more Hippie bent. He was great , there's cool clips on You Tube , inc. one with Tempest Storm !!! But , Richard Koz replaced him as "Son OF sVENGOOLIE" , I think , in the late 70's. He was off the air for several years , but , came back , doing the same act , as just "Svengoolie".  Bishop was way funnier , BUT , Koz is keeping it alive , and the kids love him , which is great.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Svengoolie.  That's te name of the host I was trying to remember.  He's current and on MeTV on Saturday nights.

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

Yeah, TVLand really sucks now with more recent reruns and adding new TV shows that the 3 majors won't touch.  Nick At Nite is pretty bad too.  So thank goodness for MeTV, Antenna TV and Retro TV.  I think Retro has something called Chiller Diller Movies also on Saturdays but they never say what's on in the listing or discription.
 
John Battles said:

Yeah , you're right. Antenna is SO similar to Me Too , it's easy to mistake one for the other. Those three stations are about all I watch , anymore. I never had TV Land , but , now , I don't think I'm missing that much. Nickelodeon USED TO have the best weeknight lineup - Dobie Gillis , Car 54 , Mr. Ed, Patty Duke , then , locally , we'd get The Honeymooners and Sgt, Bilko AT 10 AND 11 , I think....Elvira had a new show , I forget what station , and it was great . All classic schlock horror , plus she could incorporate more "Adult" humor. It died on the vine.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Never seen MeToo but we do get Antenna TV but I think they are competetors as they are on a rival station trying for the same audience.  We also get one more channel:Retro Television.
 
John Battles said:

Do you , and our friends outside of Chicago , also get MeToo and Antenna , the  sister stations ? 
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I get MeTV in Seattle via cable.  It's on a Bellingham, WA station that I wouldn't normally get if I relied on an antenna system.  (Those digital boxes really suck)
 
John Battles said:

A Chicago boy ? Put 'er there. Or , maybe you get Me Tv (The only reason to have a TV , from where I stand.) somewhere else....You don't have to say where....Svengoolie was originally played by Chicago and Cleveland DJ , Jerry G. Bishop. He had Ernie Anderson's permission to do a character based on Ghoulardi , though with a more Hippie bent. He was great , there's cool clips on You Tube , inc. one with Tempest Storm !!! But , Richard Koz replaced him as "Son OF sVENGOOLIE" , I think , in the late 70's. He was off the air for several years , but , came back , doing the same act , as just "Svengoolie".  Bishop was way funnier , BUT , Koz is keeping it alive , and the kids love him , which is great.
 
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Svengoolie.  That's te name of the host I was trying to remember.  He's current and on MeTV on Saturday nights.

[John Battles]

  I ONLY EVER SAW TV LAND , ONCE , ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO.THEY WERE ALREADY HURTING FOR CLASSIC COMEDIES.    Maybe they could'nt get the rights to enough shows that don't suck. Sure , MeToo or MeTV is showing "Square Pegs", but , to me , THAT'S recent. And , I love that show....But even our remaining local UHF (OR WHATEVER THEY ARE , NOW)  stations were showing All in The Family , Sanford and Son , The Honeymooners , all the shows that SHOULD be on from 10:00 PM To MIDNIGHT, BUT , SLOWLY , THEY'D GET REPLACED BY ROSEANNE , FRAZIER , OTHER SHOWS THAT WERE'NT EVEN FUNNY , A WHOMPIN' 15 YEARS AGO.  It's like "Oldies " stations playing Billy Joel or Phil Colllins. It ain't Kosher.