'Calling all stations, clear the air lanes, clear all air lanes for the big broadcast.'Bringing things back to the month-long Halloween fun-fest, I have to take a moment to pay some respect to the man that made it possible for me to post up w/ such retro-horror/sci-fi goodies...Rich Koz AKA The Son of Svengoolie! Kind of like Dr. Frankenstein before him, he created a monster in me built from b-movie creatures and horrible skits only a goofy grade school kid could truly appreciate.
Son of Svengoolie debuted on WFLD 32 in June of 1979 and while I wasn't actually raised in Chicago...I watched the show religiously every Saturday night in Central Illinois, where we (luckily) picked it up on cable. It followed the standard 'creature feature' format, where every week a classic (or classically bad) horror/sci-fi flick is shown by a host w/ skits peppered within. Just about every city had one, but Svengoolie was (and still is) mine.
The song parodies w/ musical co-conspirator Doug Graves...'Svensurround' with added sound-effects and dubbed in dialogue ala MST3K...'BERWYN!'...the rubber chickens...and most of all, the movies. It was the coolest thing on TV as far as I was concerned. Not as many people agreed as a result of an early 80's 3D broadcast of 'Revenge of the Creature' (the sequel to 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'), that resulted in a civil action lawsuit by people who felt they didn't get 'enough 3D' for the 89 cents they laid out for the cardboard glasses.
I tuned in some capacity until WFLD was sold to FOX in 1986. After 334 shows, the new management canceled the show after deciding it didn't fit in new programming direction. Luckily, the series returned to TV in 1994 on WCIU and has aired ever since (9PM CST). I don't get a chance to watch as much as I used to, but I rest easier at night just knowing he's still out there.
Enjoy a fun retrospective they did in celebration of their 300th show back in 1985...
PART I
PART II
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