Monday, October 3, 2022

Horror Host 2022 Retrospective: Count Von Thirstenburg

 Real name: ???

Years active: 1969ish


Count Von Thirstenburg, man. For a man of which little is known yet his impact may be one of the biggest of any host's career. 

First, we go back to the early days at 1969 at WPGH Channel 53 in Pittsburgh. Coagulus was a snarky vampire who got fired. The show, now dubbed Scream-In, needed a host. 

Thus they bring in Count Von Thirstenburg! Another vampire!

Of course, like many hosts he also had another gig. Hosting Open House; in which people see pictures of homes. Not real estate listings or historical homes, nope. Just endless shots of houses. Brilliant, insane, or inane? You make the call. 

He hosted the show for a bit before finally getting replaced, but that host shall be a feature later. 

So, what was his impact?

How about Count Floyd?


Maybe. Joe Flaherty was born and raised in Pittsburgh, so he could have watched the show. Maybe, possibly; of course, it has been suggested Count Floyd was inspired by other Pittsburgh hosts, so that is equally possible, but the few reviews I've seen of the Count suggested that Floyd might be a straight homage with him complaining about his job throughout the movies. 

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