Horror Host 2013 Retrospective: Count Natas

Count Natas

Real name: J.R. Esparza

Years active: 1975-1977, Laredo, Texas

Saturday Night Live was a cruel blow to the horror host. While some hosts were fortunate enough to have their show air before or after the NBC comedy juggernaut, the golden time of 10:30 to midnight (for those in the Central time zone) was time that could be filled with Chevy Chase rather than a more expensive locally produced show.

 Count Natas, host of Psycho Psynema on KGNS channel 8 in Laredo, Texas was one of those hosts. Sporting a handlebar mustache and multi-colored face paint, newscaster and future tax collector J.R. Esparza took to the air, sometime accompanied by the Crew Cuts hit ‘Sh-Boom’ and a hand puppet dubbed La Mano Pachona. The unique thing about the Count was the films. Instead of simply showing one intercut with skits, Psycho Psynema aired two as a double feature. The films themselves were most the standard Universal package deals, although from most account European thrillers, like the work of Paul Naschy, were featured near the end.

Another odd tidbit about the show was near the end of the show’s run. Esparza was removed, possibly to focus more on his political career, but the show continued to air for a few more years.

 

J.R. Esparza died in 1990.