American Scary - Svengoolie section preview

This is a short preview of the Svengoolie section of the documentary American Scary, which looks at the nation's tradition of horror hosting, from Zacherley to A. Ghastlee Ghoul.

Hosts of all kinds were once a staple of television, and especially local television productions. But as production demands and the availability of cheaper syndicated material changed the local TV business model, local hosts were also one of the first things to go, no matter how popular they were with the viewing public.

With interviews and footage from major hosts from the 1950s to the present day, such as Zacherley, Vampira, Ghoulardi and others, along with memories from celebrities and fans who were influenced by these hosts, you'll follow this American folk art form from its glamorous beginnings, through repeated waves of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, to its scrappy resurgence and survival in the current age of cable access and the Internet.

American Scary looks to remind people how much fun local TV could be - and maybe could be again.

The movie was released on DVD in February 2009, and can be purchased from Amazon and other retailers. It is also available through iTunes and Netflix.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Jerry G. Bishop
• Svengoolie
• American Scary
• horror host
• Chicago
• documentary

[guitarcapo]

Jerry, back when we were kids you were our "Saturday Night Live"

Thanks for the awesome comedy!

[Godzie1]

Ice cram? I mean Ice cream. {laughs} :)

[Godzie1]

Grew up on Chicago's NW side & remember living just to see these show's of Creature Features (How were we so fixated on a pic of a phantom?) Svengoolie & Son of Sven. Between seeing Godzilla films @ the theater, Goolish movies on weekend nights & going to Buffalo's ice cram parlor on Irving & Pulaski? I had a happy childhood! :)

[skok65]

I do remember Svengoolie. Back in the 70s in California a guy named Bob Wilkins hosted a show called Creature Features . He didn't wear creepy makeup, but he was amazing to watch. The same thing you wrote about in the info section also happened to all the great radio hosts/djs. Dennis Erectus of KOME in San Jose was a great dj who actually used tons of horror movie clips during his shows.

Good vid. 5 X 5. . .

[BrianAStier]

I was around in the 70's but I was a fan of the Son of Sven.

This is just great. Wish I was around to watch the original...