TERROR TEE-VEE: A Countdown to Halloween (Day 24)

Somehow, appropriately, George A. Romero recieved his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame posthumously on Wednesday.  Romero died earlier this year after a brief battle with lung cancer.  His wife, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, accepted the honor for him and actor Malcolm McDowell, filmmaker Edgar Wright and effects artist and director Greg Nicotero all spoke at the ceremony in his honor.

His hit horror movies were famously filmed in Pittsburgh where he got his start on commercials, short films and even segments for “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and attending Carnegie-Mellon University.

He was 27 when he came up with the $114,000 to make “Night of the Flesh Eaters”, which evolved into “Night of the Living Dead” by the time it was released.  And so the modern zombie genre was invented.  Or, as they were called in the film, the “ghoul” genre.

Much more than horror and gore, his films had social commentary, humor and a humanity that is combative, abrasive and, end the end, fragile.  Something people living in the modern United States need to realize for the sake of the future.

This here is an excellent lost interview with Romero from 1972…

Variety 1972

Romero's original masterpiece can be found virtually free all across the internet--in fact, here it is again, just in case you want to hear those magic words again... those ominous, taunting words that are at once both sardonic and apt:

"They're coming to get you, Barbara."

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 21): CHILLY BILLY

Known to fans as “Chilly Billy”, William Robert “Bill” Cardille is a broadcast personality from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was the first voice heard when WIIC went on the air in September of 1957.

After years of hosting loads of shows (Wrestling announcer, kiddie show host of Tip Top Time, etc.) during a period when local stations provided quite a lot of programming, Cardille became host of “Chiller Theater”, the late night Saturday show that featured horror and science fiction films.  The show ran for twenty years from 1963 through 1983.

Episodes began with guitarist Al Caiola’s haunting tune “Experiment in Terror”, from a film score by Henry Mancini.  In the beginning, Cardille was more restrained, sticking to dress suit, tux or turtleneck while introducing films.  But by the early ‘70s he added skits, paranormal bits and loads of humor.

Chilly Billy soon brought in a recurring cast of characters such as:

“Norman the Castle Keeper” played by Norman Elder

“Stephen the Castle Prankster” played by Steven Luncinski

Amazonian zombie “Terminal Stare” played by Donna Rae

“Georgette the Fudge Maker” Bonnie Sue Barney

“Skeets Skeltino the Pizza Man”, “Sister Suzie” and “Beauregard C. Beauregard”

In 1968, Bill was asked by George Romero to play himself in the classic “Night of the Living Dead”.  He appears as Channel 11 reporter Bill Cardille, conducting an interview with Chief of Police McClelland asking about the progress of the zombie hunt.

Although WIIC was an NBC affiliate, they wouldn’t initially carry “Saturday Night Live” due to the popularity of Chilly Billy’s show.  However, eventually, in the late ‘70s they pushed back “Chiller Theater” to 1AM after SNL and there it continued to do fairly well.

Then, in ’83 they finally dropped the “host” format and went with a syndicated package called “Haunted Hollywood” in which John Carradine’s off-camera voice-over would tell the viewer to “turn down the sound… but don’t touch that dial!”.

Chilly Billy and “Chiller Theater” were allowed a final farewell to fans during the Halloween season of 1998 with a special called “Chiller Theater: One More Time”.  It featured a showing of Romero’s original “NOTLD” and George Romero was Chilly’s guest, discussing the film and how Bill and Channel 11 helped promote and produce the film thirty years earlier.  At the end of which, Chilly Billy announced his retirement and said a moving goodbye to viewers.

It’s rare when a show like this can last more than a few years and so when one goes looking for fan testimonials about the show on sites like those at the bottom of this feature, it’s kind of neat to see so many good memories.  Twenty years and these folks were having a ball making this little show, let alone the viewers watching at home.

Chilly Billy as Marvelous Maurice the Match Maker

(an extremely sensitive advice columnist):

Chilly Billy as psychic Mr. Magnificent:

They were even able to get television stars to show up for guest appearances… here’s Barbara Feldon as Agent 99:

And part of Lorne Green’s appearance:

Of Note

Joe Flaherty has acknowledged the show as an influence on his “Monster Chiller Horror Theatre” sketches on SCTV.

Cardille also appeared as himself in the 1990 remake of “Night of the Living Dead”.  Bill’s daughter played “SaraH” in the 1985 sequel “Day of the Dead”.

Insightful Sites Cited

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/pittsburghhorrorhosts/paulschillertheater.html

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/pittsburghhorrorhosts/bobbschillertheater.html

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/tvhorrorhosts/hostsc.html#ChillyBilly

http://www.chillertheatermemories.com

A HOST OF HALLOWEEN HORRORS - COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 31)

Well we finally made it to the big day and I have to say that this year's countdown has been a bit of a let-down (as in I didn't quite hold up to the standard I wanted to keep going from last year). I wanted to do some more art of a seasonal nature, wanted to do a few more reviews, wanted to talk about one of my own boogie men and childhood stories, but that's no big deal as there's always next year and in the meantime we have these great classics to view all day over at Turner Classic...




October 31st HALLOWEEN on TCM

7:15 am – THE REPTILE in which a young lady is cursed to become a snake!


8:45 am – The Gorgon in which a lady has snakes in her hair and turns men to stone!


10:15 am – Dracula, Prince Of Darkness, in which Dracula drinks much blood and stalks the night creepily!

12:00 pm – Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, in which Dracula drinks much blood after rising from the grave!


1:45 pm – The Revenge Of Frankenstein, in which the doctor seeks vengeance against the world!


3:15 pm – Frankenstein Created Woman, in which Frankenstein brings a disfigured woman's body back with a different brain!


5:00 pm – The Mummy, in which a mummy's tomb is messed with and a curse brings him back to mess with them!


6:30 pm – Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb, in which an entrepreneur tries to exploit the tomb of a mummy to no avail!


8:00 pm – Village Of The Damned, in which little albino children use mind powers and scare the crap out of their parents!


9:30 pm – Night Of The Living Dead, in which ghouls rise from the grave and get rowdier than the living would like!


12:15 am – The Innocents, in which Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" is adapted brilliantly!


2:00 am – The Haunting, in which Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" is adapted brilliantly!


4:00 am – Repulsion, in which a young woman is left to her own devices for a little while and they drive her mad!