Real name: Whitey Gleason
years active: 1990-1994
A host so obscure I couldn't even find any footage on Youtube, Creepmeister Maximus, better known as Whitey Gleason, hosted Frightnite Theater on KSCH-TV Channel 58 in Rancho Cordova. From what few clips I could find he seemed to take a page from the Bob Wilkins playbook, even having a framed picture of him on set. Despite the name he played it as straight as he could.
The films seemed to be a package deal, like the old Shock Features. Any station that would show the Wraith and They Live does earn some cool points in my book.
I was unable to find anything else on Mr. Gleason, but there is a radio personality in Pacifica with the same name, but I'm not seeing anything definite to link them.
The only footage I could find was here
Yep, it's the same Whitey Gleason. Whitey never dressed up himself, but did maintain several of the standard horror host tropes by having a "crypt" set, a mostly silent Igor/Frankenstein character operating the camera who communicated by shaking up and down or left and right, and (if I remember correctly) possibly a talking skull and some sort of killer rabbit puppet.
ReplyDeleteHere's the only video reference I can find at all, a commercial for Blackula: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGaK3I0Kyng
Thanks!
DeleteI enjoyed Frightnite Theatre for many years in the 90's. Whitey could be very rude but funny ( he would read a fan letter while eating pizza, then wipe his mouth with the letter. Ahhhh youth!) I entered a Halloween poem contest one year and won a video,The Day The Earth Stood Still and a classic Frightnite cup (which I kept for 20 years till it finally fell apart) It didn't last long enough. He should get it going again. I would give Whitey lots if gold stars for the whole thing. A+
ReplyDeleteHere's the Halloween poem that I entered. It's about a boy who has a Frightnite cup and one night a bat steals it and fly's away to a place deep inside the earth. The boy follows and finds all the old monsters living there."I go to a place no one ever goes. It is deep in the earth where it never snows. Birds don't sing and the moon always glows. Where monsters dream and never grow old. And while I'm there, I pet a black cat and ask old Frank where Drac is at.Tell him I haven't had a bite in a week and tell the Wolfman I know he's got fleas. Tell the Evil Dead they better be good and warn Christine I'm checking under the hood. I'm looking for Freddy, Jason and The Creature too,The Colour Of Space and Lovecraft's too. The hair if the dog and creeping coffins, they looked so scared I started laughing. Hey you guys you're outta luck cause I'm here to get my Frightnite cup. Well, they all looked at me and sighed with relief and said Hey man you're digging way too deep.Don't you worry about that Frightnite cup, just tell Whitey you kicked our dead butt. Sounds good to me as I ran towards the light, away from the creatures if the eternal night. Laughing and flying, glad to be free, knowing I'd never see them again except on T.V.
ReplyDeleteHere's the Halloween poem that I entered. It's about a boy who has a Frightnite cup and one night a bat steals it and fly's away to a place deep inside the earth. The boy follows and finds all the old monsters living there."I go to a place no one ever goes. It is deep in the earth where it never snows. Birds don't sing and the moon always glows. Where monsters dream and never grow old. And while I'm there, I pet a black cat and ask old Frank where Drac is at.Tell him I haven't had a bite in a week and tell the Wolfman I know he's got fleas. Tell the Evil Dead they better be good and warn Christine I'm checking under the hood. I'm looking for Freddy, Jason and The Creature too,The Colour Of Space and Lovecraft's too. The hair if the dog and creeping coffins, they looked so scared I started laughing. Hey you guys you're outta luck cause I'm here to get my Frightnite cup. Well, they all looked at me and sighed with relief and said Hey man you're digging way too deep.Don't you worry about that Frightnite cup, just tell Whitey you kicked our dead butt. Sounds good to me as I ran towards the light, away from the creatures if the eternal night. Laughing and flying, glad to be free, knowing I'd never see them again except on T.V.
ReplyDeleteThat's supposed to be "Lovecraft's goo"
ReplyDelete