Count Gregore
Real name: John Ferguson
Years active: 1958-2005
Welcoming back all you fright fans and this year we're taking a look back at the hosts of Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
This time out we look at Count Gregore. The gentleman had quite the tenure. From 1958 to 1960 he hosted the local Shock Theater on WKY-TV Channel 4 out of Oklahoma City. In 1962, the show became Thriller Theater. In 1966 he switched over to KOCO-TV Channel 5 to host Nightmare. I also saw a listing for Sleepwalker's Matinee although the exact dates are unknown to me at the time. In the 1970s he moved yet again to KOKH-TV Channel 25 for Count Gregore Presents.
He hosted quite a few shows even if I can't find any exact dates. He did have a brief return in 2005 when he made his debut on the Mysterious Lab of Dr. Fear, where it was revealed that he's the uncle of character Trinka.
He's made the claim that's the longest running horror host in the world and I find myself agreeing with that statement. He's a dapper vamp and just plays it straight. I can respect that certainly. The only issue and this pops up with far too many hosts, is that the vast majority of his work is lost due it being shot live.
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