7/19/2007
Horror movie shows have been on Chicago television since the 50s, when Universal Studios first released a bunch of their classic monster flicks to stations around the country- and the craze of using horror movie hosts began- and continues, as you viewers of our program know…
The reason I bring this up, is that I’ve been made aware of a special event next week at the North Riverside Public Library.
Ted Okuta (whom you may know from his great book about the Columbia short subjects, including lots of 3 Stooges information, or his book about Chicago television kids shows) and Mark Yurkiw, another fine local writer, will be at the library to discuss their new book, due for release any moment now- “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie.” I’ve made mention of this book before in this space- it’s jam-packed with great information about the horror shows that have been broadcast, hosted and unhosted, over the years in this area. I’ve seen the chapters on my mentor, Jerry G. Bishop, the original “Sven”, and on myself, and they are very informative and fun to read- and, a little flattering, if I do say so myself. You also get information on the earliest hosted show –channel 7’s “Shock Theatre” hosted by Marvin, and information about other influential-and, not so influential- hosts. Ted and Mark will be doing their discussion at the North Riverside Public Library (so close to Berwyn!) next Tuesday night July 24 at 7 pm, so make plans to attend- I understand you may have to sign up in advance in a binder near the front entrance, so, if you want to attend, you may need to make a prior visit to the library. I don’t have exact information on the library’s location, or its phone number, but I’m sure you can Google it easily! The guys also plan to show some video with clips from various shows, as well as some vintage horror movie trailers.
As I said, the book will be coming out very soon, and I hope you’ll check it out- you’ll find out, among other things, how Chicago area viewers rejected Cleveland’s “the Ghoul” overwhelmingly after he replaced the original Svengoolie, who was unceremoniously cancelled by Kaiser Broadcasting, even after they gave Jerry G. their assurance that the show would continue. Plus, it gives you some background on yours truly’s career as part of the Svengoolie family. If you’re not someone who usually reads books- this is a great way to get back into reading, since it’s about something you like! Just don’t try to use a rubber chicken as a book mark…
The reason I bring this up, is that I’ve been made aware of a special event next week at the North Riverside Public Library.
Ted Okuta (whom you may know from his great book about the Columbia short subjects, including lots of 3 Stooges information, or his book about Chicago television kids shows) and Mark Yurkiw, another fine local writer, will be at the library to discuss their new book, due for release any moment now- “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie.” I’ve made mention of this book before in this space- it’s jam-packed with great information about the horror shows that have been broadcast, hosted and unhosted, over the years in this area. I’ve seen the chapters on my mentor, Jerry G. Bishop, the original “Sven”, and on myself, and they are very informative and fun to read- and, a little flattering, if I do say so myself. You also get information on the earliest hosted show –channel 7’s “Shock Theatre” hosted by Marvin, and information about other influential-and, not so influential- hosts. Ted and Mark will be doing their discussion at the North Riverside Public Library (so close to Berwyn!) next Tuesday night July 24 at 7 pm, so make plans to attend- I understand you may have to sign up in advance in a binder near the front entrance, so, if you want to attend, you may need to make a prior visit to the library. I don’t have exact information on the library’s location, or its phone number, but I’m sure you can Google it easily! The guys also plan to show some video with clips from various shows, as well as some vintage horror movie trailers.
As I said, the book will be coming out very soon, and I hope you’ll check it out- you’ll find out, among other things, how Chicago area viewers rejected Cleveland’s “the Ghoul” overwhelmingly after he replaced the original Svengoolie, who was unceremoniously cancelled by Kaiser Broadcasting, even after they gave Jerry G. their assurance that the show would continue. Plus, it gives you some background on yours truly’s career as part of the Svengoolie family. If you’re not someone who usually reads books- this is a great way to get back into reading, since it’s about something you like! Just don’t try to use a rubber chicken as a book mark…
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