Still in the 1970’s, we turn our attention to a rather odd
case. Peter Lorre, Jr. was a German born character actor named Eugene Weingand.
Despite his facial features and near perfect impersonation the man was of no
relation to the famed actor. Lorre actually sued Weingand to stop using his
name, but when the elderly horror actor passed away Weingand went back to using
the junior moniker.
Hosting the Night
Creatures Show on KTVV channel 36 in Austin, Lorre Junior was an ace at
promoting himself and the show, such as sponsoring an all-girl softball team
with the show’s logo. The show itself seemed fairly average, with skits and the
like between breaks on the film. He was also a bit eccentric, as he took
possession of the master tapes of the show, apparently not wanting anyone to
steal his image or ideas. The tapes, if they still exist, are in his estate.
Moving ahead yet while staying in the past, we find
ourselves looking at Professor Cerberus. Curator of the Museum of Horrors on KXAS channel 5. Instead of the standard
vampire, Bransom played Professor Cerberus as more like a Victorian scientist,
aided and abetted by the standard issued hunchback, Frankenstein Monster, a
Wolf Man, and someone named Uncle Creepy, all played by various assistants and
writers.
Like many other hosts, surviving video footage is
nonexistent. The Museum of Horrors
seemed to be bounced around the schedule, airing sometimes after Saturday Night Live, but finally ending
up on Saturday afternoon. Bransom would continue on Dallas television,
especially in the 1980’s, but those tales are for another day.
Years active: Late 1970’s through mid 1980’s, 2000, Houston,
Texas
Moving ahead a wee bit, we find ourselves with a host who is
still with us and one who is still working. Harold Gunn was already one of the
hardest working men in the Houston television industry when he became the host
of Boo Theatre on KRIV Ch. 26 as the vampire
Count Harold. Playing the standard vampire character, the show included
parodies and various other characters.
Gunn brought something new to the horror host table in the
1980’s, however, when he came back as Captain Harold, a flying ace who broadcasted
the films from his secret bunker. Captain
Harold’s Theater of the Sky, on channel KPRC channel 26, ran for a good
while on the channel before Gunn moved on to other pastures.
It would be 2000 before Captain Harold took wing again, but
from a few accounts the spark was gone. Harold Gunn is still very much alive
and occasionally appearing on radio in the Houston area.
From here we move into the more obscure. Wide Scream Theatre ran on KIII Ch.3 in
Corpus Christi for about a year in 1971. The host was Dr. Bela Zarbo, but that
seems to be about all that can be found. No photos or video clips have survived
and what articles point to his existence seem to have dried up roughly around the late
90’s.
The few memories that exist don’t paint a terribly good
legacy for the man. He was recalled by a few, but nothing in particular about his character, act, or even if the show was any good. There is nothing of the films, although since the show
aired in 1971 we can assume it was the standard black and white Shock package
with maybe Night of the Living Dead
being thrown in there.
Sadly, much like Dungeon Doug, Dr. Bela Zarbo is a lost
host.
Like many hosts of the time, Joe Alston served as a man with
many hats. Not only was he the horror host of KENS-TV, Ch. 5, he also served as
the local kid show host Captain Gus and announcer. From Shock Theater to Five Star
Shock to its final version (Project
Terror), but the thing that really makes the Host a host with the most was
the addition of Bob Burns.
Bob Burns, fresh off a stint in the Air Force, found the
Host through the local television and a friendship was born. Burns used this
opportunity to practice his makeup skills, creating a gruesome and impressive
array of monsters and ghouls, including a rather disturbing looking Miss Shock,
as played by Kathy Burns.
From there things seem to go along more or less like other
hosts, although the story of a visiting William Castle being presented with a
skeleton key made from actual bones is something few others can boast.
And now we have the last host to a debut in the Garden
State, Madame Mortem! Host of the
Magnificent Madame Mortem’s Midway of Madness, her show became the lead in
for Halloween Jack in 2003. With her ravens Quoth and Uncle Nevermore, she
hosted seven films. Ranging from the standard Night of the Living Dead to the surprising choice of King Kong VS Godzilla, Madame Mortem
seemed to be on the rise.
Sadly that appears to be no longer the case, as a search of
her geocities and aol backed sites have gone the way of the dodo.Even her videos seem to have been scrubbed
clean. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be anything else to go on.
Taking a break from the Lone Star State, we head back to the
north towards the Garden State. When I covered Halloween Jack last time, I had
assumed that he was the only host to have debuted in New Jersey. I was wrong,
however, as there was another host prior to him.
Angus, as played by David Weber, seemed to be more of the
kooky variety than the spooky kind. Hosting Meadowlands
Showcase Presents from the local public access in Lodi, Angus smirked his
way through whatever public domain cinema the station could find.
That is about all the information that could be found about
Angus. Even the exact airdates are lost, and footage of the show is rarer than
hen’s teeth.
While Gorgon the Gruesome was still on the air, another host
made his debut soon after. Dr. Ghoulman, played by college student Fred Mils,
made his debut in 1958 on K-PAC TV. Hosting his version of Shock Theater in the Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange markets, Dr.
Ghoulman was until fairly recentlyconsidered a lost host. Sadly there are only stills of the man. Any
video recordings are still lost. From the stills suggestions, Dr. Ghoulman
seemed to be more goofy than scary, but the exact context is unknown.
As mentioned before, finding hosts from before the advent of
home recording is a tricky business. If not for the hard work of the website
Terror from Beyond the Daves, Dr. Ghoulman may have gone unnoticed.
Years active: 1957- 1959, with occasional specials
throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, Texas
Heading back to the musty vaults of horror, we find
ourselves needing a host to make sense of the madness that inhabits our screens.
As before I was unable to decide on a particular standard, but this year I
decided to focus on the horror hosts of the Lone Star State. And starting the
list off this year is the first host of Texas, Gorgon the Gruesome.
Bill Camfield was no stranger to television, as he was
already playing the kid show host Icky Twerp, but starting in 1957 on K-FJZ,
Ch. 11 in Dallas/Fort Worth viewers could tune in and watch Nightmare. The movies featured were
taken entirely from the Shock video package, while the non-horror stuff was
aired on Mystery Matinee, also hosted
by Camfield.
Camfield took a massive departure from other hosts at the time.
Whereas Vampira or Zacherley would snark and joke about the film, Gorgon made
it quite clear that what you were about to watch was the scariest damn thing
ever put to film. Camfield was also blessed with a fairly decent budget, as the
set changed often and there were quite a few assistants often seen mulling
about.
Gorgon’s tenure was rather lengthy. Officially Nightmare ended in 1959, yet Gorgon
would appear regularly on Dallas airwaves, usually hosting a Halloween special.
The serious host was an archetype that didn’t seem to catch on, as most hosts
following Gorgon and especially today take a more campy approach to the films
featured.
Of course, the films featured during Nightmare’s run would have been the classic black and white films
of Universal and other studios. Having a serious approach back then would have
made sense, although with such repeat viewings and parodies it is doubtful such
an approach would be accepted today. Gorgon did set the standard for Texas
hosts to follow however, and his contributions cannot be understated.
Bill Camfield passed away in 1991.
“When the night falls…when the shadows become deep and
black…the silent pall of evil falls upon the Earth”
