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Start of S Listings


SAL U. LLOYD
(Jay Curtis)
Disasterpiece Theater
Friday night; moved to Saturday night
XETV, Channel 6 (San Diego, California)
June 13, 1980 - 1981
Magazine reference:
  • Discussion and picture in article by Terence Sanford, "Happy Hallucinations and Goodnight Sweethearts," in Scary Monsters Presents Monster Memories #2, 1994 Yearbook (January 1994), pp. 19-22.

SAMMY TERRY *
(Bob Carter)

Go to www.sammyterry.com, the official Sammy Terry Website, with great pictures and information, FAQ, a gift shop (with inexpensive autographed items!), a mailing list you can join, and much more!

Visit PLEASANT NIGHTMARES: The "original" unofficial Sammy Terry tribute site.

See bio and images of Sammy Terry — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video shockaeologist Thomas Rudé and his Webmonster, the incomparable James Mannan!

Nightmare Theatre
Friday at 11:00 p.m.
WTTV, Channel 4 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Early - late '60's, '70's- late '80's, occasionally to present

Science Fiction Theatre
Saturday evenings
WTTV, Channel 4 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Scifi companion to Nightmare Theatre early in run (?)
KTS cable, Channel 11 (Marion, Indiana)
Spring 1990 - 199?

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
discussed in Ch. 26, "Son of Invasion of the Ghost Hosts," pp. 183-184.

Magazine reference:
  • Feature "Not a Silly Horror Host: Sammy Terry, The Terror of Indianapolis!" by D. Everitt in issue #27 (May 1983) of Fangoria, pp. 16-18.

NOTES:

  • E-gorespondent Yuri Duncan reports:
    I interviewed Bob Carter once and he claimed to have invented the 'Finger Lickin' Good' slogan used by the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain of chicken shacks.
  • Frank Fettinger remembers:
    I don't have anything unusual to share about Sammy Terry, like many others I have fond memories of growing up in the '70's and watching the show. My brother and I, being youngsters who got up early for school every day, had a hard time staying up too late on the weekend, and making it through the whole Sammy Terry double feature was a goal we strived for, and fell short of, every Friday night. It was sort of a running of the gauntlet to see who could hang in their longer than the other, and still have both eyes open when Sammy wished us "pleasant nightmares."

    We grew up with Sammy, and as the years went by, the realism and scaryness of his sets and his looks were replaced by an appreciation for the campiness of it all, and an understanding of some of his wry humor.

    Around 1983-84, Sammy was doing a show in Washington, Indiana. My brother was home from college and we, along with our Mother, (who introduced us to the wonderful world of Horror, Sci-Fi, and Sammy Terry), decided to make the short 20 minute trip to see Sammy present "Swamp Thing" the movie, live in person. I think we were the only 18, 20 and 40 year olds in attendance that day, amongst the throng of screaming, popcorn throwing, hell raising pre-teens. There was an autorgraph session in the lobby and I will never forget standing head and shoulders above a sea of kids that surrounded me, trying to get to the table where Sammy sat, signing posters of himself made out of construction paper. I still have that autographed poster, as well as something else that until years later, I didn't realize I had taken home with me that day. A wonderful page in the book of memories of time spent with my family.

    Thanks for reading, and keeping these great Horror Hosts alive on your website, and in our hearts.
   

Sammy Terry, beloved horror host of Nightmare Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana

Sammy Terry, the long-running host of Nightmare Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Click to see an autographed photo of Sammy Terry ordered from his website!


SANDRA BERNHARD
(Sandra Bernhard)
Visit the Save Reel Wild Cinema Website, with great information about the show, PLUS suggestions for useful activities that could get Sandra back on the air hosting cult flix!
See Sandra Bernhard's Internet Movie Database entry.
Reel Wild Cinema
Originally Friday at midnight and Monday night at 1:30 a.m.; later late late Saturday around 4:00 a.m.
USA Network (cable)
1994? - 199?
NOTE:
  • The show ran one hour and featuref massively-edited versions of all types of B-Z movies and cult films with the "boring parts" cut out. Most are exactly the sort of films near and dear to fans of TV horror hosts and their shows -- cheezy, sleazy low-budget Mexican, Japanese and American horrors of every description. Like other hosts, Sandra also has guests like producer David Friedman, Roger Corman, Mamie Van Doren and Tura Satana.

Sane, Count Justin
(See COUNT JUSTIN SANE)

San Guinary
(see DR. SAN GUINARY)

San Guinary, Son of
(see SON OF SAN GUINARY)

SANTO, aka EL SANTO
(Roberto Guzman Huerta)

See the Santo el Enmascarado de Plata Filmography with fabulous pix and info about the heroic masked wrestler who kicked mucho monster butt in a long series of psychotronic Mexican adventure-horror films — just ONE of the many fascinating topics covered at David Wilt's incredible Mexican film Resource Page!

See El Santo's Internet Movie Database entry.

El Sabado del Santo
Saturday afternoon
STATION?, Channel ? (City?, Mexico)
Early '70's

NOTE:

  • Contributed by E-gorespondent Sean Spillane ( STSPILLANE@prodigy.net), who also informed us about Tex-Mex shows hosted by COUNT NATAS and DR. ZEKOW!:
    I have some information about Mexican-produced programming. A friend of mine told me about a show hosted by El Santo sometime in the early seventies entitled "El Sabado del Santo" (trans. "Saturday of El Santo" or "El Santo's Saturday"). This show was broadcast on Saturday afternoons, probably throughout Mexico. El Santo presented, what else, Santo movies, along with cartoons and skits. I've never seen this show, so I can't give you much information, but I'm pretty sure I would love to see an old videotape of this program.
Sapo, El
(see BARON MONDO VON DOREN and EL SAPO DE TEMPESTO)

Sarcofiguy, Dr.
(see DR. SARCOFIGUY)

Scar, Dr.
(see DR. SCAR)

Scarey, Edmus
(see EDMUS SCAREY)

THE SCARLET KNAVE
(Real name=?)
Shock Theatre
Saturday night
WZZM-TV, Channel 13 (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
1963-1964
NOTE:
  • E-gorespondent Frank Rogers submits: "The Scarlet Knave was the host of Shock Theatre Saturday nights on channel 13 WZZM TV in that channel's first year or two of operation (1963-64)."

SCARTICIA
(Annette ?)
Horrible Movies
Saturday night at ?
WAPT-TV, Channel 16 (Jackson, Mississippi)
c. 1971-1975

NOTES:

  • A big Scarticia fan sent two e-mails about her, and the following note was cobbled together from both of them:
    Shortly after WAPT Channel 16 debuted in Jackson, Mississippi, in October 1970, they debuted a Saturday night movie special called Horrible Movie. For the first time ever in Jackson (I believe), we had a horror host/hostess. Her name was "Scarticia." She was more like Morticia Adams than Vampira (I). She wore a lot of makeup and wore a outfit like Mortica's. She was entertaining, not gorgeous like Vampira or the later horror hostesses, but she was worth watching. She spoke with a deep voice and wore white makeup with painted lines on her face. She had a grave digger assistant, "Scoop Gravely," played by legendary, beloved local deejay Ed Hobgood, and a nemesis called "Black Genie" played by a black girl. The set was kind of plain as I recall.

    They ran a Universal package including the older classics, and well as Hammer's Brides of Dracula, Curse of the Werewolf, Kiss of Evil, etc.

    Scarticia always welcomed the viewers at the start of the show with "good evening, animals" and ended it with "unpleasant nightmares." She was very entertaining, and I have a lot of fond memories from her show. In one skit they announced that Scarticia would "streak" on TV. What it amounted to was a naked doll pulled across the front of the camera. Ah the memories.

    Scarticia's Horrible Movie lasted about three years. In April, 1977, WAPT brought the show back with a new AIP movie package but without Scartica The guys dressed in fright masks and carried axes, chainsaws etc. The movie package was the new AIP package that featured a few European films. It didn't last too long.

    I never met Scartica, but swear I saw here several times at the wrestling matches in the Mississippi Coliseum. A woman came regularly wearing a Jackson WAPT jacket, and sat across from us. Based on her build and face, she looked like Scarticia without the makeup. I tried getting info from WAPT but I get no response. They changed management a few times and the new ones probably have no idea what or who Scartica was.

    Just to let you know there was one here in Jackson. I hope you can use this information on your website.

    Richard Dube
  • "Marvin Gardens", a contributor to the Civil Discourse message board at the RunBoard.com free forum site, worked on this show and provided great information about it, including the photo of Scarticia on the sidebar:
    Worked production on Horrible Movie (much like Morgus, only we had a female, "Scarticia." Her real name was Annette and she was the personal secretary to the station manager during her "day job." Horrible Movies was around 1971-72. I did Scarticia's makeup, and painted the background set for her. If you remember "Momma's" portrait hanging beside Scarticia's rocking chair, (holding a dead rat by the tail) I painted that. Otherwise, I was usually on studio cam except for a few times I made an appearance as "Dr. Choke Throttle." Our director at WAPT chose the absolute WORST films ever made to feature. One of our biggest sponsors was a hippy boutique called the "ZZAP Boutique." We really had a good time doing that gig.
    Marv
     

Scarticia, hostess of Horrible Movies in Jackson, Mississippi

Scarticia, hostess of
Horrible Movies in
Jackson, Mississippi.
Courtesy of Marvin Gardens.
Click for larger, full length view of Scarticia.


Schlock, Lou
(see LOU SCHLOCK)

Schlock, Mr.
(see MR. SCHLOCK)

SCORPIO
(Real name=?)

Thing Theater
Saturday afternoon at 1:00
WPGH-TV, Channel 53 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
September 18th, 1976 - ? 197? (about a year)

NOTES:

  • E-gorespondent Jim Patterson, who worked on the production staff of this hosted show and another one (see LAZARUS LOVEITT), provided the initial information for this entry with the following comments:
    "Scorpio" premiered sometime in 1976 and ran for about a year or so. I don't remember the actor's name — he was not a station employee — but I do remember he was very much into the part. Scorpio had a complete resume that the station would mail out to inquiring viewers. His whole life was on that paper, including "Health Status: Dead."

    The program opened as a television film crew on location accidentally finds...a coffin. We bring it back to the station, pop the lid (in a room that looks properly Frankensteinien), and Scorpio emerges to introduce tonight's movie. Well, we rented a film camera (as portable videotape gear was not widely used at the local level in '76), and shot the "film crew" pulling Scorpio's coffin out of the weeds and across a highway. Everything went well except for the local officer of law enforcement who just happened to be driving by at the time and wanted to know what we were doing -- and why!
  • Pittsburgh hostorian "Slick Junior" adds:
    Regarding Scorpio, he appeared on WPGH 53 on Saturday afternoons. I liked his show and what I remember best was that he showed a strong line-up of movies (Baron Blood, Lady Frankenstein, Blood Rose, etc.) that was actually better than Chiller Theater was showing then. Sure would be nice if you could dig up a picture of him. Those were the days when Horror Hosts were all over the TV!
  • The picture of Scorpio on the sidebar (click the image to see the entire TV Guide ad it came from) was provided courtesy of John Buriak, who discovered it in his tireless researches for his own great "Chiller Theater Memories" Yahoo group and website. This image and lots of other great ones related to Pittsburgh area horror hosts are accessible on the website. Here's what John posted to his Yahoo group when he found the picture of Scorpio:
    Scorpio Photograph Found!!!!!
    I was fortunate to come across a Pittsburgh region TV Guide that features a large advertisement from the Premiere of "Thing Theatre with Scorpio"!
    Scorpio is looking out of his coffin. That is an eye patch he's wearing. It looks as if he has a cape. Unless someone out there has any promotional material from Channel 53, this is as good as it gets! .... The actual advertisement in the TV Guide is a lttle clearer, but the scan is pretty good.

    Here's the link to the Collectables 2 page:

    Anyone else out there remember the show? I'm glad I could share the photo.
    John
    John knew that I'd been looking for a picture of Scorpio for years, and was kind enough to offer to share it on this site! Thanks, John — keep up the great work!

  • E-gorespondant FRANK-N_STEIN has sent tons of great personal memories of Scorpio and other hosts and shows in the Pittsburgh area, taken from notes and letters he made when he originallywatched them!
    Here's an adapted conglomeration of his initial comments about the show:
    Some info on Scorpio. I used to watch that show on Saturday afternoons. I can confirm three movies that were on that show: Corridors of Blood with Boris Karloff, Creation of The Humanoids, and the Japanese movie Planets Against Us.

    I found a letter that I had written my brother in 1976 when he was in college. He gave it back to me some years later and I've had it stored away for years.
    In it I'm telling him what all I've been watching. Here's an exact quote from one line:
    I also watched Thing Theater. It features "Scorpio," like their old movie featured TARANTULA. Corridors of Blood was on with Boris Karloff.
    I was 14 when I wrote that. I had totally forgotten, but do now recall that the show featuring Scorpio actually was called Thing Theater.

    The showing of Corridors of Blood was on September 18th, 1976 and I believe this may have been the first show of the series. I also mention that on Sept. 25th I watched Invasion of the Neptune Men on Thing Theater. I believe these two movies are the first two of the series of Thing Theater featuring Scorpio.

    At the opening of the show which was done in a documentary/news report kind of way, the reporter was a member of the staff at the station, Ed Barrett.
  • Shortly after he sent the info above, FRANK-N_STEIN actually provided a transcript of the opening of the very first showing of Thing Theater:
    I found my audio cassette tape which has some of the first airing of Thing Theater on it. Later editions of the show had a very condensed version of this....but being the first show they had to have this long intro to explain where Scorpio came from.
    It's long but I'll transcribe it here, typed exactly as it is on the tape. (I'll have personal comments in parentheses.) Here it goes:
    (This begins as a WPGH News report.)

    ED BARRETT: Good afternoon, this is Ed Barrett reporting for Channel 53. In keeping with WPGH's policy of keeping you, the viewer informed, we are here along the banks of the river to see how bad the pollution problem in Pittsburgh really is.

    Well as you can see, there's the usual amount of trash and filth along the banks, but out of water there seems to be little evidence of any pollutants. The water's almost green. Much better than it was four or five years ago when the water was literally rust colored from all the waste and pollutants dispensed here.

    Well, here and there you may see an occasional piece of paper or other familiar objects floating by, but for the most part Pittsburgh has come a long way. Ed Barrett, Channel 53 news.

    (At this point I thought the segment was over and turned the recorder off, but they came right back and I switched the recorder on. I missed the first part of the sentence. They are talking about finding something in the brush)

    ED BARRETT: ....We went over immediately to investigate this to keep you informed and... (Barret gasps) sure enough! it was some kind of coffin. Well, we cleared the underbrush off of the thing and started hauling it away. It was possibly one of the heaviest things the crew has ever lifted. Many strained backs and ankles and other things.

    (It seems like Ed Barrett is ad-libbing through some of this.)

    ED BARRETT: We finally lifted it up and hauled it over to the road. This is right around Route 28. Our special report.

    ED BARRETT: After we got this thing back to the studio we put it in an unused portion of the studio. That's where we are right now. And as you can see, here it is. This is the coffin right here. For the first time for the Pittsburgh viewing audience, we're going to open it up and let you see exactly what's inside. We have not opened this yet. It's been sealed apparently. Here we go.

    (Noises of a coffin being opened and a loud thump as the lid falls open.)

    ED BARRETT: There we... there we... my goodness!... it's empty! There's nothing in it at all. Strange but true. What... what... what thing could have inhabited this? Where could it have come from? What was it doing there? Perhaps at a later date we'll know. Ed Barrett, Channel 53 news.

    (Off camera voice says "Ok, Ed, that's good.")

    ED BARRETT: Far out. Ok, man, let's go over to Zeke's.

    (I have no idea who Zeke is. After the Channel 53 people leave, a cackling-type laugh is heard, with Scorpio more than likely rising out of the coffin.)

    SCORPIO: Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I fooled them, didn't I? They have a lot of nerve fiddling with my coffin, leaving me here in this place.

    Hmmm... a television studio. No, this will never do. Something a little more comfortable.

    (Loud noise is heard.)

    SCORPIO: Whew, that takes a lot out of me.

    (Scorpio has transformed the studio more to his liking. If I recall correctly he was a wizard/warlock type and had a beard and wore a wizard's hat.....but this is all coming from a memory of seeing him 29 years ago)

    SCORPIO: I used to be able to do that much better. Ah, yes, this is much nicer.

    Ha, a television station, huh? I could show those young people about television programs. That's an idea! Why don't I have my own program? Let's see... first we'll need a name. Something... something mysterious... something clever... something... something... something... Thing... THING! We'll call it "Thing Theater" and we'll watch movies!

    As a matter of fact why don't we watch right now! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    (Movie starts... Corridor of Blood... although the movie name isn't mentioned. I then turned the recorder off. I next turned the recorder on after the movie is over. I think Scorpio did some more skits during the movie, but I don't have that recorded.)

    SCORPIO: Now let's take a look at some of the coming attractions we'll have on Thing Theater!

    (A 2-minute 45-second promo for the movie Baron Munchausen is played — the actual title could possibly be The Fabulous Baron Munchausen. Next is a 1-minute 40-second promo for Planets Against Us. Next is a 1-minute promo for Atomic Rulers Of The World, a Japanese movie with superhero "Starman." Lastly is a 30-second promo for an unnamed vampire movie.)

    SCORPIO: Well, I hope you enjoyed our feature Corridor of Blood today on Thing Theater. Be sure to tune in next week when we will show something even more frightening and horrible: Invasion Of The Neptune People!

    (Scorpio makes a mistake here because the actual title is Invasion Of The Neptune Men.)

    SCORPIO: Well, I have to go. I don't want to be around when those people from Channel 53 get back. And besides, all that popcorn has given me indigestion.

    Well, I'll see you next week, Saturday at 1:00, for Thing Theater with Scorpio. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    (Eerie music plays in background as Scorpio gets in his coffin and the show ends.)
    Hearing stuff like this makes maintaining this site really seem worthwhile! — E-gor.
   

Scorpio, 70's host of Thing Theater in Pittsburgh

Scorpio, 70's host of Thing Theater, WPGH, Pittsburgh PA.

Click image to see a large scan of the complete TV Guide ad it came from.

Pix courtesy of John Buriak, webmonster of the "Chiller Theater Memories" Yahoo group and website.


Scott, Ed and Peg
(see ED and PEG SCOTT)

SCOTT WILLIAMSON
(Scott Williamson)
Visit Cinema Apocalypse, the show's official Website, featuring Quicktime movie clips and an eBay store!
See Scott Williamson's profile page at HORRORHOSTS.com, the official site for the Horror Host Underground.
Cinema Apocalypse
Saturday at 11:00 pm
MTN, Channel 17 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Friday at 10:00 pm
SPNN, Channel 15 (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Sunday at 9:30 pm
CTV, Channel 15 (Roseville and surrounding areas, Minnesota)
1999 - Present
NOTES:
  • Information adapted from the Cinema Apocalypse Website:
    Scott Williamson, co-producer and host of Cinema Apocalypse, has been a rabid film fan for over 20 years and has amassed a substantial collection of rare videos and DVDs. He has written music reviews for many punk and metal zines, and is a regular presence on many Internet film discussion sites.
    Operating behind the scenes, producer Todd Wardrope handles the production aspects of getting each and every show into your living room. He is also an independent filmmaker and is always cooking up films like the ones you'll see featured on CA. The good ones, anyway.
    Cinema Apocalypse uses the power of cable television to present the best and worst cult cinema to be found anywhere on the planet! The producers search out the strangest films, so that they can always bring their audience cinema they wouldn't see anywhere else. They also host special screenings and other events to promote strange cinema throughout the midwest.

SCRUFFY McGHOUL and CHESTER THE WEREWOLF
(Ray Tracy, Victor Tracy)
See Two Fat Ghouls' profile page at HORRORHOSTS.com, the official site for the Horror Host Underground (HHU).
Two Fat Ghouls
Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 pm
Comcast Public Access Channel 15, (Westfield, Massachusetts)
Saturday at 9:00 pm and Sunday at 10:30 pm
Comcast Public Access Channel 15, (Springfield / West Springfield, Massachusetts)
October 18, 2003 - Present
NOTES:
  • Information adapted from the show Website and the hosts' Horror Host Underground Website profile:
    Scruffy McGhoul (Ray Tracy) and his co-host Chester Burnett (Victor Tracy as a werewolf whose name is an in-joke reference to the real name of Blues music legend "Howlin' Wolf") and a cast of dozens have been entertaining their cable access audience with a frightening assortment of public domain horrors since October, 2003. They do all their own editing and blue screen stuff, and Chester even built the set (a hairy job, but somebody's got to do it). The show, produced by Gary Tracy (are these guys brothers, or is this just an incredible coincidence?) in association with ThePerimeterWorks, also features gag commercials and monster guests.
    The movies shown include gems like The Beast from the Haunted Cave (premiere), Creature from the Haunted Sea (2nd show, The Screaming Skull, Frankenstein's Daughter, Mesa of Lost Women, Little Shop of Horrors, The Manster, Curse of the Doll People and The Terror of Tiny Town.
    Viewers are warned: "Caution: may not be suitable for young children or hemorrhoid sufferers."
SELWIN *
(Ray Sparenberg Jr.; died November 1, 2001)
Fright Night
Friday at 11:15 p.m.
WISH-TV, Channel 8 (Indianapolis, Indiana)
1958 - 1963
Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
discussion and picture in Ch. 3, "Invasion of the Ghost Hosts," p. 25.
NOTE:
  • Tireless media researcher and horror hostorian Harris Lentz sent us Ray Sparenberg's obituary, one of the continuing series of bad news items that plagued us in the first year of the new millennium:
    Raymond C. Sparenberg
    ATLANTA (AP) - Raymond C. Sparenberg, one of television's earliest horror movie hosts, died Thursday (Nov. 1) of renal failure. He was 72. Sparenberg, who hosted a weekly show called Fright Night, was known to fans as Selwin, the son of Catwoman and Wolfman. Sparenberg appeared on WISH-TV, a CBS affiliate in Indianapolis, from 1958-63, introducing classic horror films from the 1930s and 1940s.
    Dave Smith, program manager for WISH, described Sparenberg's makeup and outfit as "pasty pallor, upswept eyebrows, sunken cheeks, long sideburns, a black cape and a broad-brimmed cap."
    Sparenberg continued to host Fright Night even after the show changed in 1961 to a jungle format and the next year to space films.
    When the show ended in 1963, Sparenberg came to Atlanta to take a programming and sales job at WXIA.
    From the late 1960s to the early 1980s, Sparenberg operated an upscale cheese shop called Cheese Villa. After the store closed, he worked as a cab driver. Most recently, he worked in the records department at Piedmont Hospital.
Magazine reference:
  • Mentioned in feature "The Horror of Them All!" in issue #13 (December 1988) of Filmfax, pp. 28-32.
  • Ray Sparenberg Jr. and his alter-ego "Selwyn" (sic) are pictured and briefly discussed in a two-page feature on midwestern horror hosts, "Underneath the Masks," in the December 6-12 issue of TV Guide, pp. 26-27.

SETH LAZARUS
(Eric Krueger)

Visit The Keep Out Lounge, the show's website.

See Seth Lazarus's profile page at HORRORHOSTS.com, the official site for the Horror Host Underground.

Check out The Immortal Seth Lazarus at myspace.com.

The Keep Out Lounge
Midnight on an irregular schedule
PACT: Public Access Community Television, Channels 10 and 16 (Austin, Texas)
June 2005 - present
Horror Host Underground Network
Circulating videotape guest appearances on other host's shows (and vice versa)
2005 - present

NOTES:

  • "Welcome to The Keep Out Lounge" from the website:
    ABANDON HOPE ALL Y'ALL WHO ENTER HERE!!!!!!
    Welcome to The Keep Out Lounge,the oldest horror themed bar in the great state of Texas!!
    Established in 1951 by Seth Lazarus,and becoming a members only bar in 1982, it remains one of the scariest and fun places to drink in Austin,Texas!

    Seth hosts The Keep Out Lounge,a horror host show, from the bar. It is the only completely adult themed, uncensored horror host show on the air today!!!

    He shows old and new classic, and not so classic horror films.
    WATCH IF YOU DARE!!!!!!!!!!

    The Keep Out Lounge also features the irresistable naked charms of Ayla Jennings, as Miss Wanamaker! BE AN ADULT,IF YOU DARE!!!!!!!
    "She's so great,sometimes I wish I could chop her into a million pieces,so I could share her with the rest of the world!"

    If you don't live in the Austin area,we have the show on DVD for a minimal cost.
    For information about ordering,or to become a member or sponsor of The Keep Out Lounge, or if you just have a question, feel free to email Seth.

    thekeepoutlounge@gmail.com

    Or snail mail to:

    The Keep Out Lounge Studios
    p.o.box 151631
    Austin Tx.78715-1631

    IMMORTALLY YOURS,
    SETH LAZARUS
  • I, E-gor, had the pleasure of receiving and exchanging several e-mails with Seth Lazarus (discussing classic hosts like SEYMOUR and VAMPIRA) before he told me anything about his own show! It turns out he's especially well-informed about a nearly-forgotten horror host from his own home town, and he gave me some great information about him — PETER LORRE JR.!

    When I got him talking about his show, here's what he told me:
    As for myself, my show is called The Keep Out Lounge, and it is filmed in my bar of the same name. I play "The Immortal Seth Lazarus," who goes through cycles of life and death. When he is dead other characters try to take over the show. I play all the characters including;

    • Dr. Mike Hunt, a scientist with the secret of life from death.

    • Cheesy the clown, a demonic clown who gets conjured up from below (usually by accident) and goes on a killing spree to the tune of "Woo Hoo" by the 5-6-7-8's, until Seth sends him back.

    • Kraven Moorehead, Mr. Hyde to Dr Hunt's Jeckyl, transformed by a chemical brew he can't resist taking.

    Dr. Hunt also created the "Patchwork Dancers" made from the parts of other dead dancers. They dance in all their stitched together glory! I don't play those roles! I get friends to volunteer for the dancers. I also play Bigfoot and El Chupacabra, but all you ever see are their hands!

    My show will be on Austin Access Television starting in June (2005). I had an earlier release date but delayed it because I lucked into something great. I recognize local celebrities on sight, so I saw a local ex-weatherman named Keith Brunson and talked to him. When I told him about my show he told me about a movie he produced in '91 called Scary Movie (the original, not the comedy). It was made in Austin and starred John Hawkes and Butch Patrick, who both lived here then. He sent me a copy of the film, and it is THE best movie I've seen in a long time. I knew it had to be my first show! I met the director, Daniel Erickson, and he gave me the master copy of the film to use, (for the best picture quality) as well as lots of swell movie swag! It was on Beta SP, so I had to take it a studio to transfer to mini-dv format, which is what they broadcast with. I pick it up at the end of the day today, and I've been filming my bumps for it, so it will be submitted next week. It takes about 3 weeks to be broadcast after submission, so I'm looking to a June premiere. This show will be a family show, my only one because my show has an adult premise, the movies I show have graphic violence and nudity. Sometimes the dancers won't be entirely clothed either!

    Thanks for the help and I hope to correspond in the future.
    Eric "Seth Lazarus" Krueger
    thekeepoutlounge.com
  • When I contacted Eric Krueger in February 2007 to ask him to check out his new entry and another new one I had created with his help on PETER LORRE JR., he replied.
    The entry on Peter Lorre Jr. is fantastic! You did some great research! Thank you so much! I'm glad he's included on your website. Hopefully someone will see it and have a copy of the show, or know where he is now! I would like him to know he's not forgotten.

    Thank you also for my inclusion into the Chamber! It's exciting to see my entry! I love the fact that it's right by Sinister Seymour!

    My show is still going strong. I recently changed the format a bit and started shooting the show in a TV studio. The quality of the picture I get in studio is as good as anything on network TV! I'm pretty excited about that! I'm working on a deal to get it on a local network affilliate.

    Personally,I was recently in a musical comedy called "Audition on Broadway" by Howard Danziger. It was written at the same time as "A Chorus Line" but just sat in a drawer until now! I'm also writing a Monster Musical based on The Keep Out Lounge; the producers want to put it on stage by this Halloween!

    I have also been playing the role of "Dave" on NBC/Universal's Friday Night Lights. I have become S.A.G. eligible because of that work.

    Thanks again George!
    Seth (Eric)
   

Seth Lazarus, host of The Keep Out Lounge in Austin TX

Seth Lazarus, immortal host of The Keep Out Lounge in Austin Texas.
Click image for larger view.


SEYMOUR, aka SINISTER SEYMOUR *
(Larry Vincent, born Jerry Vance: died March 8, 1975)
Visit the Seymour Presents page at the Real Little PartiGirl's "Local Legends" website -- a buncha great pix and PartiGirl's moving personal tribute!
See Larry Vincent's Internet Movie Database entry.
Fright Night
Saturday late-night double-feature
KHJ-TV (now KCAL), Channel 9 (Los Angeles, California)
c. 1969-70 - January 1972
Monster Rally
Saturday, 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m.
KTLA, Channel 5 (Los Angeles, California)
c. 1973
Seymour Presents
Day? Time?
KHJ-TV (now KCAL), Channel 9 (Los Angeles, California)
Also syndicated on XETV, Channel 6 (San Diego, California)
1974 - early 1975
Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
mention (pp. 174, 178) and whole chapter with three pictures -- Ch. 15, "Seymour: 'Good evening, Fringies!'," pp. 97-105.
Magazine references:
  • Obituary article "Seymour Nevermore" with three pictures of Larry Vincent (as Seymour and in two of his movie roles) in issue #120 (October 1975) of Famous Monsters of Filmland, pp. 38-41.
  • Feature "Seymour, a Look at the Late, Great Horror Host from L.A." by W. Lund in issue #23 (November 1982) of Fangoria, pp. ?-??.
  • Picture in feature "The Horror of Them All!" in issue #13 (December 1988) of Filmfax, pp. 28-32.
  • Discussed in article by Terence Sanford, "Happy Hallucinations and Goodnight Sweethearts," in Scary Monsters Presents Monster Memories #2, 1994 Yearbook (January 1994), pp. 19-22.
NOTES:
  • Replaced as KHJ-TV host in 1972 by MOONA LISA; returned in 1974 with new show.
  • According to a discussion group poster who remembered him, "Seymour (pronounced Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeymour) did the usual horror host shtick, with comments on the movie, including playing back scenes that had occurred in the previous segment and commenting on them specifically."
  • Larry Vincent began his television career as host of the Captain Starr show at WFBM-TV (Indianapolis, Indiana) for six years in '50's.
  • E-gorespondent Rick Alhadeff ( DAlhadeff@webtv.net) remembers:
    "He was on KHJ, channel 9 in Los Angeles circa 1969. Big black cape, wide brimmed black hat, almost handlebar mustache, man, he was the best!
    Seymour would stand in front of the 'Slimy Wall' hosting the movie. Guests would appear from behind the wall, adventures would go on behind the wall out of our view. It was a blast!
    Anyway, to this day, I still think about Seymour quite often - I have a poster of him up along w/ my 'Seymour Certificate' ....I just bought an 8 by 10 of him on Ebay!"
  • Mike Shawn e-mailed memories of several west coast hosts, including these details on Seymour:
    Larry Vincent as Seymour on Fright Night was the greatest. He did so much more than just comment on the film. Each week he would show a piece of silent film footage and tell you to watch for that scene next week. And by god, at one in the morning as you were falling to sleep that damn scene would be inserted. Sometimes you wouldn't even know what was going on because it would flow with the action.
    His opening intro was "Master of the macabre, the epitome of evil, the most sinister man to crawl on the face of the earth, Seeeeeeeeymore!" He would close with "Bad Evening." He would also use some event in the film to crash the party that was always going on down the block.
    After about two years he left Channel 9 and went to Channel 5. He actually filmed his last show walking out of the studio and hitch hiking down Melrose Ave. His Channel 5 stint started with him crashing the gate.
    In the meantime, Channel 9 went nuts. They brought in Moona Lisa. This lasted about a year.... Then there were the one shots. The announcer for the old Fright Night was dressed up in a spider costume and hosted a show called "Arach and his friend Nid" -- you guessed it, a fly. They made lots of jokes about the station owners smoking dope and the show was pulled after two spots. They even tried a fracture flickers show with the host "Catman." The only thing of note was a girl chained to a wall in a skimpy bikini. Would love to see this one again.
    By this time, Larry Vincent had gone through the Channel 5 archive many many times and he returned to Channel 9. Shortly before his death he hosted a Halloween screaming fest at the Wiltern Theater which destroyed the speaker system.
    If you check into the producer of Seymore's Fright Night, he's the same guy who produced Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.

Shadow, The Night
(this host's name is two words, not three: see THE NIGHTSHADOW)

Shatner, William
(see WILLIAM SHATNER)

Shear, Rhonda
(see RHONDA SHEAR)

Shock, Dr.
(see DR. SHOCK (I) *, DR. SHOCK (II), DR. SHOCK (III), and DR. SHOCK (IV) )

Shocker, Dr.
(see DR. SHOCKER and IGOR and TRACY THE GORILLA)

SHOCK ARMSTRONG, THE ALL-AMERICAN GHOUL
(Station newscaster Paul Reynolds: died in 1996)

Read The Scary Tale of Shock Theatre, covering this host's version of the show and others, on the Big 13 website.

Visit Shock's Home Page, a tribute to Shock Armstrong and other Florida hosts created by the legendary B-movie director Fred Olen Ray (see his Retromedia company website).

Shock Theatre
Friday at 11:30 p.m.
WTVT, Channel 13 (Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida)
September 24, 1964 - August 1974 (no live host after Reynolds left WTVT in 1968)

Magazine reference:
  • Discussed in "Monster Memories" feature "TV Horror Hosts & Me" by Fred Olen Ray in issue #9 (December 1993) of Scary Monsters, p. 8.

NOTES:
  • E-gorespondent Steve Page remembers:
    Shock Theatre, with Shock Armstrong, the All American Ghoul, ran on WTVT Channel 13 on Friday nights at 11:30 pm from 1964 - Aug. 1974. It was a double feature. Shock Armstrong was played by Paul Reynolds, who died after a long illness. Shock wore a black football jersey with the number "13" on it. When the show went to a commercial, if Shock didn't do a skit, the "Shock Theater" logo would appear on a black background with a revolving skull on the left of the screen. The first time I saw it I was 5 or 6, and I thought it was both the coolest and scariest thing I ever saw! Great memories. Wish there was still something like it today.
  • According to Fred Olen Ray's Scary Monsters article cited above, Shock Armstrong:
    ...appeared wearing a football uniform and a Frankenstein mask with the mouth glued around his own so he could talk... The show opened with a roving camera shot through a graveyard up to an old house and into a window where Shock lay in his coffin... It would cut inside and Shock's alarm clock, which was wired to the bolts in his neck, would chime out Big Ben's bells. He would rise out of the coffin, kiss Lamby-pie (a little stuffed doll of obvious stitches) and get into his routine from the attic of his haunted house...
  • Dave Morrison had great news for SHOCK ARMSTRONG fans:
    I and two former Ch. 13 employees put together a web page to share our memories of the show and the station in general. If your other readers can share any info with me, I'll be sure to credit their contributions.
    NOTE from E-gor: Dave's site has been up for some time, and features a bunch of station photos including publicity stills of Paul Reynolds and "Shock." Read The Scary Tale of Shock Theatre featuring "Shock Armstrong, the All-American Ghoul" and other versions of the show, at the Big 13 historical TV website, dedicated to WTVT, Channel 13 in Tampa / St. Petersburg, Florida.

  • According to the Big 13 website feature on Shock Armstrong, Paul Reynolds' version of Shock Theatre was replaced briefly in April, 1967, by the new Joey Bishop talk show, but protests from fans (including picketing) brought it back very quickly. After Paul Reynolds left the station in 1968, Shock Theatre continued without a live host until it finally went off the air in 1974. During this period, a plastic Halloween candy container closely resembling Paul Reynold's Don Post Frankenstein mask was shown with the Shock Theatre title and credits surrounding the movie.
     



Shock Armstrong, 60's horror host in Tampa, Florida

Paul Reynolds as Shock Armstrong, Shock Theatre host on WTVT, Channel 13 in Tampa, Florida.
The image above was taken from a famous photo of Shock Armstong you can get a bigger and better look at on both the Big 13 website and on Shock's Home Page. See links at left.


Shockula, Count *
(see COUNT SHOCKULA)

Shreek, Gortem or Mr.
(see MR. SHREEK, aka GORTEM SHREEK)

Shriek, Mr. or Gortem
(should be "Shreek, Mr. or Gortem" — see MR. SHREEK, aka GORTEM SHREEK)

SHRIMPENSTEIN and DR. VON SHTICK
(Puppet character worked by Gene Moss as "Dr. Von Shtick")
Visit the shrimply terrific Shrimpenstein page (along with lots of other cool west coast TV host info) at the Real Little PartiGirl's "Local Legends" website -- including pictures, RealAudio show theme, and RealMedia film clips!
The Shrimpenstein Show
KTLA, Channel 5 (Los Angeles, California)
KHJ (now KCAL), Channel 9 (Los Angeles, California)
Monday - Friday at 5 p.m. (half-hour show)
1965-67
NOTE:
  • According to the Local Legends website (link above), "Gene Moss was the talented host of The Shrimpenstein Show, where he did his puppeteering best to keep kids in the mid-1960's entertained.... Gene also wrote the catchy theme song. In between skits, Gene showed cartoons, usually the hysterically stilted 1960's Marvel super hero ones. You could join the Shrimpenstein fan club and gather up such cool things as Monster Green Stamps.... and a 45rpm of the great theme song among other goodies."
  • West coast host fan Mike Shawn remembers: "Shrimpenstein came after Fright Night.... It also ran on Channel 9 and it was one of those 18-inch tall frankie dolls....The ventriloquist was so bad they had to keep the camera off of him because his lips moved."

Shroud, Dr.
(see DR. SHROUD)

THE SHROUD
(Don Paris)

Nightmare Theatre
Friday night
WFFT-TV, Channel 55 (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
1979 - 1983

Magazine references:

  • Mentioned in a letter from Joseph Meeks in issue #10 of Scary Monsters magazine, p. 7.

  • Inscribed and signed fan photo reproduced in Favorite Westerns magazine, issue number 2 (? 1981), with the following comment in the editorial column:
    I want to mention a nice telephone call and letter that I received from Mr. Don Paris, the host of Nightowl Theatre [sic] seen on WFFT-TV Channel 55, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Many of the serials and features we review in our magazines are seen on his program, so I am sure any fans in his area who are not watching already, will want to start.
    The signed fan photo reproduced in the magazine reads:
    To Norm [Kietzer], Jeff [Walton], & the entire staff at SW [Serial World] -- Continued success for keeping those thrilling days of yesteryear alive forever!
    "Pleasant dreams"
    The Shroud
NOTES:

  • The Shroud spoke in a very deep echoing voice and dressed completely in black, including a black hood over his face. He never joked and was always very serious.

  • Details about this host were posted by a contributor to another horror host tribute site — James Mannan's excellent Pleasant Nightmares: An Unofficial Sammy Terry Tribute Page. In August, 2002, Ernie "Wil" Radcliffe sent the following comments (abridged here) to the Other Hoosier Movie Hosts page of that site:
    The show was hosted by The Shroud, a black cloaked figure who took his hosting gig pretty seriously. No jokes. No camp. No gags. As I recall each show would open with spooky music (it may have been the theme music from Dark Shadows, if not something awfully similar), and the camera would move in on a small model castle. The little draw bridge would lower, then The Shroud would appear ala blue screen effect. He would introduce the movie and give a few tidbits of information... the year it was made, stars, etc. In the middle of the movie he'd come in and give a mini-biography of horror actors, or inside information on certain movies. He would end every show with his catch phrase "Until next time — Pleasant Dreams!" The first year or so the show aired, they ran mostly classic Universal stuff... Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, etc. Later they ran some 50s stuff like Them!, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and so on. And they even ran a few Godzilla movies later on.

    Nightmare Theatre ran Friday nights, as I recall. I believe in the mid 80s they changed the name to Shock Theatre, sadly without the Shroud or any host for that matter. Eventually, they did bring in a new host to capitalize on the Elvira craze.
    (see RENFIELD — E-gor)
    This one was played strictly for laughs .... and featured a caretaker for the "Plasma Motel." Didn't last long. Eventually, I believe, Channel 55 went with the syndicated version of Elvira's show....

    I was in Junior High when Nightmare Theatre aired and I was a huge fan. I watched every Friday night. I didn't even really care which movie ran... I was just fascinated with The Shroud. I drew my own little comic book adventures based on him and even had my grandma sew a Shroud costume for Halloween one year.
    (NOTE: If you can provide this site with additional information about this host, please also send it to James Mannon for his Hoosier hosts page linked above! — E-gor)

  • Fort Wayne fan Jay Luce sent a scan of a letter "that was a response to me as a kid by the Shroud." Click on the link under The Shroud's portrait on the sidebar to see the full-size letter!
   

The Shroud, host of Nightmare Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Don Paris as The Shroud, the deadly serious host of Nightmare Theatre on WFFT in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Click image to see the fan photo it came from.

Read a letter from The Shroud, courtesy of the fan who received it, Jay Luce!


Shtick, Dr. Von
(see SHRIMPENSTEIN and DR. VON SHTICK)

SIMON
(Gary Newton; deceased)

Simon's Sanctorum
WCVB-TV, Channel 5 (Boston, Massachusetts)
Saturday night (8:30 - 10:00 pm.?; later at some point?)
1970 - 1972-73?

KPLR, Channel 11 (St. Louis, Missouri)
Sunday afternoon around 2:00
1970 - 1972-73?

Magazine references:

  • Discussed in a letter from Anthony Menna III in issue #10 of Scary Monsters (March 1994), p. 6.

  • A picture of Simon accompanies a letter about Simon (and LA host Jeepers) from Mark Natola in issue #11 (June 1994) of Scary Monsters (p. 13).

NOTES:

  • Boston fan Dave White remembers:
    Simon, to my recollection, always started and ended his shows .... by looking through a large, basketball-sized brandy snifter at the camera. Of course, my size reference may be off, since I was only about 8 at the time.
  • According to various discussion group postings, Simon climbed out of a coffin to introduce movies.

  • Anthony Menna's letter in Scary Monsters (cited above) notes that Simon dressed in black, wore greyish-white face makeup, black makeup under his eyes, and had a mustache and some blacked-out teeth. Once he pulled out a handful of worms and pretended to eat them.

  • Mark Natola's letter in Scary Monsters (cited above) says the show ran:
    ....during the early 1970's. Each Saturday night at 9 PM, Simon would present a horrific B+W thriller from the golden age of horror.... Unfortunately, Simon and his show now exist only in the dusty memories of a few faithful fans. According to Steve Rainer, the current production manager at Boston Channel 56, Simon was played by his station's art director, Gary Newton. Sadly, Gary left the station following the show's cancellation, and has not been heard from again.
  • Boston fan Paula O'Keefe writes:
    Have info to add on Boston's Simon, of whom I was (and am!) a huge fan.... The Simon's Sanctorum that I remember ran on Ch. 5, WCVB, for a lamentably few years in the early 1970s.
    When WCVB went to a 24-hour format it purchased a package of Universal films called "Classic Horror" and "Classic Horror II," the "Classic Horror" films being the great Universal "name" features and the "Horror II" films being B-pictures, mysteries, and movies like Curse of the Undead and The Leech Woman. Originally WCVB showed films from these two packages as a Saturday night double feature (at 11:30 PM and 1:30 AM, I think) under the "CH / CH2" titles, with an opening title montage of scenes from the films set to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."
    When Simon's Sanctorum arrived -- I *believe* it was in 1972, but I'm not certain -- it took over the "Classic Horror" time slot and film library, while "Classic Horror II" continued under that title in the slot after Simon's show.
    The show opened with creepy music and Simon's face gradually materializing while he recited a sort of invocation about how we were all drawn back again to this place and time... then the title would appear. I remember an opening scene of a trap door opening in the floor of a dark room, out of which Simon would climb in a cloud of light and smoke. This trap door supposedly led down to a room housing a repulsive monster which Simon occasionally "fed" by tossing it handfuls of rubber worms and bugs, though the creature was never seen....
    The description you have of him agrees with my memories -- a sort of decayed, Victorian elegance. His most often seen set was a large ornate chair flanked by elaborate candlesticks. He always addressed his viewers as "Devoted" and often spoke sardonically of the bond between us and himself ("you are the moth, Devoted, and Simon is your flame...").
    Simon was a cultured sort of ghoul and most shows included a segment in which he would sit in his "throne" with a goblet of "the elixir" and give a dramatic reading of poetry or a segment from some classic, though always capped off with a sarcastic remark. (He attributed his longevity to this elixir, which was a bubbling dry-ice potion he would drink with great relish.) However, he was never above "going for the gross-out," and might close a poetic sequence by jamming his armpit against the lens or licking it! The show closed with Simon's disembodied face bidding us farewell and saying that we would all return to this space again..."to Simon's Sanctorum..." -- then fading out with creepy laughter as the credits rolled.
    Simon became fairly popular and briefly hosted an afternoon radio segment on a small Boston station ("Simon would like to have you for lunch") in which he would recite one of his monologues and introduce a few songs. The station was exasperatingly low-watt and I was only able to hear the feature two or three times, to my great exasperation, so have no idea how long it ran.
    The only mention of Simon I remember appearing in print at the time was an item in the Boston Globe TV column, which included a photo and some information about how the character had been created. I did clip this item at the time, but to my eternal regret it is long lost. I would be unbelievably grateful if anyone could provide me with a photocopy of this irreplaceable treasure!
    Thanks for the chance to remember this delightful program, which was the brightest spot in my teenage years.
  • St. Louis show fan Alan T. remembers:
    Simon's Sanctorum also played in St. Louis on KPLR (Channel 11) around 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoons, approximately the same years you have already noted. The thing I recall about Simon was that his appearance was similar to Alice Cooper. He would occasionally wear a bowler hat, and was generally draped in dry-ice fog. I remember his show commenced with Simon saying something like
    "Simon recalls his moth; here is your flame!
    Come, devoted, and I will show you many wonders!
    Simon says -- WATCH!"
    All this accompanied by weird bubbling electronic sound effects.
    The movies the Sanctorum showcased in the St. Louis area were fairly sleazy horror fare, such as The Crimson Cult & The Creature with the Blue Hand.
    One aspect of Simon that I thought was really funny was the utter lack of respect he had for his viewers. In one bit, he stared into the camera, intoning,
    "Devoted, your eyes are heavy-lidded and myopic, but they begin to perceive this face, the face of the one who commands! But what are these tiny vessels at the corners of your eyes, devoted? Like an infinitesimal road map! How does it go -- the red ones are major highways and the blue ones proposed roads? Allow me... to add... a few SIDE-STREETS!"
    At which point, Simon jammed his thumb into the camera and began laughing hysterically.
    Whew! Thanks for letting me share a bit of nostalgia with you.
  • Simon fan "spridel100" comments:
    Just a note about the Simon's Sanctorum show, that ran on Saturday night's in the early 70s on WCVB TV-5 in Boston.... Simon's show had the classic Boris, Bela type 30s films... but the show that followed also ran more classic type things, not B horror as one person noted, in fact, the name of the show was "Classic Horror," but they did run the lesser known of the Universal stuff like The Invisible Ray and Man-Made Monster. Simon referred to the monster under the floor as "Trapdoor." WCVB also ran "Chiller" theater on Saturday afternoon (more Universal).
  • Boston fan Ned Grant has some fascinating specifics, and remembers one detail differently:
    I was in Boston attending Berklee College of Music in 1973 and Simon was our favorite TV star. His “pet” in the pit was named “Dregma,” who once grabbed his arm and pulled it into the pit and began “humping” it as a dog would hump a leg (off-camera, of course). Recovering his dignity, Simon said, “Never again, Dregma!,” and slammed the trap-door shut. My favorite little skit was one in which he pretended to break the fingers of the viewer’s (“Devoted’s”) hand. Leering into the camera, we heard each finger snap, to the count of SIX! Looking horrified, Simon looked down, recounted, and backed away from the camera saying, “Devoted! Uuuugghh!” (as if we had six fingers). He once read a particularly silly Tennyson poem and began crying. Looking at the camera disdainfully, he said “Have you no feelings? Are you made of steel, of iron? Perhaps, PIG-iron?” and laughed hysterically. He had the greatest evil laugh I’ve ever heard – a deep, “Moo-hoo-hoo-hoo-ahh-ha-ha-ha!” I spoke to Gary Newton on the phone once, but the only details I can remember are his plugging “Simon Would Like to Have You for Lunch” on a local AM radio station (rehashed clips from the TV show), and saying that parents were complaining to Channel 5 about the show’s content. His clothing was mid-19th century Edgar Allan Poe style, his teeth were dirty, he had dark circles under his eyes and a bushy moustache, and boy do I miss him!
  • After the movie, chapters from Flash Gordon serials were shown.
   




Gary Newton as 70's Boston host Simon

Gary Newton as
70's horror host
Simon on WCVB
in Boston and KPLR in St. Louis
(click for larger,
uncropped view).

Rare portrait courtesy of Simon's fan Anthony.


SINISTER MINISTER
(Sean Smith)

Visit Midnight Massacre Theatre, Sinister Minister's Official Website.

See Sinister Minister's profile page at HORRORHOSTS.com, the official site for the Horror Host Underground.

Watch Midnight Massacre Theatre videos online on the official show website and on Weirdo Cinema TV!

Midnight Massacre Theatre
Friday and Saturday at midnight (Pacific Time)
Vegas 35 KVTE, Channel 35 on the Las Vegas Television Network, LVTN (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Halloween 2003 (debut on UPN) - present
Streaming video on demand (anytime you want to see it) on the show website.

Magazine reference:
  • Sinister Minister is pictured, discussed and interviewed in the feature article "Midnight Madness: America's Top Horror Movie Hosts" in Dark Realms Magazine issue #21 (Winter 2006).
    See scans of this article on the LVTN website.

NOTES:
  • From Sinister Minister's website self-into:
    Hello Kiddies..... and welcome to the dead of night… stay a while… and let me tell you the tale of “The Midnight Massacre Theatre” … ready? ... ok … It was a dark and stormy night … wait! It's always a dark and stormy night in this classic late night “creature feature” show, incorporating modern dark humor and entertainment with the classic late night horror movie showcase creating the most entertaining fright night fun you’ll ever experience. We’ve all been thrilled by the late night creature feature show … hardcore horror film fan or not … everyone enjoys a good creature feature. Hosted by a sinister and deranged ex priest … (me! Mwahahaaaaaaaaa!) … with a penchant for old creepy films, sexy young catholic schoolgirls … a.k.a… my “Altargirls” … and just dripping with sarcasm and malevolence … I, the “Sinister Minister” along with the Altargirls, bring the Midnight Massacre Theatre to you in the dead of night and make the witching hour creep by with thrills and laughs. Showcasing the best in old creepy horror films to tingle your spine and chill your bones. So … kiddies, turn down the lights … light some candles … lock your door, bolt your windows, sit back, curl up and enjoy the Midnight Massacre Theatre…

    Darkest Regards…
    The Sinister Minister
  • I, E-gor, received the following e-mail from the Sinister Minister himself!:
    Greetings... my name is Sean and I'm a Horrorhost from Las Vegas known as the "Sinister Minister." My show is called the Midnight Massacre Theatre and it airs every Friday and Saturday night at Midnight on Vegas 35 KVTE, and I am now streaming the show on my own website.

    I'm listed on the horrorhost underground site and I'd like to be listed on your site as well. There is a really cool article in Dark Realms Magazine #21 (Winter 2006) about my show... you can go to www.lvtn.com and check that out there: (see scans of the article here).
    Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

    Sean Smith
    (The Sinister Minister)
   

Sinister Minister, host of Midnight Massacre Theatre in Las Vegas

Sinister Minister, host of Midnight Massacre Theatre in Las Vegas.
Click image to see an autographed photo of Sinister Minister with his Altargirls!


Sinister Seymour *
(see SEYMOUR *)

SIR CECIL CREAPE, aka THE PHANTOM OF THE OPRY *
(Russ McCown; died January 1995)

Check out this cool Sir Cecil Creape tribute page -- among the pages for a number of other area horror hosts, at Dr. Gangrene's Web Lab! It includes a great shot of Sir Cecil and Russ McCown out of costume, a full-color repro of a "Sir Cecil's Ghoul Patrol (Middle Tennessee Council)" shoulder patch (!), and a reprint of an Outré magazine feature article about Sir Cecil by DR. GANGRENE himself!

Creature Feature
Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
WSM-TV, Channel 4 (Nashville, Tennessee)
September 1971 - 1973
The Phantom of the Opry
Saturday afternoon
The Nashville Network (cable TNN) (Nashville, Tennessee)
1983 - 1985

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
whole chapter and picture -- Ch. 16, "The Phantom of the Opry: Sir Cecil Creape," pp. 106-110.

Magazine reference:
  • Feature article on Sir Cecil Creape (title?) by Larry Underwood (DR. GANGRENE) in issue #21 (mm? yy?) of Outré magazine. See online reprint at link above.

SIR GRAVES GHASTLY * (see also COUNT ALU CARD)
(Lawson J. Deming; died April 24, 2007: see obituary)

Visit SirGravesGhastly.com, Keith Milford's magnificent, beautifully designed web tribute to this beloved Detroit horror host, with monstrous loads of information, pictures, memorabilia, message board, a film list, and many audio and video samples!.

See bio and images of Sir Graves Ghastly at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video shockaeologist Thomas Rudé!
Sir Graves Ghastly Presents
WJBK, Channel 2 (Detroit, Michigan)
Friday nights at 11:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon from 2:30-5:00
1967 - April 1983
WUAB-TV, Channel 43 (Cleveland, Ohio)
Saturday afternoons (just before or after SUPER HOST)
Early 70s
WTOP, Channel 9 (now defunct) (Washington, D.C.)
Friday, 11:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon
"For about a year, during the early '70's" -- Riordan article cited below)

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
whole chapter -- Ch. 10, "Sir Graves Ghastly Presents," pp. 73-76.

Magazine references:

  • Feature with 3 pictures of Sir Graves, "Sir Graves Ghastly: Horror Host Extraordinaire" by Paul M. Riordan, in issue #21 (December 1996) of Scary Monsters, pp. 68-70.

  • "T.V. Horror Host Gallery" portrait photo on inside back cover of issue #1 (Summer 1995) of Monsters from the Vault.

NOTES:

  • According to various discussion group postings, Sir Graves Ghastly was a middle-aged man in heavy "Dracula" makeup with a voice like Boris Karloff's. He started and ended the show by climbing out of and into a coffin. Showed "classic" horror films and gave good background on them. At end, he wished viewers "Happy Haunting," give an evil laugh and lay down in his coffin.

  • Show cast included Tilly Trollhouse, Walter, The Glob, the Cool Ghoul, and the Voice of Doom (all played by Deming); Digger Deeper (Walter Selbman)

  • Lawson J. Deming portrayed another horror host character, COUNT ALU CARD, for a while in the 70's on WUAB-TV, Channel 43 in Cleveland, Ohio (click preceding link for additional information).
   

Portrait of Sir Graves Ghastly

Lawson Deming as the great Detroit, Cleveland and D.C. horror host Sir Graves Ghastly!
Click image to see the complete photo it was cropped from.


SIR ROBERT GHOUL-LEY (see also JIM COOKE)
(Real name=?)
The Late, Great Horror Show
Saturday at 11:30 p.m.
WJET-TV, Channel 24 (Erie, Pennsylvania)
Summer 1980 - 1982
NOTE:
  • E-gorespondent Ian Eastman remembered this host, "a more traditional type of host in makeup," who filled in for primary show host JIM COOKE (see entry) when Jim was away.

SIR RODGER
(Bob Drews)
Shock Theatre
Moved around: late Wednesday, Friday, and/or Saturday during run
WTAE-TV, Channel 4 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
1958 - 1962?

Magazine reference:
  • Bob Drews had a regular feature called "Good Old Bob Drews Department" in a short-lived late 50's Mad-style humor magazine called Thimk, notable for its "monster" orientation, including a Frankensteinish mascot, "Otis Dracenstein," who appeared on most of the covers and in various features. Bob Drews' feature is accompanied by a small portrait photo, most of the "real" man himself — crew cut, hornrim glasses, suit and tie — in his everyday incarnation as the morning disk jockey of station WAMP, Pittsburgh. But in Bob's feature called "Inside Horror Movies: THIMK Straightens Out the Picture Tube" in Thimk Vol. 1, No. 5 (February 1959, pp 38-41), the portrait is of a shadowy, scar-faced, staring, unbespectacled fiend with an exaggerated widows peak like Henry Hull's Werewolf of London! The caption reads:
    Good Old Bob is now showing good old horror movies on Channel 4 in Pittsburgh, as well as playing records, so he decided to clear up some misconceptions this month in his role as Sir Roger [sic], the shock film MC. He wanted us to mention that the TV show is sponsored by the J.A. Williams Company and the local Chrysler dealers, but we decided not to because we are against all plugging.
NOTES:

  • FLASH!!! An old fan of this Pittsburgh show, Jim Hurray, wrote in May 2007 and sent a scan of his original membership card from its "SHOCK THEATRE Right / Wrong Thinker's Club", with a great clear picture of the host on the front! This portrait is now the topmost image on the sidebar at right; click the image to see scans of the complete club card, front and back, and an original autograph! This official printed evidence showed that we had been spelling the names of both the host and his show incorrectly since this entry first appeared (and so had all of our informants!): they should have been spelled "Sir Rodger," not "Sir Roger," and Shock Theatre, not Shock Theater. We've attempted to find and correct these errors throughout this entry and elsewhere on this website — sorry for the confusion!

  • When he sent the scans of his original show memorabilia (along with a great signed portrait of another early Pittsburgh horror host, IGOR (II)), Jim Hurray briefly commented "I am from Pittsburgh North Side Spring Hill. I was a big fan of Sir Rodger and never missed a show." We hope to coax some more memories out of Jim very soon.

  • Another Iron City horror host contributed the first of our Sir Rodger data! Fred Adams, who played CEDRIC, co-host and sidekick to "The Spooky Spectre" on Fright Night Friday (see THE SPOOKY SPECTRE and CEDRIC), e-mailed the following details:
    Another host was Sir Rodger on WTAE in the 50's. His show was Shock Theatre and it ran Wednesday (don't ask me why -- Wednesday is mid-week weekend in western Pa.) and Saturday nights at 11:30 or maybe midnight. He wore the black suit/white shirt/black bowtie butler suit and wore a wig with Moe Howard bangs. He had circles painted under his eyes and spoke in a faux Boris Karloff voice a la "Vitus" in The Black Cat.... He was a WTAE regular on the news, and he raced stock cars at the old Heidelberg Speedway (televised earlier on Saturday evenings). He was a real renaissance man.
  • Another E-gorespondent, "Dr. Septimus Pretorius," recalls:
    The guy who dominated the Pittsburgh TV horror scene before Chilly Billy came to town.... was Sir Rodger, and he hosted Shock Theatre. I was so young at the time that I can't supply a lot of details about this guy, but I remember he had his hair done in a widow's peak style that I used to imitate. He showed classic Universal Horrors, and was the host who first introduced me to Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, etc.
  • Monster Bash shock trouper Jeff Barnes grew up in a small town in West Virginia watching Pittsburgh's CHILLY BILLY, but he passed on some of his family's oral history:
    I was born in 1959, so I was too young to remember Sir Rodger but my sister remembered him fondly (she has since passed away so I can't ask her about him anymore). Sir Rodger's show was where she first saw Frankenstein. My parents warned her against watching it, saying it would scare her, but her reaction was, &qujot;Aw, he's cute!"
  • First generation Monster Kid Barry Miller added details about Sir Rodger from his childhood memories:
    I was a young (5 or 6) kid living in Waynesburg PA, but I remember Sir Rodger quite well. How we ever got the signal on our rooftop antenna, I'll never know.

    One of things Sir Rodger would do was to insert studio shots of himself into the actual movie. So, in the classic scene where a car is driving down a foggy road at night, the camera would suddenly cut to Sir Rodger hitchhiking against a studio background. There were a lot of surprises like this -- quite hysterical even to a 6 year-old.

    One other thing I remember is that his haircut was called the "Sir Rodger Clip." I mailed a letter to him asking him how he got his hair to go that way and he did a little skit on the air using a drawing of his hair and a vacuum cleaner. Don't ask me how I remember all this!!

    I'm glad my parents let me watch the show -- for years, I have been looking for Shock Theatre memories, so I'm glad you have this blog going. Great site. Keep up the good work.

    Is Bob Drews still alive?
    I'm afraid it's more of a blob than a blog, Barry, but I'm glad you like it. Regarding Bob Drews, I've been trying to find more information about him for years! So far no luck, but hope springs eternal -- he could still be out there someplace, just waiting to hear from his old fans.

    Meanwhile, fans of Sir Rodger and other horror hosts from the Pittsburgh area will find lots of information, pictures, and audio/video material — and a fiendly bunch of other fans to talk to — on John Buriak's ChillerTheater Memories Yahoo discussion group and the related website. Highly recommended (I'm a member myself) — tell 'em E-gor sent you!
   

Bob Drews as 50's Pittsburgh Shock Theatre host Sir Rodger

Bob Drews as 50's Shock host Sir Rodger, WTAE, Pittsburgh PA. Portrait from original fan club card, courtesy of show fan Jim Hurray.
Click image to see complete scans of the club card, front and back, and Sir Rodger's autograph!



Sir Rodger portrait from THIMK magazine

Small portrait of Sir Rodger scanned from an issue of Thimk magazine, a 50s Mad competitor.
Click image for a larger view and more information.

If you have
more info about
Sir Rodger or
Bob Drews,
PLEASE
E-mail E-gor!


SIVAD (pronounced Sa-VOD)
(Watson Davis; died March 23, 2005: see obituary )

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: The family of Watson Davis sent the sad news that he passed away on Wednesday, March 23, 2005.  Mr. Davis' granddaughter, Andrea McKennon, says that "Grandma would love to hear from his fans" so Sivad's fans are welcome to send cards and letters of support and remembrance to:
Mabel Davis
1002 North College
Stuttgart AR 72160
Sivad's family sends their sincere thanks for the cards and concerns from friends and fans.

See the great Sivad and Fantastic Features page contributed by show fan Harris Lentz.

See another incredible feat of scholarship contributed by Harris Lentz, Sivad's Fantastic Features TV Log!

See a pageful of personal Sivad Memories contributed by his old fan Mike Curtis, who was so inspired by the experience that he became a horror host himself, See a brief article by Michael Finger — and a great photo of Sivad in his prime — on the Memphis magazine Website! (See magazine reference below for additional information.)

See pictures of Sivad Fan Club collectibles ( cardboard mask |  fan club card) from the collection of Mike Curtis, who was inspired by Sivad to become a horror host himself, COUNT BASIL.

Fantastic Features
Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
September 29, 1962 - September 3, 1966
Name of show? (half-hour season preview of coming features)
Saturday, Time?
September 11, 1965
Fantastic Double Feature
Friday at 10:30 p.m.
September 9, 1966 - June, 1970
Fantastic Features
Saturday at 11:30 p.m.
September, 1967 - February 5, 1972
WHBQ-TV, Channel 13 (Memphis, Tennessee)


Magazine references:
  • The show information above is fleshed out with a great many more details in a fantastic feature article which Harris Lentz wrote for a magazine that folded, and generously permitted to be published here for the first time!

  • "Monster Memories of Sivad and Fantastic Features," feature by Bob X with four reproductions of TV listing and personal appearance ads in issue #13 (December 1994) of Scary Monsters, pp. 56-57.

  • "Our Ghostly Host," a one-page article about Sivad by Michael Finger, was the EndSight feature in the October, 1999 issue of Memphis magazine (page ?). The article included a photo of Sivad standing by a misty coffin, courtesy of the Mississippi Valley Collection, University of Memphis Libraries. (See link to magazine Website above.)


NOTES:

  • Sivad (Davis spelled backwards), "Your Monster of Ceremonies," was always dressed in undertaker garb with black cape and top hat, wearing heavy vampirish makeup and fake looking fangs.

  • In show opening, filmed outdoors about dawn, Sivad appeared in the mist driving a horse-drawn hearse. He opened the back of the hearse, removed and opened a coffin gleefully. Smoke from the coffin billowed up to form the show title.

  • Sivad released a 45 rpm record, "Sivad Buries Rock and Roll," in a picture sleeve.

  • Mike Curtis, who himself hosted horror movies in Memphis as COUNT BASIL, sent the following memories of Sivad:
    Mike Curtis here, former theater manager and now comic book publisher and writer.
    I really enjoyed your articles on Sivad, and had some information not included I thought I'd pass on.
    For some reason, Sivad played an important part in my life, both as the character and as Watson Davis. As a child, I was one of the MYSTERIOUS ISLAND winners. I also recall the 30 foot KING KONG Davis built for KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, and saw the large monster for DINOSAURUS.
    During the heyday of the show, I saw Sivad in his one and only Jackson Tennessee appearance (and quite a story it was, too, as to why he didn't return for many years).
    Years later I began working for Malco Theaters, as a "ballyhoo" man. A movie would come to town, and I would devise a costume and makeup to promote it. This was in Jackson Tennessee. By now Watson had retired from Malco and Sivad as well.
    In 1974, I hosted a horror show on a local cable show as COUNT BASIL for 12 weeks during the summer. I contacted Watson and Sir Cecil Creape regarding doing a show together followed by a joint appearance at a Malco theater, but nothing came of it.
    Years after that, the main office of Malco in Memphis gave me Watson's scrapbooks of theater promotions, now long lost in various moves, unfortunately. I had began working for Elton Holland doing the costume jobs all over the chain.
    And briefly, I was in discussions with Fox when they came to Memphis regarding reviving FANTASTIC FEATURES as the "Son of Sivad." Discussions with Watson stalled, and this never came to pass. I do a good imitation of the voice though.
    Another Sivad collectible not listed is the Halloween kit with a Sivad mask offered in the early 1960's and the club card with his picture. I understand there was a coloring book later too.... I still have my FANTASTIC FEATURES FAN CLUB card and Sivad mask.
    TRIVIA QUESTION: Sivad played as part of a two-man band during the last year of the show, doing musical numbers between the films. What was the name of the band, and who was the other member?
    Mike Curtis sent more personal Sivad Memories when Watson Davis died.

  • One of Sivad's many fans wrote immediately upon learning of Watson Davis's death:
    I was saddened to hear of the passing of one of my childhood heroes. As a young African-American child, my first introduction to horror was watching Fantastic Feature, and from there I would go on to read and fall in love with Edgar Allan Poe. I still remember to this day, at the age of 40, how while I was watching Fantastic Feature, a mouse had gotten caught in the trap my grandmother had laid, and the sounds he was making as he lay in the trap frightened me to no end. I sat in that chair to morning, afraid to move out of that seat, which is where my grandmother found me and told me that the sound I heard was no monster but the mouse in the rat trap.
    How I loved those shows, and how sad I am to hear about the passing of this great Emcee of Terror.
    MUCH LOVE :)
    DUJUAN
  • Another fan wrote:
    I am 47 years old from Jackson,Tennessee. I grew up watching Sivad on Saturday nights with my 3 brothers. We would turn the lights out and I was scared to death. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day and her husband use to work for WHBQ when Sivad was showing. He was telling us that he worked the cameras, but in several of the episodes the guy that was suppose to be the "straight man" that Sivad talked to, did not show up. He then stood in as the straight man for some of the episodes.
    I was wanting to get a copy of some of the shows. Do you know where I can find one? Thanks for your website so I could restore some of those memories.
    Jill McCaskill
   

Fan photo of Memphis TN host Sivad

Signed fan photo
of Watson Davis as
Sivad, WHBQ-TV,
Memphis. Courtesy
of Harris Lentz.
Click for larger view.


Fantastic Features Fan Club card

Fantastic Features
fan club card from the
collection of Mike Curtis.
Click for larger view.


Sivad mask from a fan club kit

Sivad mask from
a fan club kit
courtesy of Mike Curtis.
Click for larger view.


Skobie, Bradford
(see BRADFORD SKOBIE)

Sludge, Dr.
(see DR. SLUDGE)

Smokula, Count
(see COUNT SMOKULA)

SON OF GHOUL *
(Kevin Scarpino)

Hey group! Visit www.sonofghoul.net, the official Son of Ghoul Show website, with a biography, photo gallery, on-location page, calendar, bulletin board, production notes, e-mail Son of Ghoul link (!), and hot links!

See bio and weird, wild images of Son of Ghoul — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!

Son of Ghoul Show
Saturday, 11:30 p.m.
WOAC-TV, Channel 67 (Canton-Akron, Ohio)
1986 - November 1995

Son of Ghoul Show
Friday and Saturday, 8-10 p.m.
CAT (Cleveland/Akron Television) Network channels WAX-TV, Channel 35 (Cleveland), WAOH-TV, Channel 29 (Akron) and C-band
199?-present

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference: mentioned in Ch. 17, "Direct from Parma: The Ghoul," p. 117.

Magazine reference:
  • Inside front cover photo and feature article with five pictures, "The Son of Ghoul--Keeping Tradition Alive!" in Scary Monsters Presents Monster Memories #2, 1994 Yearbook (January 1994), pp. 31-37.
   

Son of Ghoul, popular Ohio  horror host

Ohio's Favorite Son (of Ghoul), popular host of horrors in Canton / Akron / Cleveland (and Parma).
Click image to see his autographed photo.


SON OF SAN GUINARY
(see also DR. SAN GUINARY)
(Real name = a carefully guarded secret!)

Visit Son of San Guinary Weblab, the official Website, featuring articles, photos, Real Video clips, an "Arghive" of creeply movie scenes, and much more!

See Son of San Guinary's profile page at HORRORHOSTS.com, the official site for the Horror Host Underground.

Creature Feature
Saturday at 10:35 pm
KMTV, Channel 3 (Omaha, Nebraska)
September 8th, 2001 - September 13, 2003

NOTES:
  • Information adapted from the Son of San Guinary Weblab:
    On September 8th, 2001, KMTV aired the first episode of the newly revived Creature Feature. The original show starring Dr. San Guinary, which had gone off the air in 1983, is a beloved favorite of Omaha viewers to this day. In it's memory came the new Creature Feature, hosted by "Son Of San Guinary" with the same verve and humor as his dad had.
    Featuring classic horror, science fiction and cult films, the new show also featured rare Dr. San Guinary footage that many folks (including KMTV themselves) thought was lost to antiquity. With a mixture of new "Son of San Guinary" footage and classic "Dr. San Guinary" bumpers, this revival was truly a treasure. The new Creature Features had a two-year run, ending on September 13, 2003 — but Son of Sanguinary's Website is still up to entertain horror host fans, and who knows what the future may bring?
   

Son of San Guinary, <i>Creature Feature</i> host in Omaha.

Son of San Guinary, host of Creature Feature in Omaha, Nebraska.
Click image to see the autographed photo it was cropped from.


SON OF SELWYN
(see also SELWIN)
(Alex McBean)
See bio and images of Son of Selwyn — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!
Classic Cinema Showcase (Halloween one-shot appearance on this show)
Day? Time?
WTBU, Butler University station (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Halloween 1997 (and 1998?)
NOTES:
  • The Son of Selwyn was created by Allen Deck of WTBU as a tribute to legendary '50's Indiana horror host Selwin. He was conceived as the offspring of the original Selwin and a New Orleans Voodoo Queen. For the station's 1997 Halloween fund-raising drive he took over the WTBU's Classic Cinema Showcase, and kept regular host Amy Ulrich prisoner in a bottle as a pledge-raising stunt. A Halloween comeback is planned! (Fearsome factoids courtesy of James Mannan, webmonster for his own Dr. San Guinary site, and for Thomas Rudé's fabulous TV Horror Host Gallery website.)

SON OF SVENGOOLIE and DOUG GRAVES * (see also SVENGOOLIE (II) )
(Rich Koz and Doug Scharf)

See the fabulous Rich Koz tribute on the Horror of the Svengoolies site, courtesy of Webmonster Delphar 7!

See bio and dozens of images from Rich Koz's show — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!

See pictures of Rich Koz and read about his shows, courtesy of The Video Veteran Website on the history of Chicago television!

Son of Svengoolie
Day? Time?
WFLD, Channel 32 (Chicago, Illinois; syndicated in Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit and San Francisco)
June 1979 - January 1986

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
whole chapter and two pictures -- Ch. 21, "Son of Svengoolie; or, 'The Return of Sven-TV'", pp. 146-151.

Magazine references:

  • Feature "Son of Svengoolie" by D. Everitt in issue #25 (February 1983) of Fangoria, pp. ?-??.

  • Note from E-gor: the issues of Scary Monsters listed below (and many others full of information about horror hosts) may be ordered from the Scary Monsters website.

    • Son of Svengoolie appears with group of other horror hosts in cover painting by Terry Beatty on Scary Monsters #8 (September 1993).

    • Feature article about Son of Svengoolie, "Sven Again" by Jason William Pankoke in issue #10 of Scary Monsters (March 1994), pp. 36-37. Two pages with a cartoon, a photo of Rich Koz as himself and in character, and the writers memories,

    • "Scare-News" feature article "Scary Movies with Svengoolie," in issue #14 of Scary Monsters (March 1995), pp. 74-75. Two pages with 4 pictures of ads for Rich Koz's (then) new `Svengoolie show at WCIU-TV.

    • Feature article "Svengoolie, Only on Channel 26, the U!" by editor Dennis Drucktenis, in issue #15 (June 1995) of Scary Monsters, pp. 26-32. Seven pages with 1 cartoon and 7 photos of Rich Koz in makeup. An additional three pictures of Rich Koz as both Son of Svengoolie (WFLD) and Svengoolie (WCIU) grace the inside front cover, and a color photo of Koz as Svengoolie is on the back cover.

    • Feature article "Horror Hosts Abound" by Kent R. Daluga in Scary Monsters Monster Memories #6 (1998 Yearbook), pp. 146-147. Two pages with four pictures (including one of original Svengoolie Jerry Bishop and his successor Rich Koz together at Chicago's Museum of Broadcasting), historical facts and the writer's memories.

NOTE:
  • Rich Koz now appears on Chicago's WCIU as SVENGOOLIE. (See SVENGOOLIE (II) )
   

 Rich Koz as Son of Svengoolie, with Doug Scharf as Doug Graves

Promotional photo
of Son of Svengoolie
(Rich Koz) and Doug
Graves (Doug Scharf),
WFLD, Chicago IL.
Courtesy of Rich Koz!
Click for larger view.


Sonny
(see SON OF SAN GUINARY)

Space, Captain
(see CAPTAIN SPACE)

Speculo, Dr.
(see DR. SPECULO)

Spectre, Spooky
(see THE SPOOKY SPECTRE and CEDRIC)

THE SPOOKY SPECTRE and CEDRIC
(Harry Metz and Fred Adams)

See bio and spooktacular images from Spooky Spectre's show — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!

Fright Night Friday
Friday at midnight
CUTV, Channel 29 (California University TV, Pennsylvania) (Helicon Cable Channel 52)
199? - 19??

NOTES:

  • The Spooky Spectre was the cowled, caped, skull-faced, gruff-voiced star of CUTV's Fright Night Friday show. Cedric was the show's tuxedoed, long-winded, professorial resident film critic. The show featured films like King Kong versus Godzilla, Psychomania, and Crucible of Terror, interspersed with the elaborate adventures of Spooky Spectre (and a large cast of supporting players), which were continued over a number of weeks.
   

The Spooky Spectre, host of Fright Night Friday in Pennsylvania.

The Spooky Spectre, host of Fright Night Friday, CUTV, Pennsylvania.
Click image to see the autographed picture his handsome mug was clipped from.


Stanley, John *
(See JOHN STANLEY *)

STELLA, aka THE DAUGHTER OF DESIRE, THAT MANEATER FROM MANYUNK *
(Karen Scioli)
See a brief bio and some eye-poppin' images of Stella — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!
See Karen Scioli's Internet Movie Database entry.
Saturday Night Dead
Saturday late-night following Saturday Night Live
KYW-TV (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
September 29, 1984 - February 1990
Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
mention (p. 40) and whole chapter with two pictures -- Ch. 28, "Stella!", pp. 198-205.
NOTE:
  • Horrorhost fan Eerie Evan remembers: "Saturday Night Dead was run on KYW channel 3 in Philadelphia. It was an NBC affiliate so the show ran right after Saturday Night Live. Clever, huh? The show was hosted by the Elvira-like Stella and was a lot of fun. Too bad I can't say the same for the movies she ran."

STERLING BREWER
(Sterling Brewer)
The Unknown
Saturday at 4 p.m.
WAPI-TV, Channel 13 (Birmingham, Alabama)
Fall 1958 - fall 1960
NOTE:
  • E-gorespondent Michael Bynum, who added this host to the list, remembers: "From the fall of 1958 until the fall of 1960, WAPI-TV in Birmingham, Alabama ran a show called 'THE UNKNOWN' hosted by Sterling Brewer. Although you never got to see Mr. Brewer's face because of the costume (a robe with a hood which covered all but the nose and mouth), and the lighting was a candle on a table which caused the shadows to run upward, the effect was very chilling. The show would start with the usual creepy music, wind, thunder and lightning as the camera shot faded to the 'Host' room. There seated behind a table the host would explain how today's show was the scariest they had shown and how we had better be ready as we were getting ready to enter the 'UNKNOWN.' Movies ran the gauntlet of Them to House on Haunted Hill, King Kong to X-The Unknown. I miss those days when I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that come 4 p.m. on Saturdays, I would be in front of our black and white television with 'THE UNKNOWN.'"

Stone, Doctor Tom B.
(see DOKTOR TOM B. STONE)

SUPER HOST
(Marty Sullivan)
See bio and a nice bunch of images of Super Host — and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors — at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!
See Debbie Palmer's July 11, 1996 feature article, "Superhost had cult-like following for two decades" on the Sun Newspapers website. Includes a nice color photo!
Saturday Afternoon Mad Theater
Noon Saturday (and other times late in 20-year run)
WUAB-TV, Channel 43 (Cleveland, Ohio)
1969 - 1992
NOTE:
  • Lorain, Ohio fan "TJ" remembers" "Sir Graves Ghastly was also on WUAB-TV 43 on Saturday afternoons, back in the early '70 either just before or following Super Host (nickname: Supe), who used to say 'Supes On.' Which may have been the name of the show, not 100% sure about that. He had a habit of getting his 'Superman' cape caught in doors. WUAB was located in Lorain, Ohio, up until at least 1993. (That's when we moved.)

Suspira
(see A. GHASTLEE GHOUL

SVENGOOLIE (I) *
(see also SVENGOOLIE (II) and SON OF SVENGOOLIE and DOUG GRAVES *)
(Jerry G. Bishop)

See the fabulous Jerry Bishop tribute at the Horror of the Svengoolies site, courtesy of Webmonster Delphar 7!

See pictures of Jerry Bishop as Svengoolie and read about his show, courtesy of The Video Veteran Website about the history of Chicago television!
Screaming Yellow Theater
Friday 10:30 p.m.
WFLD, Channel 32 (Chicago, Illinois)
1970 - 1973


Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
discussed in Ch. 21, "Son of Svengoolie; or, 'The Return of Sven-TV'", pp. 146-147.
Magazine references:

  • Discussion, portrait of Jerry Bishop, and four TV listing ads for the show in interview/article by Terence Sanford, "SVENGOOLIE: Coming out of his Coffin...An Interview with Jerry G. Bishop," in issue #8 (September 1993) of Scary Monsters, pp. 19-21. Also appears in cover painting with group of other horror hosts.

NOTES:

  • Bishop first provided voice-overs, then appeared in makeup in slides, and finally played Svengoolie in videotaped segments.

  • Show theme song was "Rumble" by Link Wray and the Raymen.

  • Rich Koz, Jerry Bishop's protegé who originally hosted his own horror movie showcase as Son of Svengoolie, has had a long and very successful career in broadcasting and now appears on Chicago's WCIU as Svengoolie. (See more information in SVENGOOLIE (II) and SON OF SVENGOOLIE and DOUG GRAVES *)

SVENGOOLIE (II)
(see also SON OF SVENGOOLIE and DOUG GRAVES )
(Rich Koz)

See lots more about Rich Koz and his horror show in the Svengoolie pages on the WCIU-TV website.

See details about Rich Koz's other show in the Stooge-A-Palooza pages on the WCIU-TV website.

Check out Svengoolie's blogs at MySpace and on the WCIU website.

See the Rich Koz tribute at the Horror of the Svengoolies site, courtesy of Webmonster Delphar 7!

See a brief bio and images of Rich Koz as Svengoolie -- and hundreds of images of a host of other horrors -- at the incredible Horror Host Gallery website, courtesy of video archaeologist Thomas Rudé!

See pictures of Rich Koz and read about his shows on The Video Veteran, a great web site on the history of Chicago television!

Munsterthon (18 episodes of The Munsters
(One-shot special) 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
WCIU-TV ("The U"), "The New" Channel 26 (Chicago, Illinois)
January 1, 1995

Svengoolie
WCIU-TV, Channel 26 (Chicago, Illinois)
Saturday at 5:00 pm, then 9:00 pm, then 11:00 pm, now 9:00 pm
January 7, 1995 - present
WMLW-TV, Channel 41(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Weekends: day? time?
??, ?? - present
WWME-TV, Low Power Channel 23 (Chicago, Illinois)
Weekends?
??, ?? - present
WAAT-LP TV, Channel 69 (South Bend, Indiana)
Occasionally
??, ?? - present

Stooge-A-Palooza
(Rich Koz hosts as himself, not as Svengoolie)
Saturday at 7:00 - 9:00 pm
WCIU-TV, Channel 26 (Chicago, Illinois)
April 26, 2003 - present
(Also aired on sister stations WMLW, WWME, and WAAT; schedules unknown)

Elena Watson's Television Horror Movie Hosts reference:
whole chapter and two pictures on Rich Koz's earlier host incarnation -- Ch. 21, "Son of Svengoolie; or, 'The Return of Sven-TV'", pp. 146-151.

Magazine references:

  • Feature "Son of Svengoolie" by D. Everitt in issue #25 (February 1983) of Fangoria, pp. ?-??.

  • Note from E-gor: the issues of Scary Monsters listed below (and many others full of information about horror hosts) may be ordered from the Scary Monsters website.

    • Son of Svengoolie appears with group of other horror hosts in cover painting by Terry Beatty on Scary Monsters #8 (September 1993).

    • Feature article about Son of Svengoolie, "Sven Again" by Jason William Pankoke in issue #10 of Scary Monsters (March 1994), pp. 36-37. Two pages with a cartoon, a photo of Rich Koz as himself and in character, and the writers memories,

    • "Scare-News" feature article "Scary Movies with Svengoolie," in issue #14 of Scary Monsters (March 1995), pp. 74-75. Two pages with 4 pictures of ads for Rich Koz's (then) new `Svengoolie show at WCIU-TV.

    • Feature article "Svengoolie, Only on Channel 26, the U!" by editor Dennis Drucktenis, in issue #15 (June 1995) of Scary Monsters, pp. 26-32. Seven pages with 1 cartoon and 7 photos of Rich Koz in makeup. An additional three pictures of Rich Koz as both Son of Svengoolie (WFLD) and Svengoolie (WCIU) grace the inside front cover, and a color photo of Koz as Svengoolie is on the back cover.

    • Feature article "Horror Hosts Abound" by Kent R. Daluga in Scary Monsters Monster Memories #6 (1998 Yearbook), pp. 146-147. Two pages with four pictures (including one of original Svengoolie Jerry Bishop and his successor Rich Koz together at Chicago's Museum of Broadcasting), historical facts and the writer's memories.

NOTES:

  • Rich Koz -- Svengoolie himself! -- sent e-mail with an update on his activities in early 2005! Here's what the man said at that time:
    We've now been doing the "Svengoolie" show for over 10 years on WCIU. Currently on Saturday nights .... with the show also running in Milwaukee on WMLW, in Chicago on our low-power station WWME - Channel 23 -- and occasionally on our South Bend station, WAAT.

    Someone said that, having won 7 Chicago regional Emmys and last year being inducted into the Television Academy's Silver Circle, I may be the most "decorated" horror host, as far as legitimate awards go... who knows?!

    As my normal humanoid self, I also currently host a show called "Stooge-A-Palooza" -- 2 hours of 3 Stooges shorts during prime time on Saturday nights!

    Thanks for doing such a great job chronicling all us bizarros --
    Rich/Sven
    Thank YOU, Sven!

  • Gems of info adapted from the biography of Rich Koz on an earlier version of WCIU's website:

    • Born and raised in Chicago, Rich Koz sent comedy material to Jerry Bishop, Channel 32's original Svengoolie, while Koz was attending Northwestern University. Bishop hired him as a writer and voice-over talent for his show (Screaming Yellow Theater), and took Koz with him to WMAQ-AM as "second banana" on a morning radio show when the TV show canceled in 1973.

    • In the mid-70s Koz also worked with Dick Orkin, creator of the famous "Chicken Man" and "Tooth Fairy" radio serials, and was co-writer and talent for many of Orkin’s commercials and features. including 65 episodes of "Chickenman Returns for the Last Time Again," still syndicated all over the world.

    • In the late ‘70’s Jerry Bishop gave Rich Koz permission to do "Son of Svengoolie," an idea Bishop had originally planned to produce with Rich as the next Svengoolie. In June 1979, Son of Svengoolie premiered on WFLD-TV Channel 32 in Chicago, running 6 1/2 years and winning three Chicago Emmys for best Entertainment Series before new station management canceled it in January 1986 as "not suitable" for the station when it joined the new Fox Network.

    • In 1989, Koz returned to Channel 32, hosting late night movies with the premise that he was a pirate broadcaster breaking into the station’s signal to do his comedy bits. This show won Rich an additional Chicago Emmy.

    • Koz left Channel 32 in 1993 to help recreate Chicago UHF station WCIU-TV as a mainstream independent TV station,."The U!" Rich brought his old horror host persona on the air again in 1995, but as SVENGOOLIE now, rather than "Son of Svengoolie," since Jerry Bishop had declared him all grown up now.

  • A description of Svengoolie's show adapted from an earlier version of WCIU's website:
    Svengoolie
    Saturdays on WCIU
    Chicago's long-time King of Horror Flicks - Svengoolie -- opens his coffin for another frightful feature film!   Along with musical sidekick Doug Graves, the talking skull Tombstone and assorted other nuts and dolts, Svengoolie provides comic relief between segments of the movie, with musical and commercial parodies, skits and jokes.   Plus, segments of the movie are often presented in "Svensurround," with Svengoolie adding sound effects and re-dubbed dialogue!
   

Autographed photo of Rich Koz as Svengoolie

Autographed photo of
Svengoolie, WCIU,
Chicago, Illinois,
courtesy of Rich Koz!
Click for larger view.


Rich Koz hosting Stooge-A-Palooza on WCIU, Chicago

Rich Koz hosting
Stooge-A-Palooza
on WCIU, Chicago, IL.
Courtesy of Rich Koz.
Click for larger view.


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