Shock theater became a popular friday night feature on ch. My tribute to dr shock, shock theater, dingbat, wtvc. Generally there are breaks in the film where the host comments on various aspects of the movie. Chiller theatre zacherley tv horror host shock theater apr. I did some research and sent an email to the station manager there in chattanooga and asked if there was any way i could get copies of the old show, so that i could share. As zacherley, he hosted the latenight shock theater on wabc7 from sept.
And if you were fortunate enough to locate a friend who shared your enthusiasm for all of it, maybe form a fan club or the like, trade monster pictures lots of times the newspaper ads like baseball cards, and have a sleepover to watch the latest shock theater entry, it was a fringe benefit, a perk, the icing on the cake. Many of the comedic ideas that were utilized on the philly version of shock theater were conceived by zacherles first producer ed white. A wonderful video and a nice intro to perhaps the greatest horror host. Watson there is a chapter devoted to zacherley as well as a lot more information about other horror hosts from around the country and over several decades. However, due to some health concerns zacherley will be cutting his hours at the show. See more ideas about horror, famous monsters and horror movies. September 26, 1918 october 27, 2016 was an american television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. I give an overview of the book on my recommended reading page. Three years later, he was hired as the host of wcaus shock theater, which debuted on october 7, 1957. Hosted shock theater and later chiller theater in the 60s. Little baby zach john zacherle was born on september 27, 1918 in philadelphia. It was also announced that the name shock theatre would be retired. Zacherley illustrated by john skerchock 2012, paperback.
Actor john zacherle wore a long black undertakers coats as the character roland, who lived in a crypt with his wife my dear, and his lab assistant igor. Horrible horror by david bergman david bergman, zacherley. He was an overnight sensation with teenagers and helped. Airing pre1948 universal horror films from the same syndication package, wabcs shock theater was essentially the same as philadelphias. Shock treatment, steve kronenbergs personal tribute to shock. Usually the host assumes a horrorthemed persona, often a campy or humorous one.
Creeps shtick was erred on the side of comedy hobart also hosted a childrens show, but the series was similar to other shows at the time. Chiller theatre 20017 halloween spooktacular horror expo program book new jersey halloween horror convention slim digest sized program. The shock theater package included dracula, frankenstein, the mummy, the invisible man and the wolf man as well as a few nonhorror. White saw that the acting in the old horror flicks were limited but by using comedy to offset the serious approach to the scenes in the films could make them enjoyable for the audience. John zacherle 19182016 horror host, tvs cool ghoul. Hes credited with starting the practice of interrupting the movie with comedy bits. To a whole generation, he was the cool ghoul, host of shock theater, a veritable lenny bruce in monster drag.
If you are in the area please feel free to stop by for a few hours. The shock theater package included dracula, frankenstein, the mummy, the invisible man and the wolf man as well as a few nonhorror spy and mystery films. Various items from john brunas twovolume personal scrapbook of shock. He was famous in philadelphia for hosting shock theater 195758 on wcautv,channel 10. Goodnight, whatever you are my journey with zacherley. Shock theatre debuted in september of 1957 with zach appearing as roland, a crazy character who lived in a crypt. He debuted in philadelphia after playing an undertaker on a local tv western hosting shock theater live as roland long o, please in 1957, then moved to new york city and varied his birth name to become zacherley shock theater, zacherley at large, the zacherley show.
John zacherle, 94, extelevision horrormovie host, can. Horrible horror this videotape now also available as a dvd is. Coming september 22, 1958, master ghoul zacherley will host shock theater monday and friday. A second package, son of shock, was released for television by screen gems in 1958, with 20 horror films from both universal and columbia. Zach mentions that first class postage has gone up from 3 to 4 cents. The complete, ultrarare promotional book of the 1950s shock. Caligarilooking ghoul who shocked and entertained on wkef. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
Audio recording of zacherley on shock theater made 50 years ago. Sadly, the studio space at wor tv was even smaller than the one at wabc tv which again made it hard for zacherle to perform his sight gags and special effects. From 1982 to 1985, yet another shock theater excited horror fans in the dayton, ohio area. Shock and shock theater and did a search, but back then the only thing that came up was a picture of him and dingbat. In the spring of 1959 the late night slot was retitled zacherley at large.
For baby boomers, he will be remembered as the best of the horror hosts in the form of his creation, zacherley, the most clever, most original and funniest of a once thriving breed. A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror films and lowbudget b movies are shown on television or the internet. Also, during march of 1959, wabc sent out a press release that announced that ghoul zacherley will be given his own show of creep films to host friday and saturday night called zacherley at large. Zacherley the cool ghoul, beloved host of tvs chiller theater, presents horror tales in the classic tradition and even answers reader letters. Zacherley as the cool ghoul host is why he was a televisioncultural phenomenon. Normally, zacherley, the cool ghoul, is there to greet fans and say a kindly, hello. Zacherle put on the frock coat and, in october 1957, went to work as the host of the shock theater later simply shock theater, bringing with. Chiller theatre zacherley tv horror host shock theater oct 17 halloween spooktacular n j horror convention horror expo program book. John zacherle, one of the earliest and best known in the wave of horrorshow hosts who haunted local tv markets in the 1950s and 60s, died thursday at his home in. About 5 or 6 years ago, i was telling my kids about dr. Narrowing it further, zach moved to nyc and started hosting shock theater there in september of 58, so this article was probably written before johns birthday september 26, and published the following month sooooo october 58. John zacherle was an american television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. Shock theater usually aired on late night television on weekends, and in many markets was introduced by a costumed horror host. Chiller theatre zacherley tv horror host shock theater oct.
Born between the original japanese gojira, and the americanized godzilla, king of the monsters. Original shock theatre roland zacherley frankenstein 1957. Here is the complete list of all 52 movies released in the original 1957 tv package shock theater. Horror icon and longtime broadcaster john zacherle died in new york city on thursday at the age of 98.
Television horror movie character zacherley aka john zacherle hosts this choice collection of trailers and scenes from old horror movies and serials. An allnew introduction by the cool ghoul himself, zacherley. Feast your eyes, glut your soul on vintage newspaper and magazine articles. Zach made his new york debut on september 22, 1958, at. This item will ship to united states, but the seller has not. An illustrated history, was designed by monsters from the vault artist michael kronenberg to recapture the experience that some older fans had in watching the old universal horror classics when they debuted on late night television in 19571958. This package, which was comprised of universal horror movies and released by screen gems, brought about the initial run of latenight horror hosts which included vampira, zacherley in the northeast, and elvira. With his pointy teeth and sinister laugh, john zacherle, 94, became famous as a host of local tv horror films, and though retired, he still slaps on. Howard remembers horror icon john zacherle, dead at 98. In amazing detail, it traces zacherley through his tv start to shock theatre to discoteen to fm radio dj. Yet it is for one role that zacherle has attained show business immortality. Roland had an assistant named igor, and his wife lived. Zacherle put on the frock coat and, in october 1957, went to work as the host of the shock theater later simply shock theater, bringing with him an endless supply of sight gags.
See more ideas about horror, famous monsters and vintage horror. But with the stars popularity growing, the show soon was rechristened zacherley at large with the y added to his name to help with pronunciation. The letter y was added to zachs name to make pronunciation easier. Shock theater news newspapers books scholar jstor april 2020 learn how and when to remove this template message. Among the films showcased are king of the zombies, spider baby, tales of frankenstein, killers from space and. Good night, whatever you are my journey with zacherley. Nicknamed the cool ghoul and a former guest on the stern show, zacherle introduced horror films and parodied the genre on shock theater in. Miller author of years best body horror 2017 anthology. Z is for zacherley, the legendary horror host of shock theater fame, and in the z files the story of his uncanny career is uniquely told almost entirely via archival material. Original artwork of zacherley shock monsters chiller john zacherle art. Goodnight, whatever you are my journey with zacherley, the cool.
As the host, zacherle appeared wearing a long black undertaker s coat as the character roland, pronounced roland, who lived in a crypt with. Zacherley was the host of wcaus shock theater, which debuted on october 7, 1957, and ran for 92 broadcasts, through to 1958. Zacherley created the monster kid movement when he host of new yorks wcaus shock theater. Zacherley was televisions first great horror host, a pop culture phenomenon as important as davy crockett, elvis or hula hoops. The new show for wabc was to be called shock theater, with a daytime counterpart called shock matinee. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, often broadcasting horror movies in philadelphia and new york city in the 1950s and 1960s. Charlie vanda, the president of wcau came up with the name and as zach is quick to point out, the accent was on the second syllable roland. Unfortunately, zacherles tenure at wabc was coming to an end. When he moved to new york and took the name,the cool ghoul the y was.
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