December 2007 Archives
Merry Christmas! Obviously, I’m writing this BEFORE the actual day…because I’ll be a little busy the actual morning of the 25th, celebrating with the family.
I’ve decided NOT to reference the movie “A Christmas Story” today, since I’ve only been talking about it every other day for most of the past month. It did get me thinking, though, about all the traditions we develop over the years- whether it’s watching a movie, picking a tree, putting out certain ornaments (the pickle ornament story shall also remain unspoken today!) and even some of the silly stuff friends and family do. For example, there was a time when my brothers and I had been on a flight together, and the meal included some of the most awful yogurt imaginable. Somehow one of us brought a container of it home- and it became a tradition for somebody to sneak it in as a gift to someone else at holiday time! We’d find the container hidden in a shoe, wrapped elaborately, stuck in a Christmas stocking- it became a traditional prank gift that we circulated among each other until the day that the container got damaged and actually got opened a bit. After the haz-mat team left (come on! It was YOUGURT that had spent years unrefrigerated! Ewww!) we all felt a little bad that the tradition wouldn’t continue- sure, we could have bought ANOTHER yogurt, but it was something about the situation when we first obtained it, that had made it special.
Even more important than the traditions is the fact that we get to spend time with family members. I really don’t get to see my brothers enough, and we always have a great time- often involving silly things making us fall helpless with laughter. Something as goofy as a “George of the Jungle” coloring book one of the brothers had – and drew some extra silly things into- that has remained in our family basement – in spite of floods, etc- for so many years, and the brothers delight on bringing it out unexpectedly, and suddenly putting one of the pages into the view of someone- who invariably laughs his head off! If I explained the pictures, my guess is you would never find it funny, or be able to figure out WHY we find it so hilarious…but it still has the same effect on all of us every year.
Hope you get to enjoy today, as well- even if you DON’T have a “George of the Jungle” coloring book to evoke laughter.
BLOG BULLETIN- I’ve been informed that, with the holidays, Our hard-working web guys who put these blogs up for me are taking a break- so, we’ll be taking a blog hiatus for about a week. I’ll be blogging again by the first day of the New Year.
In the meantime, you can still contact me, as always, at svengoolie@wciu.com …as my “dad,” Jerry G. Bishop used to say- “Cheers!”
I’ve decided NOT to reference the movie “A Christmas Story” today, since I’ve only been talking about it every other day for most of the past month. It did get me thinking, though, about all the traditions we develop over the years- whether it’s watching a movie, picking a tree, putting out certain ornaments (the pickle ornament story shall also remain unspoken today!) and even some of the silly stuff friends and family do. For example, there was a time when my brothers and I had been on a flight together, and the meal included some of the most awful yogurt imaginable. Somehow one of us brought a container of it home- and it became a tradition for somebody to sneak it in as a gift to someone else at holiday time! We’d find the container hidden in a shoe, wrapped elaborately, stuck in a Christmas stocking- it became a traditional prank gift that we circulated among each other until the day that the container got damaged and actually got opened a bit. After the haz-mat team left (come on! It was YOUGURT that had spent years unrefrigerated! Ewww!) we all felt a little bad that the tradition wouldn’t continue- sure, we could have bought ANOTHER yogurt, but it was something about the situation when we first obtained it, that had made it special.
Even more important than the traditions is the fact that we get to spend time with family members. I really don’t get to see my brothers enough, and we always have a great time- often involving silly things making us fall helpless with laughter. Something as goofy as a “George of the Jungle” coloring book one of the brothers had – and drew some extra silly things into- that has remained in our family basement – in spite of floods, etc- for so many years, and the brothers delight on bringing it out unexpectedly, and suddenly putting one of the pages into the view of someone- who invariably laughs his head off! If I explained the pictures, my guess is you would never find it funny, or be able to figure out WHY we find it so hilarious…but it still has the same effect on all of us every year.
Hope you get to enjoy today, as well- even if you DON’T have a “George of the Jungle” coloring book to evoke laughter.
BLOG BULLETIN- I’ve been informed that, with the holidays, Our hard-working web guys who put these blogs up for me are taking a break- so, we’ll be taking a blog hiatus for about a week. I’ll be blogging again by the first day of the New Year.
In the meantime, you can still contact me, as always, at svengoolie@wciu.com …as my “dad,” Jerry G. Bishop used to say- “Cheers!”
Okay- I can’t wait! I can’t wait? (“For Christmas?” you ask) No, no- for the holiday ads to stop! And let me be the first to say I’m pleasantly surprised that the Empire Carpet Man did NOT trot out the dancing chorus boy elves…unless I missed ‘em.
Another ad- on the radio- that can’t disappear too soon is the jewelry store chain’s ad that features the tortured warbling of its female owner- who somewhere along the line decided she was a singer (I know- I should talk!) I know, a few years ago, she even brazenly made an album featuring her syncopated screeching. Needless to say, it remained “bubbling under” the top 1,000 songs on the charts for several weeks, before sinking into oblivion.
I also can’t wait for the ritualistic marathon run of my favorite Christmas movie, which I’ve mentioned ad nauseum, “A Christmas Story.” Would that I had a dollar for every “you’ll shoot your eye out” that will resound in the next 40 hours or so…seriously, I need to get in at least one full viewing, and will definitely be seeing bits and pieces here and there, and hear my brothers repeating the dialogue along with the movie on Christmas Day! Of course, I’ll do the traditional lighting of my “leg lamp” (only the desktop size) and declare it a “major award” before midnight tonight.
Do you still get excited at Christmas? Or has it changed? I think it’s changed somewhat for me, because I’m more excited to see the reactions of my family and friends to what they get. As a kid, naturally, it was all about what YOU would get- but, now, the most fun is getting someone the gift that really hits the bull’s eye (no, I’m not purchasing handguns for everybody this year-you know what I mean…) I love sitting with just the tree and Christmas decoration lights on late in the evening, and if there’s a little snow falling, it’s a perfect picture…and, wait! That happens to be the final scene in “A Christmas Story!” What a coincidence!(although my snowstorm doesn’t turn into a furious blizzard, as the movie scene does, because they sometimes speed up the film to get through the credits faster- watch it and see if they do it this year!)
Well, final holiday preparations must be made- so, let me wish you and yours a merry Christmas- if you so celebrate- and, if not, just a pleasant day filled with warm feelings and good times (not the “J.J. Walker” “Good Times”- unless you’re getting the box set of dvds.) Oh, and, my final Christmas wish? That, besides “A Christmas Story”- somebody also runs the Alistair Sim “Scrooge!”
Another ad- on the radio- that can’t disappear too soon is the jewelry store chain’s ad that features the tortured warbling of its female owner- who somewhere along the line decided she was a singer (I know- I should talk!) I know, a few years ago, she even brazenly made an album featuring her syncopated screeching. Needless to say, it remained “bubbling under” the top 1,000 songs on the charts for several weeks, before sinking into oblivion.
I also can’t wait for the ritualistic marathon run of my favorite Christmas movie, which I’ve mentioned ad nauseum, “A Christmas Story.” Would that I had a dollar for every “you’ll shoot your eye out” that will resound in the next 40 hours or so…seriously, I need to get in at least one full viewing, and will definitely be seeing bits and pieces here and there, and hear my brothers repeating the dialogue along with the movie on Christmas Day! Of course, I’ll do the traditional lighting of my “leg lamp” (only the desktop size) and declare it a “major award” before midnight tonight.
Do you still get excited at Christmas? Or has it changed? I think it’s changed somewhat for me, because I’m more excited to see the reactions of my family and friends to what they get. As a kid, naturally, it was all about what YOU would get- but, now, the most fun is getting someone the gift that really hits the bull’s eye (no, I’m not purchasing handguns for everybody this year-you know what I mean…) I love sitting with just the tree and Christmas decoration lights on late in the evening, and if there’s a little snow falling, it’s a perfect picture…and, wait! That happens to be the final scene in “A Christmas Story!” What a coincidence!(although my snowstorm doesn’t turn into a furious blizzard, as the movie scene does, because they sometimes speed up the film to get through the credits faster- watch it and see if they do it this year!)
Well, final holiday preparations must be made- so, let me wish you and yours a merry Christmas- if you so celebrate- and, if not, just a pleasant day filled with warm feelings and good times (not the “J.J. Walker” “Good Times”- unless you’re getting the box set of dvds.) Oh, and, my final Christmas wish? That, besides “A Christmas Story”- somebody also runs the Alistair Sim “Scrooge!”
Before we launch into Christmas Eve tomorrow, let’s tie up a few holiday loose ends left dangling at svengoolie@wciu.com- We’ve talked about the pickle ornament controversy – is it a real German tradition, or some bogus legend made up to sell left-over pickle ornaments? Megan checked in with us, and said that her family always had the pickle ornament- but, in her family, it wasn’t the deal of “first person to spot it (like a cucumber “Where’s Waldo?”) gets a prize”- she thought it was just good luck to have it hanging on the tree. But- even better- she tells the story of a scary clown ornament that her brother always insisted had to be hung on the tree-even though it has given an older brother nightmares for his whole life!(And he’s 28 now!)The rest of the family would purposely leave it off the tree every year when they’d decorate, but somehow it would always end up hidden on the back of the tree (sounds like the plot for a fine Christmas horror flick- then- it comes to life! And makes its way into your stocking, where it waits for you to reach that hand inside and…) Anyway, she reports that this year, it wasn’t even in the box of ornaments- because her brother has been hoarding it since last Christmas! Can’t you see him now, clutching the evil clown, and whispering “yes, master Bobo- never fear- I shall find you your place on the fragrant pine- and then, when the eggnog is poured…I shall make you ruler of the entire living room!” Pretty scary, eh, kids? Oh- and Megan also says she found an old autograph from my “Son of Svengoolie” days- on the back of a picture of – Clark Weber! That must’ve been from a special toy drive that I did years ago with Deborah Norville (in her channel 5 anchoring days) that was also tied in with WIND Radio back then, where Clark was broadcasting. Obviously, my old station must’ve been too cheap to provide pictures …although I could have drawn the make-up on the picture of Clark…
Also- for the many people who have been writing, saying they didn’t get a chance to meet me during our latest rounds of appearances, and asking if there are plans for me to go out and visit with our loyal veiwers in the future- yes! The outstanding success of our appearances this entire year, with record crowds, pretty much guarantees that I’ll be making more appearances- so watch this space, and our show, for future dates when you can come meet me, get an autograph, or take a picture with me. I cannot believe that I am already being approached about doing appearances well into next year- in the summer, and even in October! Is it wise for me to even try to plan that far ahead right now? What will 2008 hold for your friendly neighborhood Goolie? Can we just MAKE it to 2008 first? Please?!
Also- for the many people who have been writing, saying they didn’t get a chance to meet me during our latest rounds of appearances, and asking if there are plans for me to go out and visit with our loyal veiwers in the future- yes! The outstanding success of our appearances this entire year, with record crowds, pretty much guarantees that I’ll be making more appearances- so watch this space, and our show, for future dates when you can come meet me, get an autograph, or take a picture with me. I cannot believe that I am already being approached about doing appearances well into next year- in the summer, and even in October! Is it wise for me to even try to plan that far ahead right now? What will 2008 hold for your friendly neighborhood Goolie? Can we just MAKE it to 2008 first? Please?!
You get a choice of holiday or non-holiday Sven tonight, depending on when you tune in- if you’re in advanced holiday mode, then you want to tune in to Me-TV at 1 am- when, by popular demand, we bring you the Svensurrounded holiday classic- “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” –featuring a young Pia Zadora (Ms. Zadora was a major discussion topic on the “Svengoolieweb” Yahoo group this past week!) Plenty of fun added to this cheesy flick, thanks to the Sven crew, plus a load of our holiday songs and bits.
In non-holiday mode, or just looking for a classic horror flick to watch while trimming the tree, wrapping the gifts, or spiking the eggnog? Well, then, settle in for the 9 pm WCIU Sven showing of an encore performance of the horror flick that launched filmdom’s championship monster that held that title for many years- it’s the amazing Boris Karloff in the original “Frankenstein!” See the reason why Boris went from appearing in the credits as “?” to being so wildly popular that he was billed simply as “Karloff!” (or, sometimes, as “Karloff the Uncanny…”) and his name became synonymous with horror.
You also get another look at the versatile Universal stock player who showed up in so many of the horror films of this era, Dwight Frye-as the hunchbacked lab assistant Fritz.(Watch for the somewhat amusing moment when he’s walking up the curving staircase, muttering to himself, and pauses to adjust his hosiery!) we also mention in the show how Boris had removed his dental plate to give him more of the gaunt, hollow-cheeked look of a cadaver- but, if you watch carefully, especially in a scene where Fritz is torturing him with a torch (how poetic!)-you’ll see that Boris had his choppers in for a few scenes!
It’s an amazing coincidence that this man who became a sensation who could bring terror into the hearts of the movie audience is remembered during this time of year for his beloved narration of the animated Chuck Jones classic “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Supposedly, Dr. Seuss was a little worried about Boris doing the narration, because he thought it might be too scary-but was pleased with the end result. Boris’s delightful work as a storyteller in that TV special has given him additional fame that will live on every holiday season.
But- tonight- he gets his props as the Monster who made him famous! For extra fun, watch both “Frankenstein” AND “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” and see what’s scarier- the monster, or the acting in “Martians!”
In non-holiday mode, or just looking for a classic horror flick to watch while trimming the tree, wrapping the gifts, or spiking the eggnog? Well, then, settle in for the 9 pm WCIU Sven showing of an encore performance of the horror flick that launched filmdom’s championship monster that held that title for many years- it’s the amazing Boris Karloff in the original “Frankenstein!” See the reason why Boris went from appearing in the credits as “?” to being so wildly popular that he was billed simply as “Karloff!” (or, sometimes, as “Karloff the Uncanny…”) and his name became synonymous with horror.
You also get another look at the versatile Universal stock player who showed up in so many of the horror films of this era, Dwight Frye-as the hunchbacked lab assistant Fritz.(Watch for the somewhat amusing moment when he’s walking up the curving staircase, muttering to himself, and pauses to adjust his hosiery!) we also mention in the show how Boris had removed his dental plate to give him more of the gaunt, hollow-cheeked look of a cadaver- but, if you watch carefully, especially in a scene where Fritz is torturing him with a torch (how poetic!)-you’ll see that Boris had his choppers in for a few scenes!
It’s an amazing coincidence that this man who became a sensation who could bring terror into the hearts of the movie audience is remembered during this time of year for his beloved narration of the animated Chuck Jones classic “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Supposedly, Dr. Seuss was a little worried about Boris doing the narration, because he thought it might be too scary-but was pleased with the end result. Boris’s delightful work as a storyteller in that TV special has given him additional fame that will live on every holiday season.
But- tonight- he gets his props as the Monster who made him famous! For extra fun, watch both “Frankenstein” AND “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians,” and see what’s scarier- the monster, or the acting in “Martians!”
I continue to get some great feedback on various subjects at svengoolie@wciu.com …let’s continue with one of the latest messages that gave me plenty to think about…
Dan, who always has some interesting things to say, covered a bunch of stuff in his latest e-mail. He felt that, if you call the famed monster itself “Frankenstein” –that he must have the least amount of screen time for any title Universal monster on a minutes-per-movie basis. I pointed out that I think that distinction actually goes to the “Bride of Frankenstein”- who only shows up for about 5 minutes in her flick. Dan also brought up the strange lapses in continuity regarding whose brain is in the Monster’s skull…in “Ghost of Frankenstein” we see Ygor’s brain installed in the Monster, yet, in the next flick, when they were shooting and Bela was the Monster- with speaking lines- when they watched the scenes that had been shot so far during production, and the Monster spoke with Bela’s Hungarian accent- studio executives hooted with derision, and decided to CUT all of the Monster’s lines, since they thought it would seem odd for him to talk with that accent. BUT- since it was supposedly Ygor’s brain- why WOULDN’T he talk that way? Anyway, Dan feels that everyone in the sequels seems to know every little detail of what went on in the pervious flicks, which seems a little strange- especially when these small villages, trying to avoid a bad reputation, might try to downplay the strange events, as if they never happened. I brought up that, in fact, with gossip, rumors, and embellishment of the actual facts- there would probably be all sorts of false information making the rounds!
Another good point Dan had about “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”- the point of transplanting Costello’s brain into the Monster is to make him easier to handle- yet, Bela/Dracula seems to have no problem at all getting the Monster to do as he says! Not to mention, if they DID put Lou’s brain into the Monster, with his usual nutty behavior- couldn’t that cause even more trouble in handling him (unless you transplanted Abbott’s brain into Drac, so he could slap and push him around!) Also, again, from a lack of continuity standpoint- since the monster can talk again in this flick- why DOESN’T he sound like Ygor, whose brain he must still have percolating in his noggin?
Or- are we just over-analyzing the whole thing? After all, isn’t it “only a movie?” As long as we’re entertained, should we worry that the continuity jumps the track every so often?! Still, it’s fun to nitpick, as long as we don’t become too much like the Simpsons’ “Comic Book Guy.” (“Worst-brain transplant-EVER!”)
Dan, who always has some interesting things to say, covered a bunch of stuff in his latest e-mail. He felt that, if you call the famed monster itself “Frankenstein” –that he must have the least amount of screen time for any title Universal monster on a minutes-per-movie basis. I pointed out that I think that distinction actually goes to the “Bride of Frankenstein”- who only shows up for about 5 minutes in her flick. Dan also brought up the strange lapses in continuity regarding whose brain is in the Monster’s skull…in “Ghost of Frankenstein” we see Ygor’s brain installed in the Monster, yet, in the next flick, when they were shooting and Bela was the Monster- with speaking lines- when they watched the scenes that had been shot so far during production, and the Monster spoke with Bela’s Hungarian accent- studio executives hooted with derision, and decided to CUT all of the Monster’s lines, since they thought it would seem odd for him to talk with that accent. BUT- since it was supposedly Ygor’s brain- why WOULDN’T he talk that way? Anyway, Dan feels that everyone in the sequels seems to know every little detail of what went on in the pervious flicks, which seems a little strange- especially when these small villages, trying to avoid a bad reputation, might try to downplay the strange events, as if they never happened. I brought up that, in fact, with gossip, rumors, and embellishment of the actual facts- there would probably be all sorts of false information making the rounds!
Another good point Dan had about “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”- the point of transplanting Costello’s brain into the Monster is to make him easier to handle- yet, Bela/Dracula seems to have no problem at all getting the Monster to do as he says! Not to mention, if they DID put Lou’s brain into the Monster, with his usual nutty behavior- couldn’t that cause even more trouble in handling him (unless you transplanted Abbott’s brain into Drac, so he could slap and push him around!) Also, again, from a lack of continuity standpoint- since the monster can talk again in this flick- why DOESN’T he sound like Ygor, whose brain he must still have percolating in his noggin?
Or- are we just over-analyzing the whole thing? After all, isn’t it “only a movie?” As long as we’re entertained, should we worry that the continuity jumps the track every so often?! Still, it’s fun to nitpick, as long as we don’t become too much like the Simpsons’ “Comic Book Guy.” (“Worst-brain transplant-EVER!”)
For those of you who have been kind enough to send us a holiday greeting card- although we won’t be able to show the cards we’ve received on air this year, we WILL be showing them in a special webisode that will be up on this site next week. We will also tack on the time-honored “holiday greetings from the Sven crew” that you’ve come to expect at this time of year. So- please be watching for it next week!
We’re still getting holiday feedback on things we’ve mentioned here in the blog- we got a great e-mail from Doug talking about Christmas ads that brought up a local ad (and store) long gone from this area. Do you remember Robert Hall clothing stores? They always had musical commercials –with lyrics like “when the values go up-up-up! And the prices go down-down –down!”
Doug recalls that, as a kid in the 50s and 60s, he hated their holiday commercial that started with “we’re doing our Christmas shopping- at Robert Hall this year!” As a kid, he thought “…CLOTHES for Christmas?! NOOOO!” I was just thinking- I once worked at a satellite music radio network that was heard all over the world- and the guy in charge was named “Robert Hall!” I’m sure it was no relation…
I’ll bet you can relate to Dan’s comment to me that Christmas has gone too commercial, and is still best typified by Stan Freberg’s old record “Green Chri$tmas.” If you’ve never heard it, search it out- it’s a great example of Stan’s satire. Dan also brings up the old “floating heads” Santa commercial we mentioned, with the jolly old gent riding on the razor head assembly. He reminds us that the company’s name even said Christmas “NorELco!” He also brings up a commercial many have stated they dislike- the Folger’s ad where the kid comes home from college early one morning, sneaks into the house before anyone is awake, and brews a pot of coffee, which awakes the whole household. Some think that the young daughter seems to hide her disgust to not be finding Santa and presents, but the prodigal son, her brother Peter, instead. Ronni comments “how did he get in the house? Didn’t they change the locks when he moved out?”
For the record, the commercial this year that has pretty much worn out its welcome for me is that Target ad (or ads) that has a sort of “Advent calendar” motif- which isn’t the part I dislike- that’s the annoying music track –sing it along with me- “Buh-BAH- buh-BAH…whaa-whaa-whaa (repeat).” It’s no “We’re doing our Christmas shopping- at Robert Hall…”
We’re still getting holiday feedback on things we’ve mentioned here in the blog- we got a great e-mail from Doug talking about Christmas ads that brought up a local ad (and store) long gone from this area. Do you remember Robert Hall clothing stores? They always had musical commercials –with lyrics like “when the values go up-up-up! And the prices go down-down –down!”
Doug recalls that, as a kid in the 50s and 60s, he hated their holiday commercial that started with “we’re doing our Christmas shopping- at Robert Hall this year!” As a kid, he thought “…CLOTHES for Christmas?! NOOOO!” I was just thinking- I once worked at a satellite music radio network that was heard all over the world- and the guy in charge was named “Robert Hall!” I’m sure it was no relation…
I’ll bet you can relate to Dan’s comment to me that Christmas has gone too commercial, and is still best typified by Stan Freberg’s old record “Green Chri$tmas.” If you’ve never heard it, search it out- it’s a great example of Stan’s satire. Dan also brings up the old “floating heads” Santa commercial we mentioned, with the jolly old gent riding on the razor head assembly. He reminds us that the company’s name even said Christmas “NorELco!” He also brings up a commercial many have stated they dislike- the Folger’s ad where the kid comes home from college early one morning, sneaks into the house before anyone is awake, and brews a pot of coffee, which awakes the whole household. Some think that the young daughter seems to hide her disgust to not be finding Santa and presents, but the prodigal son, her brother Peter, instead. Ronni comments “how did he get in the house? Didn’t they change the locks when he moved out?”
For the record, the commercial this year that has pretty much worn out its welcome for me is that Target ad (or ads) that has a sort of “Advent calendar” motif- which isn’t the part I dislike- that’s the annoying music track –sing it along with me- “Buh-BAH- buh-BAH…whaa-whaa-whaa (repeat).” It’s no “We’re doing our Christmas shopping- at Robert Hall…”
Various thoughts from under the Sven top hat for today:
- Just read that it’s the 15th anniversary of Oprah Winfrey’s engagement to Steadman Graham. What’s the proper gift for a 15th anniversary of an engagement? “You get a car, and you get a car?”
- In our friend Zay Smith’s entertaining “QT” column in the Sun Times, I learned a unique fact- what do the following songs have in common? “The Christmas Song,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Let It Snow,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Silver Bells,” and “White Christmas?” I’ll tell you- if you don’t already know- at the end of this blog!
- When people have recognized me or shown up at my appearances lately- the one thing they usually bring up is that they really like the Universal flicks we’re showing- and quite a few follow it up with ‘a lot better than those ‘Full Moon’ movies you were showing!” Those are the ones like “the Creeps, “ “Hideous!” “Head of the Family,” and “Shrunken Heads.” It’s funny, because there are two schools of thought- that the Universal flicks are exactly what Sven should be showing- AND- that the schlocky flicks are exactly the kind of stuff Sven should be showing! Which shows that you can’t please everybody… like the person who e-mailed me after last Saturday’s show, and said to quit talking so much during the movies!
- For those who have asked- yes, you may bring your copy of the new book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie”- to any Sven appearance I make, and I’ll be happy to sign it for you. The same goes for a Sven t-shirt.
- Isn’t it a shame that we don’t have special holiday variety shows any more? Remember when every year, there’d be specials by big name show biz stars- like Perry Como, Bob Hope, Andy Williams, etc.? Are you telling me that you couldn’t have a Gwen Stefani or a Fergie Christmas special on a network? I should talk- we really don’t even get to do Sven holiday themed shows much anymore- mostly because of production and contractual requirements, with re-broadcasts of shows throughout the year (although our Christmas “classic”-the Svensurrounded “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”- WILL air on Me-TV this Saturday late night at 1 am!)
- …oh, yes- what do all those Christmas tunes have in common? They were all written by Jewish songwriters!
- Just read that it’s the 15th anniversary of Oprah Winfrey’s engagement to Steadman Graham. What’s the proper gift for a 15th anniversary of an engagement? “You get a car, and you get a car?”
- In our friend Zay Smith’s entertaining “QT” column in the Sun Times, I learned a unique fact- what do the following songs have in common? “The Christmas Song,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Let It Snow,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Silver Bells,” and “White Christmas?” I’ll tell you- if you don’t already know- at the end of this blog!
- When people have recognized me or shown up at my appearances lately- the one thing they usually bring up is that they really like the Universal flicks we’re showing- and quite a few follow it up with ‘a lot better than those ‘Full Moon’ movies you were showing!” Those are the ones like “the Creeps, “ “Hideous!” “Head of the Family,” and “Shrunken Heads.” It’s funny, because there are two schools of thought- that the Universal flicks are exactly what Sven should be showing- AND- that the schlocky flicks are exactly the kind of stuff Sven should be showing! Which shows that you can’t please everybody… like the person who e-mailed me after last Saturday’s show, and said to quit talking so much during the movies!
- For those who have asked- yes, you may bring your copy of the new book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie”- to any Sven appearance I make, and I’ll be happy to sign it for you. The same goes for a Sven t-shirt.
- Isn’t it a shame that we don’t have special holiday variety shows any more? Remember when every year, there’d be specials by big name show biz stars- like Perry Como, Bob Hope, Andy Williams, etc.? Are you telling me that you couldn’t have a Gwen Stefani or a Fergie Christmas special on a network? I should talk- we really don’t even get to do Sven holiday themed shows much anymore- mostly because of production and contractual requirements, with re-broadcasts of shows throughout the year (although our Christmas “classic”-the Svensurrounded “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”- WILL air on Me-TV this Saturday late night at 1 am!)
- …oh, yes- what do all those Christmas tunes have in common? They were all written by Jewish songwriters!
I‘ve received some messages from Sven fans who were surprised to hear that I spent some time doing mornings at WCKG years ago. They asked what the show was about- well, it was about three and a half hours (hit the rimshot!) Actually, as I mentioned the station format at the time was “classic rock”-so, we played a lot of music, but we also did comedy bits, had guests, did contests, etc.-a typical morning show.
Well, not so typical since Sven showed up a lot. We did Sven phone calls, and the program director was a big fan of the “Sveney-mooners” bits I had done on TV –a take-off on “the Honeymooners”- so he requested that we do those every so often. We did parodies of other TV shows, as well as bits about current events.
There were also some side characters we invented along the ay- Dr. James, who sounded like the old actor James Mason, who would do personality profiles of listeners by asking them really stupid questions- and , one of my favorites- hack comedian “Wacky Jackie” Akrushek. He was supposedly going to be one of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” on
“Saturday Night Live”- but was always bumped, and never made it into the air. He would constantly complain that his catch phrase “Up yours!” – never got the chance to become a part of the American culture, like the many other catch phrases that SNL spawned.
While doing the show, there was a grand opening of the latest store in a chain of record shops (now long gone)-that, of course, just happened to be in Berwyn! We did a live broadcast from there, with Sven in full make-up to greet people who came to the store that early morning. Before long, a few members of the Berwyn police department showed up, and “arrested” Sven on-air! It was like an episode of “Cops”- you heard them slapping the cuffs on Sven as he protested his innocence, heard him being taken outside and put in the police car, and heard the car drive away with siren blaring!
We did a lot of fun and creative stuff in the mornings- but it all came to a halt when my job at Fox switched to hosting the block of kids shows from the Fox network. I guess the radio station worried that the audience for its classic rock would turn into all kids, and ruin their demographics. All I know is, we did some great shows, the ratings went up amazingly in just a few months- and I think we probably would’ve added some kids to our audience, but wouldn’t have lost the people we already had…but, such is the world of radio. If you ever talk with someone who was listening back then, I think they’ll tell you that it was a fun show-with the morning “team” of Sven and Rich Koz.
Well, not so typical since Sven showed up a lot. We did Sven phone calls, and the program director was a big fan of the “Sveney-mooners” bits I had done on TV –a take-off on “the Honeymooners”- so he requested that we do those every so often. We did parodies of other TV shows, as well as bits about current events.
There were also some side characters we invented along the ay- Dr. James, who sounded like the old actor James Mason, who would do personality profiles of listeners by asking them really stupid questions- and , one of my favorites- hack comedian “Wacky Jackie” Akrushek. He was supposedly going to be one of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” on
“Saturday Night Live”- but was always bumped, and never made it into the air. He would constantly complain that his catch phrase “Up yours!” – never got the chance to become a part of the American culture, like the many other catch phrases that SNL spawned.
While doing the show, there was a grand opening of the latest store in a chain of record shops (now long gone)-that, of course, just happened to be in Berwyn! We did a live broadcast from there, with Sven in full make-up to greet people who came to the store that early morning. Before long, a few members of the Berwyn police department showed up, and “arrested” Sven on-air! It was like an episode of “Cops”- you heard them slapping the cuffs on Sven as he protested his innocence, heard him being taken outside and put in the police car, and heard the car drive away with siren blaring!
We did a lot of fun and creative stuff in the mornings- but it all came to a halt when my job at Fox switched to hosting the block of kids shows from the Fox network. I guess the radio station worried that the audience for its classic rock would turn into all kids, and ruin their demographics. All I know is, we did some great shows, the ratings went up amazingly in just a few months- and I think we probably would’ve added some kids to our audience, but wouldn’t have lost the people we already had…but, such is the world of radio. If you ever talk with someone who was listening back then, I think they’ll tell you that it was a fun show-with the morning “team” of Sven and Rich Koz.
Quick plug- if you’d like to get a copy of the new book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie”- and would like to meet the authors- there’s a signing at our sponsor Horrorbles –6731 W. Roosevelt in BERWYN- today, from noon to 5 pm. Ted Okuta and Mark Yurkiw will be happy to sign your copy and chat about the book and the shows. And- why, yes- there IS a lovely chapter about yours truly, and my mentor, the original Sven, Jerry G. Bishop, in the book! Give Ted and Mark my best wishes…
I read recently about a “funeral’ for the late FM station WCKG that will be happening in January. I spent several months there a while back, doing the morning drive time show- where they had insisted that Sven (then “Son of Svengoolie”) had to be apart of the show-he’d show up every morning to rundown what was going to happen on that day’s show, show up in bits, etc.-and made a few public appearances on behalf of the station as well. The station was then “classic rock” and had me in the mornings, followed by Mitch Michaels, Joe Thomas, and the late Alan Stagg doing the night shift. I had a good time there, but was wearing myself out doing the radio, heading over to Fox 32 for a full day’s work, and getting home in time to collapse, get four hours of sleep, and start all over again.
We did a lot of cool stuff- including broadcasting from the Disney MGM Studios in Florida when they opened the George Lucas “Star Tours” ride, doing the show from Jamaica, hosting a Halloween party at Navy Pier with The Late Show’s Paul Shaeffer, doing broadcasts and live events with Jerry “the Beaver” Mathers and the “sons” from “My Three Sons” –and even doing a food drive before Thanksgiving, dressed as a Pilgrim. I love radio, and hope to do more someday- and my time at WCKG was a great ride. I still have good friends- and even some co-workers who somehow made their way here to WCIU- who worked alongside me at WCKG, where we always would paraphrase the station’s promo line “it doesn’t have to be old to be a classic” as “it doesn’t have to be good to be a classic!” We’d also joke about the station’s “no repeat” policy- you’d never hear the same song between 7 am and 6 pm…but you’d damn sure here a lot of the same music every morning. I told one co-worker that if I had to hear “Going to California” or “Fly Like an Eagle” again the next day after hearing it every day, I’d go ballistic! I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the “WCKG Death Party” as it’s been called- but I definitely will raise a glass to yet another of the places I was fired from!
I read recently about a “funeral’ for the late FM station WCKG that will be happening in January. I spent several months there a while back, doing the morning drive time show- where they had insisted that Sven (then “Son of Svengoolie”) had to be apart of the show-he’d show up every morning to rundown what was going to happen on that day’s show, show up in bits, etc.-and made a few public appearances on behalf of the station as well. The station was then “classic rock” and had me in the mornings, followed by Mitch Michaels, Joe Thomas, and the late Alan Stagg doing the night shift. I had a good time there, but was wearing myself out doing the radio, heading over to Fox 32 for a full day’s work, and getting home in time to collapse, get four hours of sleep, and start all over again.
We did a lot of cool stuff- including broadcasting from the Disney MGM Studios in Florida when they opened the George Lucas “Star Tours” ride, doing the show from Jamaica, hosting a Halloween party at Navy Pier with The Late Show’s Paul Shaeffer, doing broadcasts and live events with Jerry “the Beaver” Mathers and the “sons” from “My Three Sons” –and even doing a food drive before Thanksgiving, dressed as a Pilgrim. I love radio, and hope to do more someday- and my time at WCKG was a great ride. I still have good friends- and even some co-workers who somehow made their way here to WCIU- who worked alongside me at WCKG, where we always would paraphrase the station’s promo line “it doesn’t have to be old to be a classic” as “it doesn’t have to be good to be a classic!” We’d also joke about the station’s “no repeat” policy- you’d never hear the same song between 7 am and 6 pm…but you’d damn sure here a lot of the same music every morning. I told one co-worker that if I had to hear “Going to California” or “Fly Like an Eagle” again the next day after hearing it every day, I’d go ballistic! I’m not sure if I’ll make it to the “WCKG Death Party” as it’s been called- but I definitely will raise a glass to yet another of the places I was fired from!
Wow- only ten days until Christmas. That’s 9 shopping days.
How many Chia Pets and Clappers will get scanned in that time?
Well, stop shopping and get home by 9 pm tonight – because we’re bringing back a family fave. You guys loved it last time- and some complained because you had to choose between going to the big Halloween parties or watching this flick. Well, this time- no such conflict! We’ve got the beloved horror comedy classic – “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein!”
Reminiscent of last week’s ‘House of Frankenstein”- there’s a “house of horrors” that is receiving the last remains of Dracula-PLUS the remains of the Frankenstein Monster! Two differences from last week’s flick- in this movie, both Drac and the Monster are totally intact- no bones or frozen tissue this time- and, secondly, working on the shipment are Abbott and Costello! The two delivery goofs bring the remains to the display place- at which point, Dracula (Bela Lugosi- somehow, he’s Bela again after being seared to bone by the sun as John Carradine) comes out of his coffin, grabs the Monster, and leaves. Meanwhile, none other than Larry Talbot- the Wolf Man- is trying to stop Dracula from returning the Monster to full power, and tries to enlist Bud and Lou to help him defy the Count. There’s a mole, however- Lou’s gorgeous new girlfriend is, in reality, a mad doctoress who is on Dracula’s team- and plans to bring Lou to Dracula’s laboratory- where they will put Lou’s easy-to-manage brain into the monster!
Can you imagine the Monster delivering “Who’s on First” to Abbott? It’s plenty of fun and some good scares, in the film that was pretty much the swan song for the great Universal monsters. And, we’re throwing in a holiday song from our library just to keep with the season. All in all, a fine way to spend a chilly evening- with a comedy chiller!
We mentioned last week that the Mummy was supposed to be a part of “House of Frankenstein”- but never made it for budgetary reasons- well, the same thing goes for THIS flick- there were plans to include Kharis the Mummy, the final fourth of the Universal biggies, in this film as well- but somehow they never found a plot device they thought would “make sense” to bring him in. Of course, once this film was a hit, it opened the floodgates for Bud and Lou to meet any other monsters that were still available-eventually getting back to the Mummy (although he was “Klaris”-not “Kharis” by the time he met them!)
Regardless, come meet Sven, Bud, Lou, Drac, Wolf Man, and the Monster- tonight at 9, or at 1 am on Me-TV!
How many Chia Pets and Clappers will get scanned in that time?
Well, stop shopping and get home by 9 pm tonight – because we’re bringing back a family fave. You guys loved it last time- and some complained because you had to choose between going to the big Halloween parties or watching this flick. Well, this time- no such conflict! We’ve got the beloved horror comedy classic – “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein!”
Reminiscent of last week’s ‘House of Frankenstein”- there’s a “house of horrors” that is receiving the last remains of Dracula-PLUS the remains of the Frankenstein Monster! Two differences from last week’s flick- in this movie, both Drac and the Monster are totally intact- no bones or frozen tissue this time- and, secondly, working on the shipment are Abbott and Costello! The two delivery goofs bring the remains to the display place- at which point, Dracula (Bela Lugosi- somehow, he’s Bela again after being seared to bone by the sun as John Carradine) comes out of his coffin, grabs the Monster, and leaves. Meanwhile, none other than Larry Talbot- the Wolf Man- is trying to stop Dracula from returning the Monster to full power, and tries to enlist Bud and Lou to help him defy the Count. There’s a mole, however- Lou’s gorgeous new girlfriend is, in reality, a mad doctoress who is on Dracula’s team- and plans to bring Lou to Dracula’s laboratory- where they will put Lou’s easy-to-manage brain into the monster!
Can you imagine the Monster delivering “Who’s on First” to Abbott? It’s plenty of fun and some good scares, in the film that was pretty much the swan song for the great Universal monsters. And, we’re throwing in a holiday song from our library just to keep with the season. All in all, a fine way to spend a chilly evening- with a comedy chiller!
We mentioned last week that the Mummy was supposed to be a part of “House of Frankenstein”- but never made it for budgetary reasons- well, the same thing goes for THIS flick- there were plans to include Kharis the Mummy, the final fourth of the Universal biggies, in this film as well- but somehow they never found a plot device they thought would “make sense” to bring him in. Of course, once this film was a hit, it opened the floodgates for Bud and Lou to meet any other monsters that were still available-eventually getting back to the Mummy (although he was “Klaris”-not “Kharis” by the time he met them!)
Regardless, come meet Sven, Bud, Lou, Drac, Wolf Man, and the Monster- tonight at 9, or at 1 am on Me-TV!
Okay, big news for fans of the Svengoolie version of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians”- the powers that be have decreed that it WILL air, once again, as a special Christmas treat, on Saturday night, December 22, at 1 am on our sister station Me-TV (broadcast channel 23, cable digital channel 223 in many areas!) I’m always surprised by how many requests we get for that movie! Granted, you will see it show up all over the place, since it’s a public domain film- but you will ONLY see the “Svensurround” version on our station! If you’ve never experienced it- please watch, or set a tape or TiVo…and see why this is a holiday tradition for Sven fans!
One tradition I have is looking for commercials that are repeated every year at this time- for example, some of the holiday-type Empire Carpets commercials (I’m still waiting for the one with the dancing chorus boy elves!) Now that the Empire Carpet Man usually only appears as his computer generated doppelganger, it’s fun to watch the commercials carefully, when they show a family gathering- and see him, in normal clothes (sans uniform) among the celebrating family- my favorite being the one where, at the end, he’s playing the benign grandfather handing a gift to a little girl. If they do run the dancing chorus elves one, he is Santa- but I think that’s him from a few years ago, and they just re-dub some of his lines, if necessary.
The other one I enjoy seeing is the Lottery spot, for giving scratch-off tickets as gifts, where they run the action backwards. The main reason is –that cute smiley gal who plays the girlfriend! I do have a bone to pick with the spot though- when they have the young lady, and her boyfriend, saying things- how come they are speaking normally, instead of the sound being backwards, like the action is? (Read that line again, in the voice of the Simpsons’ “Comic Book Guy,” to get the full effect.) Oh, I know- because nobody would understand them if the sound was run backwards as well. I’m just being the usual Scrooge- or Svooge (that’s a combination of Scrooge and Sven – or, would that be Scren?!)
I AM happy to see that the “Radio City Christmas Show” ads no longer include the patented shot of a child sitting on a parent’s lap, pointing at something going on. The company that puts on the show used to include that shot in every year’s commercial, as well as in every year’s circus commercial, which they also produced. It used to be a perfect cliché in either of those ads- but maybe somebody caught on that there are knuckleheads like me who watch for, and make fun of, such things…
Got a favorite recurrent Christmas ad that surfaces from year to year? Let me know- svengoolie@wciu.com
One tradition I have is looking for commercials that are repeated every year at this time- for example, some of the holiday-type Empire Carpets commercials (I’m still waiting for the one with the dancing chorus boy elves!) Now that the Empire Carpet Man usually only appears as his computer generated doppelganger, it’s fun to watch the commercials carefully, when they show a family gathering- and see him, in normal clothes (sans uniform) among the celebrating family- my favorite being the one where, at the end, he’s playing the benign grandfather handing a gift to a little girl. If they do run the dancing chorus elves one, he is Santa- but I think that’s him from a few years ago, and they just re-dub some of his lines, if necessary.
The other one I enjoy seeing is the Lottery spot, for giving scratch-off tickets as gifts, where they run the action backwards. The main reason is –that cute smiley gal who plays the girlfriend! I do have a bone to pick with the spot though- when they have the young lady, and her boyfriend, saying things- how come they are speaking normally, instead of the sound being backwards, like the action is? (Read that line again, in the voice of the Simpsons’ “Comic Book Guy,” to get the full effect.) Oh, I know- because nobody would understand them if the sound was run backwards as well. I’m just being the usual Scrooge- or Svooge (that’s a combination of Scrooge and Sven – or, would that be Scren?!)
I AM happy to see that the “Radio City Christmas Show” ads no longer include the patented shot of a child sitting on a parent’s lap, pointing at something going on. The company that puts on the show used to include that shot in every year’s commercial, as well as in every year’s circus commercial, which they also produced. It used to be a perfect cliché in either of those ads- but maybe somebody caught on that there are knuckleheads like me who watch for, and make fun of, such things…
Got a favorite recurrent Christmas ad that surfaces from year to year? Let me know- svengoolie@wciu.com
I’ve gotten some very cool stories about people and their Christmas ornaments and traditions at svengoolie@wciu.com - please make sure you share YOURS with me, as well! Some of the stories have been a little puzzling, some hilarious, and some- well, just the kind of thing that makes you go “aww!”
George sends us the family tradition of the green pickle! I’ve read about this before, with some attributing it to Germany, although some valid German sources have told me that they’ve never heard of it. George says they put it on the Christmas tree every year- it is, indeed, an ornament that looks like a pickle. The idea is that Dad places the pickle in a “hidden” place on the tree, and on Christmas morning, the first person to locate said pickle gets to open the first present (or, gets an additional gift, depending on whose lore you follow.) Okay- if it’s a kosher dill, does it go on the menorah instead?
George also mentioned that, in deference to my mention of my favorite holiday movie- “A Christmas Story”- there is an ornament on sale that is the movie’s famed leg lamp, in the crate marked “Fra-gil-e” (“must be Italian!”)- and it even has a recording of some of the movie’s lines, that play when you “open” the crate! George, I think there is also an ornament depicting the famous scene where Ralphie’s pal Flick, on a triple-dog dare (the most powerful dare in the kid universe,) puts his tongue on the frozen flagpole! I’d love to have those for my tree (which ain’t one of “them balsams”- do you think that’s inside enough for “Christmas Story” fanatics?!)
Going from pickles to cabbage- Mary mentions that her family follows many of their ancestors’ eastern European (they are actually Transylvanian!)traditions-like a Christmas dinner of stuffed cabbage and ham. She brings up another of my favorites –“SCTV”- where they had Yosh and Stan Shmenge, stars of their own polka show “the Happy Wanderers,” play a tune about their holiday dinner “cabbage rolls and coffee- mm-mm- good!” But, we digress- Mary said she was stunned to find a glass ornament of a cabbage a few years back! She uses it as a “Transylvanian twist” on the pickle ornament thing- whoever spots the cabbage first on the tree gets an extra treat!
Wouldn’t that be a great holiday special- “Svengoolie Presents- a Transylvanian Christmas!?” Of coursed, for a Christmas toast, we’d never drink…wine! (That brings up an error in last week’s “House of Frankenstein”- Dracula- John Carradine- is sipping wine like crazy while at the burgomeister’s house!
Continuity!)
George sends us the family tradition of the green pickle! I’ve read about this before, with some attributing it to Germany, although some valid German sources have told me that they’ve never heard of it. George says they put it on the Christmas tree every year- it is, indeed, an ornament that looks like a pickle. The idea is that Dad places the pickle in a “hidden” place on the tree, and on Christmas morning, the first person to locate said pickle gets to open the first present (or, gets an additional gift, depending on whose lore you follow.) Okay- if it’s a kosher dill, does it go on the menorah instead?
George also mentioned that, in deference to my mention of my favorite holiday movie- “A Christmas Story”- there is an ornament on sale that is the movie’s famed leg lamp, in the crate marked “Fra-gil-e” (“must be Italian!”)- and it even has a recording of some of the movie’s lines, that play when you “open” the crate! George, I think there is also an ornament depicting the famous scene where Ralphie’s pal Flick, on a triple-dog dare (the most powerful dare in the kid universe,) puts his tongue on the frozen flagpole! I’d love to have those for my tree (which ain’t one of “them balsams”- do you think that’s inside enough for “Christmas Story” fanatics?!)
Going from pickles to cabbage- Mary mentions that her family follows many of their ancestors’ eastern European (they are actually Transylvanian!)traditions-like a Christmas dinner of stuffed cabbage and ham. She brings up another of my favorites –“SCTV”- where they had Yosh and Stan Shmenge, stars of their own polka show “the Happy Wanderers,” play a tune about their holiday dinner “cabbage rolls and coffee- mm-mm- good!” But, we digress- Mary said she was stunned to find a glass ornament of a cabbage a few years back! She uses it as a “Transylvanian twist” on the pickle ornament thing- whoever spots the cabbage first on the tree gets an extra treat!
Wouldn’t that be a great holiday special- “Svengoolie Presents- a Transylvanian Christmas!?” Of coursed, for a Christmas toast, we’d never drink…wine! (That brings up an error in last week’s “House of Frankenstein”- Dracula- John Carradine- is sipping wine like crazy while at the burgomeister’s house!
Continuity!)
First of all, let me congratulate our VP and general manager Neal Sabin on his upcoming induction to the TV Academy’s Silver Circle! The news was released yesterday in Rob Feder’s Sun Times column- and Neal is going in this year, as is the late Bob Bell- Chicago’s original and beloved Bozo! For those who don’t know, the Silver Circle is an elite group whose members are broadcasters who have made significant contributions to Chicago television for over 25 years, and Neal fills that bill well. He is definitely a hometown guy made good-he grew up watching the classic local TV that was an influence on his great career. You can see his appreciation for classic TV in the way he put together our sister station Me-TV! His knowledge and creativity made our station “the U” into a success much sooner than anyone had expected or predicted.
He’s the one who brought me into this company, and in fact- it was Neal that introduced me when I was inducted into the Silver Circle a few years ago. (How did I end up in there before Neal and Bozo?!) He’s had great success, with more to come, and I’m happy to be working with him, and proud to call him my friend.
Neal has also worked in radio, which is where he met and worked with our mutual friends, Steve and Johnnie who now hold court overnights at WGN radio. I bring them up because, this past Saturday, when we did our whirlwind tour of the Max Madsen Mitsubishi dealerships, at EACH stop- at least a couple people mentioned that they not only watched our shows, but that they also had tuned in when I made appearances on Steve and Johnnie’s program! I did want to mention, before more time passed, that I was very happy to see SO many people at each of the Max Madsen locations- you never know, this time of year, between cold weather and holiday shopping, if people will come out for an event like this- but, wow! What a great turnout! Max himself was very kind to us, and we enjoyed spending time with “the Doctor”- whom you hear in all the Max Madsen commercials. The staff at each location was great, as well. Once again, I’m always happy to see that our show appeals to a wide range of ages- we had families, senior citizens, teens, and young adults- and again heard from folks who grew up watching me- and now watch along with their children! I was thinking that this was probably the longest stretch of Sven being out and about in public-from the early start at 9 am, to winding up around 5 pm. Kind of a strain on an aging goolie…but still a great time!
He’s the one who brought me into this company, and in fact- it was Neal that introduced me when I was inducted into the Silver Circle a few years ago. (How did I end up in there before Neal and Bozo?!) He’s had great success, with more to come, and I’m happy to be working with him, and proud to call him my friend.
Neal has also worked in radio, which is where he met and worked with our mutual friends, Steve and Johnnie who now hold court overnights at WGN radio. I bring them up because, this past Saturday, when we did our whirlwind tour of the Max Madsen Mitsubishi dealerships, at EACH stop- at least a couple people mentioned that they not only watched our shows, but that they also had tuned in when I made appearances on Steve and Johnnie’s program! I did want to mention, before more time passed, that I was very happy to see SO many people at each of the Max Madsen locations- you never know, this time of year, between cold weather and holiday shopping, if people will come out for an event like this- but, wow! What a great turnout! Max himself was very kind to us, and we enjoyed spending time with “the Doctor”- whom you hear in all the Max Madsen commercials. The staff at each location was great, as well. Once again, I’m always happy to see that our show appeals to a wide range of ages- we had families, senior citizens, teens, and young adults- and again heard from folks who grew up watching me- and now watch along with their children! I was thinking that this was probably the longest stretch of Sven being out and about in public-from the early start at 9 am, to winding up around 5 pm. Kind of a strain on an aging goolie…but still a great time!
One of our viewers came up with a challenge for me- could I come up with a “top 10” list of holiday gifts for a Svengoolie fan? I know fans ask me about that kind of thing, so, in random order, let’s hit ten different items that can be stuffed in a Sven fans stocking (in some cases- that’s one big stocking!):
First of all, if they don’t already have one- they MUST have the current Sven “glow-in-the-dark” t-shirt. This design continues to be the best and fastest selling t-shirt we’ve ever offered. Is it the giant chicken? Is it the word “Berwyn” so prominently displayed? Is it the mock movie poster format? Hard to tell- all I know is, this one is a major favorite.
Second- a rubber chicken. I’ve been told that rubber chickens sell very well in this area, and many of the businesses don’t have a clue why. I’m sure any Sven fan can tell you why- and I’ve seen how excited some people get –just to have a rubber chicken of their own! (By the way, please DO NOT throw the chicken at anyone- leave that to the professionals…oh, okay- go ahead and toss it once…)
Third- get the new book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie.” I’ve mentioned this before, and it’s a great gift for any fan interested in the history of Svens senior and junior, and the other horror shows that have been broadcast in Chicago.
Fourth- the recent “Scary Monsters” magazine with the Sven painting on the cover. It’s a fun way to see how other Sven fans feel about the show, and, heck, I write some stuff in there, as well…
Fifth- build them their own Tombstone! Just buy one of those “human skull” model kits, add an orange moustache- and they’ll be in heaven.
Sixth- buy ‘em a box set of some cool horror flicks. Any of the Universal “Legacy” collections, like the Dracula and Frankenstein sets, are terrific. You can also get some great shlocky b-movie sets that will bring you plenty of laughs.
Seventh- bring them on a fun-filled trip to Berwyn. See “the Spindle” while it still stands! Visit our sponsor “Horrorbles” and buy them something nice and scary! Go to Buona Beef and get them an Italian beef sandwich!
Eighth- check out the Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communication’s website- museum.tv – for some great TV stuff.
Ninth-give them a complete Sven suit! Tuxedo, top hat, wig, goatee, tuxedo shirt, make-up…then, pray they only wear it at Halloween…
And, tenth- promise you’ll bring them to the next Svengoolie public appearance, where you’ll get them their own personally autographed Sven picture, and give them the chance to meet me.(Gee- are you THAT cheap?!)
First of all, if they don’t already have one- they MUST have the current Sven “glow-in-the-dark” t-shirt. This design continues to be the best and fastest selling t-shirt we’ve ever offered. Is it the giant chicken? Is it the word “Berwyn” so prominently displayed? Is it the mock movie poster format? Hard to tell- all I know is, this one is a major favorite.
Second- a rubber chicken. I’ve been told that rubber chickens sell very well in this area, and many of the businesses don’t have a clue why. I’m sure any Sven fan can tell you why- and I’ve seen how excited some people get –just to have a rubber chicken of their own! (By the way, please DO NOT throw the chicken at anyone- leave that to the professionals…oh, okay- go ahead and toss it once…)
Third- get the new book “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: from Shock Theatre to Svengoolie.” I’ve mentioned this before, and it’s a great gift for any fan interested in the history of Svens senior and junior, and the other horror shows that have been broadcast in Chicago.
Fourth- the recent “Scary Monsters” magazine with the Sven painting on the cover. It’s a fun way to see how other Sven fans feel about the show, and, heck, I write some stuff in there, as well…
Fifth- build them their own Tombstone! Just buy one of those “human skull” model kits, add an orange moustache- and they’ll be in heaven.
Sixth- buy ‘em a box set of some cool horror flicks. Any of the Universal “Legacy” collections, like the Dracula and Frankenstein sets, are terrific. You can also get some great shlocky b-movie sets that will bring you plenty of laughs.
Seventh- bring them on a fun-filled trip to Berwyn. See “the Spindle” while it still stands! Visit our sponsor “Horrorbles” and buy them something nice and scary! Go to Buona Beef and get them an Italian beef sandwich!
Eighth- check out the Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communication’s website- museum.tv – for some great TV stuff.
Ninth-give them a complete Sven suit! Tuxedo, top hat, wig, goatee, tuxedo shirt, make-up…then, pray they only wear it at Halloween…
And, tenth- promise you’ll bring them to the next Svengoolie public appearance, where you’ll get them their own personally autographed Sven picture, and give them the chance to meet me.(Gee- are you THAT cheap?!)
Well, since I wrote my blog about real tree versus artificial tree in my house for Christmas- several of you have suggested some of the fragrant candles available that provide a scent fairly close to that of an actual pine tree. Thanks- we have found some of those-which is great for rooms that we DON’T put the tree in…providing we get a real one. That’s still up in the air at this point…it’s the combined factor of weather good enough to look for one, and having a large enough hole in my schedule to have the time to search for that perfect tree. I’m always reminded of the scene in one of my favorite movies –“A Christmas Story”- where the family is searching for their tree, and the dad says, just loud enough for the tree lot operator to hear, how one of his neighbors got a very realistic looking fake tree- as a tactic to get him to make a better deal on the tree they want! A favorite line that gets repeated in my family from that scene- “Naw, that’s them balsams…”(actually, I’m told that “them balsams” and a fraiser fir are the most aromatic trees- I wonder if the fraiser fir has a brother that’s a Niles fir (that’s for you “Fraiser” fans out there…)
Mary e-mailed me a story that is similar to something that happened to me-she had a tree stand that leaked, and blackened some hardwood floors. We had bought one of those big formed-plastic tree stands, which must’ve cracked along the way- soaking the tree skirt, the rug underneath, and, of course, the hardwood floor. That was the last plastic stand I ever bought. I like the ones I’ve seen that have a pedal, so you just drop the tree trunk in while stepping on the pedal, and when you release it- something grabs the tree trunk, and the tree is standing! Never have to play with those screws again!
NOW how much would you pay? (Actually, the prices on them are more than I care to pay, even for the convenience- I’ll be lying under the tree with a pair of pliers, cranking those screws into the tree, for many years to come…)
We have more decorations than can ever fit on one tree- I found a cool one in Michigan, with a little rotating wheel inside that is powered by the updrafts of heat from the lights (guess you have to have some old school lights for it to work, not the LED models…) I do have a large rubber chicken ornament, given to me by my old friend and ex-co-worker Steve- which is usually a bit too heavy to hang comfortably on your average branch. It’s made of glass, not rubber, by the way- actually, a rubber one may even be lighter…
Do you have a strange or unusual ornament that always makes its way onto your tree? Is there something you HAVE to have hanging on your tree, even if certain family members hate to see it there? Tell me about it! svengoolie@wciu.com
Mary e-mailed me a story that is similar to something that happened to me-she had a tree stand that leaked, and blackened some hardwood floors. We had bought one of those big formed-plastic tree stands, which must’ve cracked along the way- soaking the tree skirt, the rug underneath, and, of course, the hardwood floor. That was the last plastic stand I ever bought. I like the ones I’ve seen that have a pedal, so you just drop the tree trunk in while stepping on the pedal, and when you release it- something grabs the tree trunk, and the tree is standing! Never have to play with those screws again!
NOW how much would you pay? (Actually, the prices on them are more than I care to pay, even for the convenience- I’ll be lying under the tree with a pair of pliers, cranking those screws into the tree, for many years to come…)
We have more decorations than can ever fit on one tree- I found a cool one in Michigan, with a little rotating wheel inside that is powered by the updrafts of heat from the lights (guess you have to have some old school lights for it to work, not the LED models…) I do have a large rubber chicken ornament, given to me by my old friend and ex-co-worker Steve- which is usually a bit too heavy to hang comfortably on your average branch. It’s made of glass, not rubber, by the way- actually, a rubber one may even be lighter…
Do you have a strange or unusual ornament that always makes its way onto your tree? Is there something you HAVE to have hanging on your tree, even if certain family members hate to see it there? Tell me about it! svengoolie@wciu.com
“House of Frankenstein” was fun to watch again-and, pardon me for saying, but-Larry Talbot really does whine a lot! Here he has the lovely gypsy chick hanging all over him, and he’s STILL doing his mopey “Eeyore” bit. Look, Larry- just have them lock you up during the full moon- and have a good time the rest of the time! Or- is it that the change to the Wolf Man is painful, like when Wolverine in “X Men” bares his claws?
Or- am I just thinking about this too much?! Our loyal viewer Dan has some info on this flick-director Erle Kenton also directed “House of Dracula” and “Ghost of Frankenstein”-making him the only one at the studio who helmed three of the sequels. “House of…” was indeed intended to be the finale of the Frankenstein series (not just the finale of “Franken-Fall!”)-and was budgeted at one million dollars, a huge sum in those days (actually, a huge sum to ME in THESE days!) Part of that- about ten thousand dollars- went to Lon Chaney Jr., who demanded that sum to play Larry Talbot again (was he a whiner in real life, as well? “Ohh, I have to play Talbot again! Won’t someone help me?”)
We mentioned the change of “Vasaria” to “Visaria” in this movie…and speaking of locations- Elena Verdugo- the gypsy lass whop later helped tend the office of “Marcus Welby M.D. “ as nurse Consuela- actually had colonial Spanish ancestors- who, at one time, owned the very California site on which Universal Studios was built! No, that didn’t help her get cast in the movie…here’s a really odd bit of timely trivia: remember the lovable Mr. Martini, who owned the bar that Jimmy Stewart visited in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” he was played by William Edmunds-who appeared in “House of Frankenstein” as the bossy evil gypsy Fejos-the one who was trying to steal money from the gypsy gal, and started to beat her unmercifully (conveniently blocked from our view, to avoid problems with the censor, by a gypsy observer!) Quite a change from the fine upstanding immigrant guy that George bailey helped purchase a house in “Wonderful Life” (too bad a gypsy child didn’t tell Karloff “every time a whip flings, a gypsy feels some stings!”)
“House of Frankenstein” was a huge commercial success for the studio- which then decided not to completely moth-ball the Monster, and made a quickie sequel, using a discarded script, that we know as “House of Dracula!”
Thanks again to Dan for providing these behind the scenes tidbits- he says a lot of this info is in a book titled “It’s Alive” by Greg Mank- the author of several books about horror films and their actors.
Or- am I just thinking about this too much?! Our loyal viewer Dan has some info on this flick-director Erle Kenton also directed “House of Dracula” and “Ghost of Frankenstein”-making him the only one at the studio who helmed three of the sequels. “House of…” was indeed intended to be the finale of the Frankenstein series (not just the finale of “Franken-Fall!”)-and was budgeted at one million dollars, a huge sum in those days (actually, a huge sum to ME in THESE days!) Part of that- about ten thousand dollars- went to Lon Chaney Jr., who demanded that sum to play Larry Talbot again (was he a whiner in real life, as well? “Ohh, I have to play Talbot again! Won’t someone help me?”)
We mentioned the change of “Vasaria” to “Visaria” in this movie…and speaking of locations- Elena Verdugo- the gypsy lass whop later helped tend the office of “Marcus Welby M.D. “ as nurse Consuela- actually had colonial Spanish ancestors- who, at one time, owned the very California site on which Universal Studios was built! No, that didn’t help her get cast in the movie…here’s a really odd bit of timely trivia: remember the lovable Mr. Martini, who owned the bar that Jimmy Stewart visited in “It’s a Wonderful Life?” he was played by William Edmunds-who appeared in “House of Frankenstein” as the bossy evil gypsy Fejos-the one who was trying to steal money from the gypsy gal, and started to beat her unmercifully (conveniently blocked from our view, to avoid problems with the censor, by a gypsy observer!) Quite a change from the fine upstanding immigrant guy that George bailey helped purchase a house in “Wonderful Life” (too bad a gypsy child didn’t tell Karloff “every time a whip flings, a gypsy feels some stings!”)
“House of Frankenstein” was a huge commercial success for the studio- which then decided not to completely moth-ball the Monster, and made a quickie sequel, using a discarded script, that we know as “House of Dracula!”
Thanks again to Dan for providing these behind the scenes tidbits- he says a lot of this info is in a book titled “It’s Alive” by Greg Mank- the author of several books about horror films and their actors.
Okay- skate over to your nearest Max Madsen dealer today and meet me, Bad Max, and “the Doctor!” We’re at the Countryside location from 9-11 am, we hit Downers Grove from noon to 2 pm, and wind up the Sven tour at the Aurora location from 3-5 pm! Full location details are at maxmadsen.com…
Then- tune in tonight for the “Franken-Fall” finale-which sees the return of Boris Karloff to the realm of the Frankenstein myth! “House of Frankenstein” was the first film with ALL the biggies in it- the Monster, the Wolf Man, and Dracula! They were even going to include the Mummy, but that didn’t pan out (should I say they couldn’t “wrap up” the deal?!)
We get Boris as a mad doctor who honors Dr. Frankenstein’s work- and has done some bizarre experiments on his own. He and his assistant- a hunchback played by J. Carroll Naish- escape from prison- and end up disguised as traveling purveyors of a “House of Horrors”- which includes the last remains of Count Dracula! Boris accidentally revives the Count-played this time by John Carradine- and blackmails him into helping him get revenge on a former enemy. That seems to be a big part of Boris’ quest- as he later travels to the ruins of the Frankenstein estate and discovers both Larry Talbot and the ailing Frankenstein Monster! He then brings them- along with a gypsy girl (Elena Verdugo) that the hunchback saved from a nasty beating- to his old laboratory, where he plans to revive the Monster, using the brain of some other former enemy! Meanwhile, both Talbot and the hunchback are pestering him to operate on them- Talbot to end his werewolf conversions, and the hunchback to put his brain into a strong and upright body! There’s plenty of mayhem, with Karloff a welcome addition to the continuing story that he himself helped launch!
Though “Franken-Fall” officially ends with this flick- the Frankenstein movies don’t! In the next few weeks, you’ll see some of the favorites back again- including the monster’s origin film, and his inevitable meeting with Bud and Lou! If you missed them the first time out, here’s the perfect way to catch up- and a great way to take a break from all the holiday havoc.
So- see you either today at Max Madsen- or tonight, with “House of Frankenstein!” It’s at 9 pm on WCIU, and 1 am on Me-TV… and, come back tomorrow for a little “behind-the scenes” follow-up on the movie!
Then- tune in tonight for the “Franken-Fall” finale-which sees the return of Boris Karloff to the realm of the Frankenstein myth! “House of Frankenstein” was the first film with ALL the biggies in it- the Monster, the Wolf Man, and Dracula! They were even going to include the Mummy, but that didn’t pan out (should I say they couldn’t “wrap up” the deal?!)
We get Boris as a mad doctor who honors Dr. Frankenstein’s work- and has done some bizarre experiments on his own. He and his assistant- a hunchback played by J. Carroll Naish- escape from prison- and end up disguised as traveling purveyors of a “House of Horrors”- which includes the last remains of Count Dracula! Boris accidentally revives the Count-played this time by John Carradine- and blackmails him into helping him get revenge on a former enemy. That seems to be a big part of Boris’ quest- as he later travels to the ruins of the Frankenstein estate and discovers both Larry Talbot and the ailing Frankenstein Monster! He then brings them- along with a gypsy girl (Elena Verdugo) that the hunchback saved from a nasty beating- to his old laboratory, where he plans to revive the Monster, using the brain of some other former enemy! Meanwhile, both Talbot and the hunchback are pestering him to operate on them- Talbot to end his werewolf conversions, and the hunchback to put his brain into a strong and upright body! There’s plenty of mayhem, with Karloff a welcome addition to the continuing story that he himself helped launch!
Though “Franken-Fall” officially ends with this flick- the Frankenstein movies don’t! In the next few weeks, you’ll see some of the favorites back again- including the monster’s origin film, and his inevitable meeting with Bud and Lou! If you missed them the first time out, here’s the perfect way to catch up- and a great way to take a break from all the holiday havoc.
So- see you either today at Max Madsen- or tonight, with “House of Frankenstein!” It’s at 9 pm on WCIU, and 1 am on Me-TV… and, come back tomorrow for a little “behind-the scenes” follow-up on the movie!
Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor- And never did I have the significance of that event driven home to me more emphatically than when I actually visited Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. To actually see the ships under the water, and realize that there are still bodies of servicemen down there within them is a sobering thought. The modern equivalent, I guess, would be 9/11. Let’s take a minute just to reflect on these awful moments.
***
Okay- on to more pleasant thoughts- let me remind you, again, of the Sven Max Madsen tour that goes on tomorrow- you can meet me, get an autograph, and take a picture with me at the Countryside location from 9-11 am, in Downers Grove from noon to 2 pm, and at the Aurora Max Madsen from 3-5 pm. I hope you’ll come visit- and get the chance to meet “the Doctor” from the Max Madsen commercials, as well as “Bad Max” himself! Isn’t that worth fighting the weather for? (I know, bad grammar…but, it’ll be a GOOD time! I’m the master of the cheesy segue…)For all the appearance details, check out maxmadsen.com…
I’ve gotten some great e-mails lately- “DarthVoorhees” weighs in on the “Dead Larry Talbot reviving” controversy in “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man”-he mentions that, in the film, we see that Larry has been buried with sprigs of wolfbane- and, when the grave robbers remove it, and moonlight “becomes” him- Larry revives. Darth asks- if he were truly dead, due to the injuries from the silver headed cane- why would they even bother to put the wolfbane in his coffin? Oh, that Universal continuity…
Dan, who always provides us with great informational tidbits, points out that Basil Rathbone was actually supposed to appear in “Ghost of Frankenstein” –once again appearing as the original doctor’s son Wolf-but could not take on the role, and was replaced by Cedric Hardwicke. Dan points out that, at the end of “Son of…” Basil is sent off amidst the cheers of the villagers- yet, in the next film, “Ghost of…” the villagers are back to complaining about how awful the Frankensteins are, and have caused every problem the village has (including some that have nothing to do with monsters!)Another lack of continuity! He also mentions a great story that Lon Chaney wanted to have the monster’s flesh blister, and eventually actually melt at the end of “Ghost of…”- but producer George Waggner decided against it, since he felt there would almost HAVE to be yet another sequel after this film (and, he was right!)
What do we have in store for you tomorrow night? Return to this blog in 24 hours or less and find out- and, make plans to visit with me at your nearest Max Madsen dealership during that same time span!
***
Okay- on to more pleasant thoughts- let me remind you, again, of the Sven Max Madsen tour that goes on tomorrow- you can meet me, get an autograph, and take a picture with me at the Countryside location from 9-11 am, in Downers Grove from noon to 2 pm, and at the Aurora Max Madsen from 3-5 pm. I hope you’ll come visit- and get the chance to meet “the Doctor” from the Max Madsen commercials, as well as “Bad Max” himself! Isn’t that worth fighting the weather for? (I know, bad grammar…but, it’ll be a GOOD time! I’m the master of the cheesy segue…)For all the appearance details, check out maxmadsen.com…
I’ve gotten some great e-mails lately- “DarthVoorhees” weighs in on the “Dead Larry Talbot reviving” controversy in “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man”-he mentions that, in the film, we see that Larry has been buried with sprigs of wolfbane- and, when the grave robbers remove it, and moonlight “becomes” him- Larry revives. Darth asks- if he were truly dead, due to the injuries from the silver headed cane- why would they even bother to put the wolfbane in his coffin? Oh, that Universal continuity…
Dan, who always provides us with great informational tidbits, points out that Basil Rathbone was actually supposed to appear in “Ghost of Frankenstein” –once again appearing as the original doctor’s son Wolf-but could not take on the role, and was replaced by Cedric Hardwicke. Dan points out that, at the end of “Son of…” Basil is sent off amidst the cheers of the villagers- yet, in the next film, “Ghost of…” the villagers are back to complaining about how awful the Frankensteins are, and have caused every problem the village has (including some that have nothing to do with monsters!)Another lack of continuity! He also mentions a great story that Lon Chaney wanted to have the monster’s flesh blister, and eventually actually melt at the end of “Ghost of…”- but producer George Waggner decided against it, since he felt there would almost HAVE to be yet another sequel after this film (and, he was right!)
What do we have in store for you tomorrow night? Return to this blog in 24 hours or less and find out- and, make plans to visit with me at your nearest Max Madsen dealership during that same time span!
Quick plug: You can hear me and/or see Rich Koz today- between 12:30-1pm- at Columbia College radio station WCRX’s “Holly Jolly Trolley Food Drive broadcast (Congress and Wabash- look for the trolley out front.) If you’re stopping by, bring some non-perishable canned food items, or some cash to donate to help feed the hungry with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. You can listen at 88.1 fm- if you’re within range! Check yesterday’s blog for further info…
It looks like the snowfall has been a real catalyst to people getting into the holiday spirit- I know that many of you kind viewers have sent us your Christmas cards-in fact, one family has put me ON their card! They had taken pictures at my Fright Fest appearance, and used the photos on their card this year! I’ve also received a beautiful hand-painted ornament with my image on it, done by a young man who stopped at my Comic Collector appearance last week. We’re hoping to do a special Sven webisode right here on this website at the end of the month, and show many of the cards, etc., that you’ve sent us. We won’t be able to show them on the program this year, since we’ve shot everything that will run through the end of 2007-so, we’ll be doing it here online. Needless to say, it means a lot to the crew and me that you guys send your holiday greetings to us.
The decorations are already going up here at our station- every year, a HUGE almost two story tall evergreen is placed in our lobby, and decorated by the staff, and it’s great to get the whiff of that fresh Christmas tree fragrance whenever we walk through there. At home, in my office, my “Christmas Story” leg lamp (the desktop size model) is displayed all year long, but I make sure to keep it lit up more than normal during this time of year. The weather truly determines whether or not I get a real tree, or use the artificial emergency tree, at home…if it’s too cold and lousy out, I opt for the fake fir, though I’d much rather have the real thing – again, with that fragrance! I’m a sucker for that fresh pine smell- unless it’s from Pinesol cleaning liquid, which is a bit too industrial for me…
I’ve always told the story of how my folks had one of those old shiny aluminum trees back in the 60s that had a revolving music box base- that had glitches in it, so it made weird noises-always at the same point during the two songs it played. My brothers and I had it memorized, and would make the noises at the same time they occurred- “Si-lent Night-WHREEEK!” It still makes me laugh.
It looks like the snowfall has been a real catalyst to people getting into the holiday spirit- I know that many of you kind viewers have sent us your Christmas cards-in fact, one family has put me ON their card! They had taken pictures at my Fright Fest appearance, and used the photos on their card this year! I’ve also received a beautiful hand-painted ornament with my image on it, done by a young man who stopped at my Comic Collector appearance last week. We’re hoping to do a special Sven webisode right here on this website at the end of the month, and show many of the cards, etc., that you’ve sent us. We won’t be able to show them on the program this year, since we’ve shot everything that will run through the end of 2007-so, we’ll be doing it here online. Needless to say, it means a lot to the crew and me that you guys send your holiday greetings to us.
The decorations are already going up here at our station- every year, a HUGE almost two story tall evergreen is placed in our lobby, and decorated by the staff, and it’s great to get the whiff of that fresh Christmas tree fragrance whenever we walk through there. At home, in my office, my “Christmas Story” leg lamp (the desktop size model) is displayed all year long, but I make sure to keep it lit up more than normal during this time of year. The weather truly determines whether or not I get a real tree, or use the artificial emergency tree, at home…if it’s too cold and lousy out, I opt for the fake fir, though I’d much rather have the real thing – again, with that fragrance! I’m a sucker for that fresh pine smell- unless it’s from Pinesol cleaning liquid, which is a bit too industrial for me…
I’ve always told the story of how my folks had one of those old shiny aluminum trees back in the 60s that had a revolving music box base- that had glitches in it, so it made weird noises-always at the same point during the two songs it played. My brothers and I had it memorized, and would make the noises at the same time they occurred- “Si-lent Night-WHREEEK!” It still makes me laugh.
Okay- here’s the scoop- on Thursday; Rich Koz will be taking part in WCRX’s “Holly Jolly Trolley Food Drive!” It’s a live radio broadcast, from the station’s location at 33 E. Congress –the SE corner of Congress and Wabash- just look for the trolley parked outside! They accept non-perishable canned goods and monetary donations to help the Greater Chicago Food Depository, one of my favorite charities. Many local radio and television folk will be dropping by to help out- and Koz (or is it I?) will be there around 12:25 (during your lunch hour!?) for a half hour-so, you can drop by, say hello, and make a donation of canned food or money to feed Chicago’s hungry. You can listen to the broadcast at 88.1 FM if you’re within broadcast range-or, you can catch it, streamed live, at wcrx.net. The event is a Columbia College tradition, now in its 5th year- and the student broadcasters do a great job, entertaining the crowd and collecting donations. So, stop by or listen at home- and donate if you can- rumor has it Bruce Wolf will be coming in right after me, so there may be some cross-talk with Bruce and myself!
If you can’t meet Koz there- you can meet Sven at the 3 Max Madsen Mitsubishi locations on Saturday- we’ll talk about that more in the next couple days…
Something we’ve been talking about for a while- that looks like it’s finally arriving- is the book about Chicago’s TV horror shows! Lake Claremont Press is releasing (or, did it escape?) the new book- “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theater to Svengoolie” –this week! Written by Ted Okuda and Mark Yurkiw, it chronicles both the hosted and unhosted shows that were…and are …broadcast on Chicago TV- from Marvin on “Shock Theater” through the original Sven and on to yours truly! If you purchase a copy, you can bring it to any Sven appearance, and I’ll be happy to sign your copy! There will be a singing party with the authors coming up at our fine sponsor Horrorbles on Sunday, December 16- we’ll tell you more about that as the date gets closer. Make sure you check this book out- especially if you’ve always wanted to know the Svengoolie family history! Until I get around to writing a book (and don’t hold your breath on that one!)-this is a great way to learn the story! Plus, there’s lots of info on shows like WGN’s “Creature Features,” the Channel 7 3 pm movie that showed horror flicks- and even a few words about “the Ghoul” that Kaiser Broadcasting replaced Jerry’s Sven with- who barely lasted 6 months, thanks to the discriminating tastes of the Chicago audience! The book looks to be a hot item, so keep an eye out for it at your favorite book store!
If you can’t meet Koz there- you can meet Sven at the 3 Max Madsen Mitsubishi locations on Saturday- we’ll talk about that more in the next couple days…
Something we’ve been talking about for a while- that looks like it’s finally arriving- is the book about Chicago’s TV horror shows! Lake Claremont Press is releasing (or, did it escape?) the new book- “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theater to Svengoolie” –this week! Written by Ted Okuda and Mark Yurkiw, it chronicles both the hosted and unhosted shows that were…and are …broadcast on Chicago TV- from Marvin on “Shock Theater” through the original Sven and on to yours truly! If you purchase a copy, you can bring it to any Sven appearance, and I’ll be happy to sign your copy! There will be a singing party with the authors coming up at our fine sponsor Horrorbles on Sunday, December 16- we’ll tell you more about that as the date gets closer. Make sure you check this book out- especially if you’ve always wanted to know the Svengoolie family history! Until I get around to writing a book (and don’t hold your breath on that one!)-this is a great way to learn the story! Plus, there’s lots of info on shows like WGN’s “Creature Features,” the Channel 7 3 pm movie that showed horror flicks- and even a few words about “the Ghoul” that Kaiser Broadcasting replaced Jerry’s Sven with- who barely lasted 6 months, thanks to the discriminating tastes of the Chicago audience! The book looks to be a hot item, so keep an eye out for it at your favorite book store!
December 4
First- to all our friends and fans who will begin celebrating tonight- Happy Chanukah! I heard a local radio dimwit today pronounce it “CHON- u-kah…”- once again, my prejudice that, if you’re someone who speaks on the broadcast air, you should make sure you know how to pronounce things. “They’ll be lighting the CHON-u-kah candles tonight” she said. Smart girl.
I was remembering a time when working with Jerry G. Bishop in radio that he asked me to write a song parody of “Rudolph” called “Sheldon the Hebrew Reindeer”- a really cheesy song, involving the reindeer using his antlers as the menorah! It had some goofy line about someone coming to say “Sheldon, you know we adore ya- won’t you please be our menorah!”…well, they can’t all be winners. Regardless, enjoy the holiday for the next eight days!
I’m still hearing from viewers who really enjoyed seeing “Fraido” the dummy on the show this week! We regret that a technical problem cut off the end of the show, where we did give credit to the dummy’s creator, comic book legend Alex Ross. I’m sure Fraido will appear in the future on our show!
I’m already getting e-mails regarding upcoming appearances- yes, the all-day extravaganza at various Max Madsen locations is happening this Saturday, December 8! I’ve heard some of the radio commercials as well, with the Max Madsen spokesperson “the Doctor” spreading the word that we’ll be at three locations- 9-11am at Countryside (I know- we’ll all be getting up early that day!)-12 to 2 pm at Downer’s Grove- and 3 to 5 pm in Aurora. For complete info, hit maxmadsen.com … we’re also trying to determine if Rich Koz will be making an appearance at a special Columbia College event downtown this Thursday- as soon as we know, we’ll get it into the blog!
Okay- will the first BIG snow hit or not later today? I know the various media have been playing it up like it’s blizzard central… we’ll have to see what happens. As a former weatherman (ranked about 600 levels below my pal Tom Skilling), I know that even with the “arrival time” pegged as a few hours from now- there are all sorts of variables that can effect whether we actually get hit big-time or not. If it hits, maybe we can all build Sven snowmen! (Ooh- sounds like a challenge to me! Should we get measurable snow, and you can build a Sven snowman- make sure you send us a picture!
svengoolie@wciu.com ) maybe “Franken-Fall” WILL end up as “Franken-Frost”… # # #
First- to all our friends and fans who will begin celebrating tonight- Happy Chanukah! I heard a local radio dimwit today pronounce it “CHON- u-kah…”- once again, my prejudice that, if you’re someone who speaks on the broadcast air, you should make sure you know how to pronounce things. “They’ll be lighting the CHON-u-kah candles tonight” she said. Smart girl.
I was remembering a time when working with Jerry G. Bishop in radio that he asked me to write a song parody of “Rudolph” called “Sheldon the Hebrew Reindeer”- a really cheesy song, involving the reindeer using his antlers as the menorah! It had some goofy line about someone coming to say “Sheldon, you know we adore ya- won’t you please be our menorah!”…well, they can’t all be winners. Regardless, enjoy the holiday for the next eight days!
I’m still hearing from viewers who really enjoyed seeing “Fraido” the dummy on the show this week! We regret that a technical problem cut off the end of the show, where we did give credit to the dummy’s creator, comic book legend Alex Ross. I’m sure Fraido will appear in the future on our show!
I’m already getting e-mails regarding upcoming appearances- yes, the all-day extravaganza at various Max Madsen locations is happening this Saturday, December 8! I’ve heard some of the radio commercials as well, with the Max Madsen spokesperson “the Doctor” spreading the word that we’ll be at three locations- 9-11am at Countryside (I know- we’ll all be getting up early that day!)-12 to 2 pm at Downer’s Grove- and 3 to 5 pm in Aurora. For complete info, hit maxmadsen.com … we’re also trying to determine if Rich Koz will be making an appearance at a special Columbia College event downtown this Thursday- as soon as we know, we’ll get it into the blog!
Okay- will the first BIG snow hit or not later today? I know the various media have been playing it up like it’s blizzard central… we’ll have to see what happens. As a former weatherman (ranked about 600 levels below my pal Tom Skilling), I know that even with the “arrival time” pegged as a few hours from now- there are all sorts of variables that can effect whether we actually get hit big-time or not. If it hits, maybe we can all build Sven snowmen! (Ooh- sounds like a challenge to me! Should we get measurable snow, and you can build a Sven snowman- make sure you send us a picture!
svengoolie@wciu.com ) maybe “Franken-Fall” WILL end up as “Franken-Frost”… # # #
“Ghost of Frankenstein’ was a definite hit last night- as was the newly- minted “Fraido”- my “brother!” It appears that everybody got a real charge out of him (except Durwood!)
“Fraido” was a gift to me by my fried, Alex Ross- who is known as the “Norman Rockwell of Comics”- since he paints all his superheroes in a breath-takingly realistic fashion.
You might remember seeing Alex on the show back when we did “Captain America” (whose uniform he helped redesign for his “revival in current comics!)You also might recognize him as one of our t-shirt models, along with his lovely wife T.J., in the
Sven “It Came from Berwyn” t-shirt spot.
Anyway, Alex decided to construct the Sven ventriloquist dummy for us as a surprise. He started out with one of those “Groucho Marx” ventriloquist dummies, re-painted and re-dressed it, added some hair and a hat… and “Fraido” was born! Alex is a master of detail, so he even has the skeleton pin, the blue handkerchief in his pocket- and even has a red turtleneck as an accessory, in case he’s in a rerun show! No word on whether HIS accent comes and goes…although his jaw does seem a little stiff…regardless, we appreciate Alex using his vast talents just to surprise us!
The film last night now explains why, in the “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” flick that we aired the week before, even though the lines explaining it were cut from the film- the Monster was supposedly blind, since Ygor’s blood was not compatible with the monster’s system. In “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” the monster was also supposed to speak at first- but, rumor has it, when test audiences heard his Hungarian accent, they burst out laughing. But wait- since he got Ygor’s brain at the end of last night’s movie- couldn’t he still have spoken in Ygor’s voice-and, since Bela WAS Ygor, wouldn’t it have made sense?!
Big Lon Chaney does an okay job as the Monster in “Ghost of…”- but, just like he hated the Mummy make-up job- he wasn’t very fond of the rubber Frankenstein headpiece. As he’d sweat, it would fill up with moisture that would slosh around, and the headpiece was hot and uncomfortable- at one point, in a very Larry Talbot-like fit of rage, he tore it off his head- and the adhesive holding it on actually tore some skin off his forehead!(Don’t worry, Larry- when you become a Wolf Man again- the hair you grow will cover it up!)
We can’t cover up the fact that this coming Saturday- which is the official wind up of “Franken-Fall”- will also be the day of the big triple- header Max Madsen Sven appearances! I’ll fill you in; later this week- or, check out the info at their website-www.maxmadsen.com
“Fraido” was a gift to me by my fried, Alex Ross- who is known as the “Norman Rockwell of Comics”- since he paints all his superheroes in a breath-takingly realistic fashion.
You might remember seeing Alex on the show back when we did “Captain America” (whose uniform he helped redesign for his “revival in current comics!)You also might recognize him as one of our t-shirt models, along with his lovely wife T.J., in the
Sven “It Came from Berwyn” t-shirt spot.
Anyway, Alex decided to construct the Sven ventriloquist dummy for us as a surprise. He started out with one of those “Groucho Marx” ventriloquist dummies, re-painted and re-dressed it, added some hair and a hat… and “Fraido” was born! Alex is a master of detail, so he even has the skeleton pin, the blue handkerchief in his pocket- and even has a red turtleneck as an accessory, in case he’s in a rerun show! No word on whether HIS accent comes and goes…although his jaw does seem a little stiff…regardless, we appreciate Alex using his vast talents just to surprise us!
The film last night now explains why, in the “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” flick that we aired the week before, even though the lines explaining it were cut from the film- the Monster was supposedly blind, since Ygor’s blood was not compatible with the monster’s system. In “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” the monster was also supposed to speak at first- but, rumor has it, when test audiences heard his Hungarian accent, they burst out laughing. But wait- since he got Ygor’s brain at the end of last night’s movie- couldn’t he still have spoken in Ygor’s voice-and, since Bela WAS Ygor, wouldn’t it have made sense?!
Big Lon Chaney does an okay job as the Monster in “Ghost of…”- but, just like he hated the Mummy make-up job- he wasn’t very fond of the rubber Frankenstein headpiece. As he’d sweat, it would fill up with moisture that would slosh around, and the headpiece was hot and uncomfortable- at one point, in a very Larry Talbot-like fit of rage, he tore it off his head- and the adhesive holding it on actually tore some skin off his forehead!(Don’t worry, Larry- when you become a Wolf Man again- the hair you grow will cover it up!)
We can’t cover up the fact that this coming Saturday- which is the official wind up of “Franken-Fall”- will also be the day of the big triple- header Max Madsen Sven appearances! I’ll fill you in; later this week- or, check out the info at their website-www.maxmadsen.com
