April 2008 Archives

One of my co-workers, Kristen, told me about a fun event that she attended last weekend- a “Zombie Pub Crawl!” Now, granted, almost any weekend, you can find people walking around like zombies from bar to bar, but that’s more due to being over-served than partaking in a themed event.
I remember a viewer telling me about a similar event that happened in Milwaukee a while back, and, evidently, the trend is growing-much like the zombie population in any decent zombie flick! This one, of course, took place in Chicago- sponsored by a theater company-and one of the first things they did was apply make-up to participants, to make them truly look like zombies!(Kristen said she had only gotten last-minute notice from a friend about doing the pub crawl, so she was not able to actually dress in “zombie-wear” as many of the participants had.) Then, the zombie group visited three pubs, complete with a screening of “Night of the Living Dead!” Kristen even brought me back a souvenir- a button that said “I (picture of a brain) zombies”-get it? A take-off on all those buttons, bumper stickers and t-shirts that say “I (heart) something”-but paying tribute to the zombie’s love of brains (as a meal or a snack!)All in all, it sounds like a fun event-and Kristen said she got a lot of attention, so she must have made one attractive zombie!
Speaking of zombies (just kidding), I believe today is the birthday of Mr. “It’s Your Dime, It’s Your Dance-Floor”- the one and only Chet Coppock. I know many old school fans of the original Svengoolie recall Chet on the show as a newscaster, with the original Sven, Jerry G. Bishop often introducing him with such misnomers as “Chet Carpet” or “Chet ColdCuts”- plus, a few cameo appearances on the show. Chet also did roller derby announcing at the time. I first met Chet back then, and he was always very kind to me (even as I was this skinny kid, still in college, hanging around with Jerry and gradually becoming a part of the show!)Chet also made appearances with me in my “Son of Svengoolie” days, both on telethons and as a guest on my show. Big Chet, along the way, took a cue from the Roller Derby and WWE (with which he also did some work) book, and started to play himself as a character, amplifying his own personality. At this point, I guess people either love him or hate him, but he certainly has been a bombastic personality in Chicago broadcasting. Whether wearing a yellow plaid sport jacket (back in the ‘70s) or a full-length fur coat (in any era you choose)- Chet has always been one of a kind. Happy Birthday, Chester!

So I’m going to one of those big variety stores- one of the ones that starts with “K” or “Wal” or...uh…“Target”…and park in the lot, and go in to look for something that, naturally, even though it’s the first day of the sale as mentioned in the circular, isn’t in stock. So, I wander around the store, and accidentally find a few things that I need, purchase said items, and head back to the car. As I approach, I think that I spot a parking ticket or something affixed under one of my windshield wipers. Oh, great! What could I possibly have done? I recall having gotten a parking ticket previously when they were doing construction on the same lot, even though they had NOT marked the area I was parked in as forbidden…but, no construction this time- so- what had I done?
Then, I noticed that every car in the lot had the same thing under its windshield-and realized I had been the victim of the purveyor of an out-moded form of advertising- the under-wiper flyer affixer.
How many times has that happened to you? You park somewhere, and, when you return to you car- there’s a piece of paper stuck under a windshield wiper, promoting some sale or service at some business. Are you ever happy to see one of these missives stuck to your car? Most times, my reaction is-
what idiot stuck this on my car? Did they screw up the wiper?
And, most importantly- I wouldn’t go to this place being advertised for anything!
Advertisers-please take note. Most people don’t appreciate having someone mess with that wiper on their car- it’s not too hard for somebody in a hurry to pace a whole lot of flyer on a whole lot of cars to screw it up by pulling on it, messing with the blade, etc. This already puts the car owner into a negative mood regarding whatever you’re trying to sell them. Secondly,
You should stop by the lot, oh, say, a couple hours after your busy little worker bees have successfully attached a flyer to every car- and see how many of the flyers are now covering the ground like autumn leaves. I would love to see some store owner call the business, if they had not given them permission to leaflet their customers’ cars, and tell them that they would be charged for the refuse clean-up of all the flyers that customers removed in anger and tossed away-thus littering the lot.
I say the time has come to end this form of advertising! Down with these windshield vipers! Now please excuse me- I need to go stick some “George Lopez” publicity sheets on the cars stuck on “the Spindle” at Cermak Plaza in Berwyn…(and don’t forget to watch George Lopez for your chance to win some free gas- or more!…why didn’t they ask me to come up with the contest tag line? “George Lopez Gives Me Gas”?)

It’s already Monday again?! Wasn’t I just leaving our dungeon studio thinking- “It’s Friday, I have a whole weekend ahead of me! Woo Hoo!”?
We’ve been running into a lot of Sven fans when we’re out and about, and I appreciate all the nice comments from you folks.
When leaving the station with one of our loyal interns, a lady was staring at me, and asked if I was Svengoolie- and mentioned that she worked at a nearby police station, and is a big fan of the show! (No, she didn’t arrest me, thank you!) When we were out shooting some of the community calendar announcements out on location at the Art Institute, a very nice lady who worked there came over to tell me how much she enjoys the Sven show. I’m always happy to hear that, even after being on TV for (ahem) such a long time.
We were just outside the building here, shooting a webisode with “Sven’s brother Fraido” (you have to see these webisodes- they are pretty funny!)-we had people honking in greeting as they passed! Uh- for those of you who have never seen Fraido-

a Sven doppelganger ventriloquist dummy made as a surprise gift for us by our pal the amazing comic artist Alex Ross- make sure you watch for the “encore performance” of “Ghost of Frankenstein” next month on the show. I’ve gotten a lot of requests from viewers and co-workers, asking where they can buy a “Fraido”- but, unfortunately, Alex made just one! Unless we can arrange for some sweat shop on Pango Pango to start cranking them out, using inferior materials, to create a cheap knock-off, there won’t be any Fraidos ending up in peoples’ homes- and, quite frankly, I wonder if certain people would really WANT one in their home- just because they feel he’s …kind of creepy! Like those dolls and ventriloquist dummies
in various horror flicks that come to life…okay, now it’s creeping ME out…I’d better move that dummy…wait! Wasn’t he over on THAT side before? Nyahhh…
Sorry- I got sidetracked…as I was saying, I am always happy to have you guys come up to me and tell me you like what we do…and, I appreciate when you are considerate, and understand that we may be on our way somewhere for shoot,
or on a tight schedule, and can’t always spend as much time as we’d like to with you…but- I hope you guys know that, one of the main reasons I’m still on this Svengoolie circuit- is because you care about it and support it! I’m always flattered and amazed by the affection people have for us.
So- if you see me on the street, in a store, even in a jury room or a hospital waiting room (yeah, it’s happened!)-don’t be afraid to come say hello…

It was sad to see “Bride of Frankenstein” run for its final time on our show. It really is such a classic, and even goes beyond just the horror genre, often ending up on lists of the greatest movies-in general- of all time. I know, some of you have mentioned that we’ve been showing these “Frankenstein” flicks too much- as I’ve said, it’s a schedule we have to follow- and, keep in mind that this will indeed be the final run of almost all these films on our Sven show.
In other news-I was just reminded the other day that, back in the 80s, I made a couple appearances on “Entertainment Tonight.” One was when they did a special segment about horror movie hosts- and another was in regards to the screening of the 3-D movie. One of the producers that I spoke with, Garry Grossman, turned out to be a guy who had written a couple books that I had read- one about Saturday morning cartoon shows, and another great book about Superman in film and, mainly, the 50s television show (now available on our sister Me-Too channel.)He has often worked with an old pal and former Chicagoan, Robb Weller, who used to do the morning show on channel 7 that was later taken over by Oprah, and eventually became her juggernaut program!
Which reminds me- that I appeared on the very first show that Oprah did here in Chicago! When she took over the show that was then called “AM Chicago,” the people producing the show went around to various “well-known” Chicago people to get them to record greetings, and a couple other things that appeared on the show (I can’t get too excited that they used me- they also went to the Empire Carpet Man…) …I have never met her, nor had her acknowledge me in any way. She never even sent a thank you, though the people producing the stuff for her were very nice and very grateful. As far as ever getting any contact with her, long ago I made a move that parodies her “Big Give”- I did “Sven’s Big Give Up.”    

Tomorrow night on Svengoolie- just as some people swear they’ll never go back to the altar after one more disastrous wedding- we’ve got our final visit to the matrimonial mayhem of the “Bride of Frankenstein!”
This will be our final run of this classic, under our Universal contract-so make sure you tune in to get a look at the Frankenstein series entry that many consider the finest of them all!
You have to know the set-up by now- on a dark and stormy night, the lovely Elsa Lanchester, as Mary Shelley, is complimented by Lord Byron on how such a delicate flower as herself could have come up with the ghastly tale of the Frankenstein Monster. “Ah,” she smiles, “but that wasn’t the end of the story!” And away we go- picked up the story at the end of the “Frankenstein” film- as people celebrate the destruction of the Monster- only to find that he still lives!
We meet a new bizarre character- one Dr. Pretorius, who tries to convince Dr. Frankenstein to join him in creating a new creature! Dr. P has a chance meeting with the Monster himself- who welcomes the idea of the creation of a mate for him!
This film is loaded with great scenes, and Boris Karloff’s Monster portrayal in this film is even more moving than in the original film. Plus, we get Elsa as the Bride in her brief but memorable scenes. We’ll have plenty of background info on the film, as usual-
and a catchy song parody that is still stuck in the heads of some of our editors since we first worked on it!
I also have received word that, besides on WCIU and
Me-TV, this movie will also air on our new Me-TV Milwaukee station- channel 49 (that’s its broadcast designation) out of Milwaukee/Racine! It’s also on WMLW, and our South Bend affiliate-WMYS.
So- make sure you catch “the Bride”- instead of the bouquet- tonight with yours truly!  

I’m sure many of you horror fans recall two popular 1970s vampire flicks- “Count Yorga-Vampire” and “Return of Count Yorga”- which starred actor Robert Quarry as the Count. He also appeared in some cool fright films like “Zombies of Sugar Hill”, “Deathmaster,” and “Madhouse.” He even co-starred with Vincent Price in “Dr. Phibes Rises Again!”
Well, word has come down that, after some years of up and down health, Mr. Quarry, at age 82, has moved into the Motion Picture Country House- a community home run by the Motion Picture Fund, for senior actors and actresses, as well as behind the scenes personnel- it’s one of those fine places established to give back to the pioneers and laborers in the film business when they need help. Mr. Quarry is doing well in his new home, and happy to be there.
The bad news is- for many years, a “fan” ingratiated himself to Mr. Quarry, wormed his way into his confidence, and became a “personal assist” to him- and ended up draining his bank accounts, isolating him from friends and associates, and selling of his memorabilia –for mainly his own profit. Fortunately, this vile person was revealed for what he was- and “Count Yorga” is free of his influence- and scheming. The bad thing is- Mr. Quarry, now in his new home, was left with very little by this “leech.” Some of his true friends, like “2000 Maniacs” director Tim Sullivan, have established on-line registries where you can help Mr. Quarry out. If you are interested - just Google “Robert Quarry Registries”-and look for entries like “Robert Quarry Needs Your Help” or “Needs a Helping Hand”-for information- or, even just an address to send Mr. Quarry a note of support. One of the people who first told me about Mr. Quarry said that a sad part of all this is that Mr. Quarry has, after all this ordeal, kind of felt that he’s forgotten by the general public- so, dropping him a letter telling him you’ve enjoyed his work could definitely brighten up his day…or night, if he’s still in “Count Yorga” mode!
A final, less “happy ending” note- a helpful Sven fan, Dan of Chicago, sends word that one of Bela Lugosi’s last living co-stars has passed away…B movie actress Teala Loring who worked a lot in the 1940s, may times with the likes of the Bowery Boys and even John Carradine. Ms. Loring starred with Bela in “Return of the Ape Man.” Though her name may not be familiar, you might recognize her younger sister-Debra Paget (She starred in “Love Me Tender” and “the Ten Commandments” as well as genre stuff like “the Haunted Palace” and “From the Earth to the Moon.”) Does that make
Conrad Brooks Bela’s last living co-star? Although I don’t think he really had any scenes with the real Bela in Ed Wood’s
“Plan 9 from Outer Space”…)

Hmmm…maybe I should have re-titled this blog- or some people might expect me to be writing- “my quick turn-ons are
warm nights with thunderstorms, a candle-lit coffin for two…”-when, in reality, I just wanted to give you loyal blog followers a quick way to zip to the blog! Thanks to our WCIU web crew, all you have to do now is use this quick and easy address-
  www.wciu.com/blogs/svengoolie
That’s the new shortcut that will bring you directly to this Sven blog page- but wait! There’s more! If you click on the “Svengoolie” logo at the top of the blog page- that will bring you to the main Svengoolie page, with its many features! It’s
a sneaky backdoor to the Sven page, without having to go to the main WCIU page and click on the “Svengoolie-open the coffin” box. Hopefully, this will make your “Sven connection” easier…
I was informed that, not only is this “Earth Week”- but it’s also the much-ballyhooed “Turnoff Week.” Yes, this is the one week a year when we’re all supposed to turn off the television, yank out the plug, and do without TV for seven days. Those who’ve read my blogs before know how much I dislike this idea. First of all- they’re telling people, directly or indirectly, not to watch my show and my station-which is the source of my income. So, let’s all deprive me of making a living so we can act like we’re such intellectuals! Oooh, we have to turn off the TV so we can do other things! Somehow, these television-abstinence preaching geniuses act as if they have never heard of moderation. I’m sure there are some people who are addicted to TV- but I would hope most people would be smart enough, and have enough self-control, to not let television keep them from doing other things. Quite honestly, do you think their “turnoff” is going to be taken seriously by the people who truly aren’t wise enough to use moderation in viewing? They might miss a few seconds of “Steve Wilcos!”
As I’ve said before, I especially love running into the nose-in-the-air pseudo-intellectuals who delight in telling everyone who will listen- “oh, we don’t watch TV- and we don’t let the kids watch it.” Great- deny yourself and your kids of seeing news and events as they happen. Let them be totally ignorant of popular culture- or the thrill of watching a sports event. Keep them from learning about major personalities in the world, from the political and scientific communities. And- PLEASE don’t let them enjoy entertainment- just for entertainment’s sake. Does that mean you also won’t let them read a book, if it’s just for entertainment? Your attitude seems to be- wow, there’s a lot of junk on TV- so let’s get rid of it. Cool- in the newspaper today, I saw a lot of junk- articles about useless celebrities, ads for (ahem) “massage parlors” and various cures for …uh…certain male problems. There’s a lot of junk in the papers –maybe we should get rid of them. Don’t let them watch a movie on TV- in fact, don’t let them go to a theater either.
This year, they’ve even added the addendum that maybe you should turn off ANYTHING with a screen- including video games and computer screens! Once again- god forbid we use moderation…or acknowledge that a computer is a source of information, not just mindless browsing or game playing.
The bottom line, as I’ve said many times before- is that TV is like everything else- used wisely, it’s fine. Instead of teaching your kids that TV is an evil to avoid, teach them to use good judgement in what they watch-and be smart enough to know how much viewing time is good.
Hey- I know what I do is not “Masterpiece Theater”-it’s just entertainment. But- sometimes- a little fun entertainment is necessary to blow off steam, and forget about the daily grind. So- to all you  Turnoff” geniuses- tell me what business YOU’RE in, and I’ll be happy to boycott it for a week. In fact, I’m feeling generous- how about a month?   #    #    #

Thanks to everyone who has sent me the picture making the rounds on the internet of the three leading presidential candidates as the Three Stooges. In fact, it seems like everyone I know-and almost everyone I DON’T know- has sent the picture to me (but, I guess when you’re involved in a show that spotlights the Stooges, it’s only natural!). And, yes, I noticed that Hillary is “Hil-LARRY” in the doctored Stooge still.
Meanwhile, the real articles (the candidates, not the Stooges- or, am I wrong about that designation?) have been all over the media, in some rather bizarre places- Monday night, while the current President, George W. Bush, was making a guest appearance on “Deal or No Deal” (make up your own joke here)-Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain were all appearing, via taped comments, on WWE Raw! Each delivered a wrestling- catchphrase tinged speech-Obama getting a few extra points by using one of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s paraphrased catchphrases- “if you smell what Barack is cooking!”-followed by a grin that indicated that, yes, he understood how ridiculous that was, but, what the hey.
The Bush family is certainly not lacking in getting their own time on the airwaves- not only did the President bump fists with Howie Mandel, but his wife and daughters made
guest shots on “the Today show” Tuesday morning (wait a minute- “Today” and “Deal or No Deal”? Do the Bushes have stock in NBC or something? Will George be showing up on “the Office” or “My Name is Earl” next? If I were truly evil, I’d add “or ‘the Biggest Loser?’”) Ostensibly, it was supposed to be about celebrating Earth Day, and how tough it was (or wasn’t) for the Bush girls to be twins. No, Jenna and Barbara are not identical- no, their family never referred to them at any time as “the twins.” They each would go to different summer camps each year. They always had their own personalities, but loved being twins because it always gave them someone to share things with…so, will this cause a rift between them, now that one is getting married, and so far, the other isn’t? Or, does the prospective hubby have his own twin who will be paired with the still single Bush daughter? Have I been watching a little too much “Today” show that I’m even contemplating this? And- where in the world IS Matt Lauer?!
I am writing this blog before we have the results of the Tuesday primary…so, I have no idea as I write this as to whether Obama or Hillary has won this ballot-busting Smackdown. Maybe whoever comes up short can then make an appearance on “Deal or No Deal”-to try to secure a vice-presidential slot? Or a co-host slot with Kathy Lee Gifford on “Today”? Or, new “sharing buddy” for the unmarried Bush twin?  #    #    #

Remember that old Beatles’ song? “Dah dah/Dah Duh/Dah-dah/ You say it’s your Earth Day!” I know, that’s not it- but today is the official Earth Day, part of Earth Week. Perhaps if we experience another after-shock, it can be an Earth Day Earth Quake…and some enterprising fast food joint can serve Earth Shakes.
Your old Uncle Sven was actually around on the very first Earth Day- was it my senior year of high school? I was to do an appearance with my pal as a comedy team at the big Earth Day assembly (held after school hours)-but, since he had a paying part-time job, he wisely opted to go to work, leaving me to fend for myself on stage. If you write a two-man bit, it becomes a little difficult to turn it into a monologue, but I pressed on…I remember raising the ire of some of the participants, because our senior class was selling some huge metal buttons to commemorate Earth Day- and I somehow managed to bring up, in my act, that these buttons were actually more non-degradable trash that we were foisting on our beloved planet! (They’re not booing, they’re chanting “true”, right? Right?)They were preaching more careful usage than recycling at that time…no doubt never imagining that blue bins and bags would not just be containers with our school colors, but a new means of saving the earth…I’ll bet you, somewhere in my collection of stuff, I still have that high school ‘Support Earth Day” button…maybe I can flip it into the recycle bin now…
Some of you have asked if I had seen the WGN 60 year tribute show last Sunday night…and, yes, I saw most of it. I definitely could have done without James Belushi. My idea was that they should have chosen a handful of old WGN personalities, and had each one host a segment or two- people like Jack Taylor, whom I had the honor of working with here at WCIU,
Jim Ruddle, part of their first two-man news anchor team, Joey D’Auria (the second and last WGN Bozo), Phil Donahue, who they interviewed in passing, and even our pal Tom Skilling. I thought it was interesting to see that, almost all the entertainment-type stuff they showed is all gone-they still have news, sports, and special event coverage, but the locally-produced entertainment shows are…no more. That’s pretty much the way local television has gone. I recently read an article where the head of WLS-TV was bragging how NO Chicago station was as local as they were- why, they do a local show- “190 North!” Oh, and a couple public affairs shows, too.
Wow. Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back- or doing all those hard news features in the 10 pm newscasts that either tie-in with an ABC network show or Disney-promoted vehicle….

The above cereal reference aside, I’m STILL trying to convince some of our friends that you COULD notice the earthquake that make its way through our area last Friday morning around 4:30 in the morning or so. Either they are very deep sleepers, or their apartments and homes in the city didn’t get as much of a shaking in their areas-because they didn’t feel or hear anything. I was awakened by a rattling sound, which turned out to be the wire from a set-top antenna vibrating against the television set (yes, I’ll need a digital conversion box for that set.) Other rattling sounds around the house, along with an upset pet, seemed to indicate a mild quake- that must have lasted between one and two full minutes! That’s a pretty long tremor. No damage in my home, thankfully- actually, I don’t think there was any damage in the immediate Chicago area. No visions of “Cloverfield” or our old pal Godzilla making his way towards Berwyn (nor that giant, eyebeam-shooting chicken of the Sven t-shirt commercials…)
The last quake I remember hitting the area, maybe in the late 80s,seemed to last only about ten or fifteen seconds. I remember I was sitting on a couch that had a fold-away mattress in its innards, which, I think, made the movement more noticeable- as I started feeling the shaking, and was about to ask who was shaking the couch- until I noticed I was the only one sitting on it! Again, no damage occurred then- mostly some noise and a little movement.
That was NOT the case for some friends of mine, who, several years ago, had just moved out to California, near the Los Angeles area- and experienced a much larger, scarier earthquake than they had ever experienced here. It occurred early in the morning, and knocked stuff off shelves and off the walls…and certainly made them wonder if moving to the west coast for a cool job had really been the right move. Of course, it was a good move for them- but that sizable quake was a pretty bizarre welcome to their new home for them!
One of my co-workers noticed Friday’s quake- but thought that the noise might be squirrels in his roof! Another slept through it, but may have had a subconscious reaction- because he was dreaming that he was driving and hit a cougar (must be pretty cool to have dreams as current as today’s headlines!) And- yet other co-workers who live in high-rises right here in the city…slept right through it, and didn’t notice a thing. I always thought being higher up, in buildings that have a “sway” factor for high winds, would almost guarantee that you’d feel a tremor…or, does the solid concrete grid in the city almost insulate them from what was a minor tremor by the time it traveled here from the downstate epicenter?
Maybe we’ll find out next time- but we’ll have to wait- it always seems like it’s ten and twenty years between quakes in this area!(…which means I won’t have to worry about coming up with more earthquake material for a while…)  

I’m sure most of you horror genre fans have heard the bad news by now- that the lovely English actress who starred in many scary movies of the 50s and 60s has passed away.
Hazel Court- a strikingly attractive actress who played in some Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe films and other horror films- died last week at the age of 82.
You may remember this green-eyed, red-haired knockout from such films as (pardon my Troy McClure there, Simpsons fans) the comedic horror flick “the Raven” featuring her alongside some big names like Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price. She started her acting career in various stage shows as a teen, and was spotted by the J. Arthur Rank movie organization (you might remember their signature logo that opened their films- a guy hitting a huge gong!)-which got her into films by her 18th birthday- and set her on the path of being a popular actress and magazine pin-up girl. She was in a couple Sven-shown features like “Dr. Blood’s Coffin” and “Devil Girl from Mars” (no, she wasn’t the Devil Girl!) and in others we wish we had, like “Curse of Frankenstein” alongside British horror greats Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. She also did TV in England, as a regular in one series, and guest shots on others, including the old British “Invisible Man” show that runs on our MeToo sister station.
She made her way to the United States in the 50s, where she first worked in television on  “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” before settling into more movie work, as well as TV guest shots. She appeared in “Masque of the Red Death” and “Premature Burial” with Vincent Price, and the afore-mentioned “Raven”-while doing shows like “Bonanza,” “Rawhide”, “Twilight Zone”, “12 O’Clock High”, “Dr. Kildare”, “Wild Wild West”, “Mission: Impossible” and even “McMillan and Wife.”
She was very pretty-and a very competent actress - though one “obituary” labeled her as remembered mostly for her “screams and cleavage” (which were also nice…)…she obviously had a very long and successful career, since her work went from the 40s right through to the 80s- her final on-screen role being, appropriately enough, in “The Omen III: the Final Conflict.” She was also an artist, with many commissioned works, and she just recently finish an autobiography, “Hazel Court-Horror Queen’ which should be released in Britain this very week, and will hopefully make its way to our shores.
I will always remember Hazel Court not only from her movies, but also because, I recall always passing a small street in, I think, Des Plaines, when I’d be making my way to Mannheim Road- the name of the street? “Hazel Court!”

Tonight at 9- while the Berwyn “Spindle” remains unsold, and some people STILL don’t believe there was an earthquake yesterday-you can see the film that marked the return of the great Boris Karloff to the Universal Studios Frankenstein franchise- as we open the doors to the sinister  “House of Frankenstein” in its final run on the Svengoolie program (back it goes into the Universal vaults and/or clutches of pay TV!)
Boris last was involved with the Frankenstein films as the Monster himself, back in “Son of Frankenstein”-but this time, he returns as an evil scientist whose own experiments in creating life (including combining human and animal parts)
have left him in prison, with cellmate Daniel- a somewhat homicidal hunchback. When nature itself provides an escape route for this dastardly duo, they happen upon a traveling
“House of Horrors” showman who claims to have the actual remains of Count Dracula- the renowned vampire- as part of his creepy collection. Boris doesn’t really care about Drac’s remains- but likes the idea of bumping off said showman and assuming his identity (pre-credit card or internet identity theft!) and having Daniel sub as his driver.  Their mission- to return to the evil doc’s home town and get revenge on all those fools who were too stupid to realize what he was trying to do for mankind (is it so wrong to put a man’s brain in a dog? I mean, really?!) Along the way, he accidentally revives Dracula (in the form of the slim and slimy John Carradine)-and heads to the ruins of one of the Frankenstein abodes, where he finds both Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man, again portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr) and the flash-frozen Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange.)Soon, they’re all cruising around causing major problems-and Boris has sinister plans for switching some brains and bodies!
The original title of this film was “the Devil’s Brood” (which I think was later used as the name of a professional wrestling tag-team!)-and has been called the original “Monster Mash” for its roster of all the major Universal monsters (except the Mummy-we’ll explain why he wasn’t used tonight on the program!)This idea of all the biggies coming together was used again for “House of Dracula” and the ever popular “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” Check out both ends of the pay scale- former Frankenstein Monster Karloff earned the most money of any featured player in the cast for his role as the mad doctor- while the current Monster, Glenn Strange earned the least- a mere $500!
There’s more trivia, plus the usual Sven tomfoolery (or, should it be Frank-foolery?) in our final run of “House of Frankenstein”- which will also be showing on our sister station Me-TV at 1 am!

A while back, I wrote about a movie that a viewer was trying to locate-his name was Steve and all he remembered was that, he thought, Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe made a bet with a mercenary that he couldn’t spend the entire night in a haunted house- which he then did, fighting off, possibly, thirteen strange ghostly menaces-and the shock ending was, as he left the house the next morning, the gate slams shut, putting a spike through his throat!(Cue the sound effect of Nelson the Bully on “the Simpsons” saying “HA-ha!”)Anyway, Steve was at a loss to naming said flick- and asked us for help.
Quite honestly, it didn’t sound like anything that I had ever seen- so, I turned to you learned Sven viewers.
Naturally- you guys came up with something! Several of you wrote in, but both Greg and Jerry, two constant and knowledgeable viewers, provided the most complete information- it was one of two movies- and one was a remake of the other one!
The general feeling is- Edgar Allan Poe is indeed portrayed, but Mark Twain? Uh-uh. Chances are that the movie was “Web of the Spider” –a 1971 film also known by a zillion other titles, like “In the Grip of the Spider”- “And Comes the Dawn-But Colored Red”-and even “Dracula in the Castle of Blood” (how’d Drac get in there?!) This film has Klaus Kinski as Edgar Allan Poe (I don’t see that, either) and Anthony Franciosa as an American reporter (not a mercenary) who takes up the challenge of the haunted house. According to one source, the ghosts are also vampires- or, they’re JUST vampires. And- no Twain.
This film is supposedly based on a Poe story called “Night of the Living Dead” (did Poe know George Romero?)-but there isn’t a Poe story with that title. It is a remake of a movie called
“Danza Macabra”-which, before you even think it, has nothing to do with Tony Danza…and was made in1964, featuring the talents of horror great Barbara Steele. In it, Poe and another guy bet a writer, in search of some quick cash, that he can’t spend the night in a castle where, supposedly, the dead will rise up. he goes for the deal, and enters the house, where the dead folks do rise and re-enact their deaths- then try to lure him to his doom. Steele plays a ghost who falls in love with the guy, and tries to help him escape. Alas, the old gate spike through the throat, or whatever, provides his surprise demise- and, of course, a spoiler if you planned on seeing the flick!
So- thanks to Jerry and Greg and the others who sent in the info! I know I can always rely on you guys to help when I can’t identify a flick!   

As I write this blog- the Berywn “Spindle” sculpture, up for auction on eBay. has still not been bought (read yesterday’s blog for the full story.)Naturally, some people have written to me saying, “why don’t YOU buy it, Mr. Berwyn-Pants?” Well, first of all, I don’t have that kind of cash- and, if I did- somehow I think I might have other uses (not better- just other) uses for that much money.
I’m still going by my last idea from yesterday’s blog- why doesn’t a smart car dealership purchase the “Spindle” and
Put it on display in their lot, drawing tons of tourists, and, most likely, possible customers? They could use the sculpture as part of their logo- as an easy locator (“just look for the big kabob of cars!”)-and could come up with countless advertising phrases- like ‘don’t get STUCK with a lousy car- come to us!” or “we’ll stick your old junker on a pole-and send you home smiling in a better vehicle!” or even “our used cars stay on the road-not on a pole!” naturally, I’d think the dealer purchasing the sculpture would hire yours truly to m.c. the official dedication. The only problem might be that the artist who created it still owns the copyright claims, and may not want it used as a commercial enterprise- although that may be a moot point, since it’s been used as a draw for the shopping mall and in films, without, I’d guess, any restitution to him.
I was laughing, because the eBay posting listed the location of the item location as –“Westchester, Il”- when we all know it’s in Berwyn! I’m guessing that means the realty company that manages the property at Harlem and Cermak would disassemble it and cart it to their headquarters in Westchester, from which local pick-up would have to begin for the new owner.
I love the fact that there are questions listed on the auction page- my favorite being (and I can’t believe this person is serious)”what if I want only the Mercury at the very bottom, and willing to pay $50,000 for it in its exact, present condition
(although the person spelled it “persent”)-is shipping still $100,000?” And I love that they answer seriously, that they may consider selling individual cars…although they” hope that the sculpture is sold as a whole and is reinstalled in a suitable location.” Sure they do- if someone flashed a little cash their way, they’d be selling the pieces of the cars like Victory Auto Parts.
Is the “Spindle” facing the final gavel? Has someone already purchased it after I’ve written this? Go check on eBay- or, I’m sure, any local news media. Meanwhile, if it hasn’t sold- I’ll try to think of a solution…  #    #    #

Yesterday, as the deadline for sending in your taxes loomed (cue the “24” countdown time super-imposed in the corner of your screen)-we talked about possible uses for the massive tax refund you might be getting. Well, judging from the latest news, there can be only one choice-the Berwyn “Spindle” sculpture.
Yeah, yeah, it was in “Wayne’s World”(yet anytime anyone has tried to get hold of Mike Meyers for a comment about the current on-going situation, he is “unavailable”)-the classic sculpture set up in the parking lot of Cermak Plaza, near Harlem and Cermak, in 1989-consisting of a bunch of cars skewered on a large metal pole. It draws tourists aplenty- but, darn it- they need a new Walgreens in that exact spot! (Forget the fact that there’s one right it the mall behind it- we need a freestanding one so there can be a drive-through!) Various village bigwigs have been wanting it gone, just as they’ve gotten rid of a lot of the other “art” that a one-time owner of the shopping area loved, and had placed around the stores and lot. Now the realty company that manages the property has –put the “Spindle” on eBay! For an opening bid of $50,000, plus $100,000 shipping and handling, YOU could own this fine art treasure, and do what you want with it! Think of the possibilities- put it in your backyard, attach clotheslines to it, and dry the entire neighborhood’s clothes in the clean fresh air!
When I last checked yesterday, there had been- zero bids. The auction closes tomorrow, April 17th-so time grows short. I especially like that they have listed the cars, in order of skewering, from top to bottom- and here they are, for trivia buffs- the ‘67 lil’ red VW Beetle-a 1976 silver BMW with the license plate “Dave” (isn’t there a Dave out there who’d love that?)-a blue Escort from 1981 (and I don’t mean a lady of the evening that a member of the Blue Man Group might hire)- a’73 or ’74 green Mercury Capri- a white and blue Mustang from 1978- an ‘81 Pontiac Grand Prix, labeled as either maroon or burgundy –the difficulty telling may have something to do with the pigeon poop which coats the entire sculpture-a’79 or ’80 light yellow Ford LTD-and-at the bottom of the stack- an ’81 or ’79 black Mercury!
Come on- wouldn’t it be a great decoration for a car dealership? Think how many people would show up to see it- that could then be enticed to purchase a new vehicle! Let’s delve into this further in tomorrow’s blog- which may be, unfortunately, written BEFORE the auction expires- darn!   

Yes, it’s April 15th- the day of reckoning for all taxpayers (who don’t file for extensions…) Your income tax form is due- and must be in the mail by tonight. Will the local news shows do their yearly shot at some local post office, with tense, yet grinning drivers pulling up at the curb and handing their last-minute returns to a postal employee waiting, as if this is some kind of relay race? Somebody should pull up, and just hand them one of those cards you find in a magazine for starting a subscription- “I can’t miss another issue of ‘Procrastinators’ Weekly!’”
Are you lucky enough to be getting a refund? And/or, are you one of the many Americans who will be getting an economic stimulus check in May? Looking for something to do with all that money? My first suggestion would be to give it to your favorite local TV personality (not Oprah! She doesn’t need it!)
Yet there are other things you could do with it, for yourself…
Like purchasing a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt depicting your favorite TV goolie- or- for larger refunds- making a once in a lifetime purchase!
Here’s a suggestion- if you’re a horror fan- why not buy the home of someone connected to classic Universal horror? No, it’s not an old Bela or Boris bungalow- nor a Chaney or Carradine chateau…I saw in the Sunday papers that the home of Herman Stein is for sale! Herman Stein?! Not Frankenstein?
No- it’s Herman Stein- a Universal Studios staff music composer who passed away in March 2007.He worked on scores for nearly 200 films, but was best known for creating the background music for many of Universal’s big 1950s sci-fi horror classics- “the Incredible Shrinking Man,” “It Came from Outer Space” and “the Creature from the Black Lagoon.” His wife had passed on previously- she was also into music, having been a violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic- so, now their former home- a one-story home with city and mountain views, built in 1961, is on the market-listed at a mere 1.049 million! Yes, those hills will definitely be alive with the sounds of music- and possibly the musical fright stings of the horror movies he contributed to-when you buy this swanky two-bedroom, two-bath Los Angeles home.
Not getting THAT big a rebate? Well, then, you could aim slightly lower-and nearer- as in BERWYN! You could put in the winning bid on the beloved Berwyn “Spindle” of cars! Come back tomorrow, and we’ll discuss that- and have your checkbook ready for action- you could be the hero to patrons of the arts and “Spindle” lovers everywhere…

As you most likely know, as a Sven viewer, we have all sorts of bizarre and unusual props that come in handy when we’re taping our shows. Both here at the station, as well as in my basement at home, you can find some very strange things- some of which have never been used- yet. As you might have guessed, I also will often receive stuff from fans of the show, unrequested-some of which may be useful, some that, occasionally, is a little scary, even for us.
I know we’ve shown some of our prop arsenal in webisodes here on the site, but I thought I bring up a few more of the
intriguing items currently lurking in the Sven prop closet.
We have a small plastic axe that’s battery powered-not to aid in any chopping maneuvers, but to provide- sound effects! It’s a motion-powered deal that makes a screaming noise when you swing it! This is not to be confused with the walking axe man, with an articulated face that grimaces as he walks along swinging his weapon- to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching In!!!”
A couple other things I’ve had for a long time- are a plastic fist and a plastic foot, both on an accordion style arm- kind of like those boxing gloves you see in cartoons, that pop out and hit somebody. The fist is obviously that same sort of thing- and the foot, I guess, is for the same idea, but, instead of a punch, it’s a swift kick!
You may have seen a couple hats I have in the storage area- given to me by a viewer- one looks like a hamburger- and the other, like a big white chicken! There is also a very large wind-up key, like a wind-up key you’d find on an old tin toy…with a suction cup on the end. Keys like this were originally made for you to attach to a small foreign car, so it’d look like a wind-up toy! I’m guessing you can’t find one of those keys around anymore, or we’d see a lot more of them on Mini-Coopers…
Then, we have the battery-powered severed arm, which, when activated…just kind of wiggles around. The armature that moves the hand goes up into a finger, and less-refined people than I were known to maneuver it into a certain finger, thereby creating the first automated obscene gesture…
There’s a pair of vampire fangs with its own blood supply (for vampires in need of a quick fix?)- not to mention a few tubes of fake blood (now, you can brush your fangs and get nourished at the same time, Bela!)
Maybe I’ll take another inventory of the bizarre props we have soon, if you guys are interested- but be forewarned- the deeper I dig- the weirder they’ll get!

Well, hope you enjoyed your final look at “the Wolf Man” last night…no, that doesn’t mean that was the last time you’ll see Larry Talbot sulking on the program- he’ll still be back in our final runs of flicks like “House of Frankenstein,” etc.- it’s just that last night was our final run of the movie “the Wolf Man”-and we now return it to Universal. Make sure you’re tuning in for the final runs of more of the classics, coming up-once we lose them, they most likely will appear only on cable, and , if the past is any hint, they’ll mainly show up once or twice a year, probably around Halloween.
“But Sven,” you ask “when the Universal flicks go bye-bye- what will you be showing?” Well, we will have a handful of Universal titles we’ve already shown- and a few more- but none of them really big name titles. Added to the mix- very possibly some other very cool, higher-profile-than-“Full Moon” flicks: just keep checking here for more info, once the deals are done!
Speaking of done-no doubt by now, you are aware that analog television broadcasting will be done- for the most part- by next February. The analog system is how you’ve been getting your TV signals since the beginning of TV-but, next year, all full-power TV broadcast stations will be switched to the digital signal. When that happens-you’ll be fine if you have a digital tuner in your TV (mostly newer TVs)-or, if your TV is hooked up to a cable box, or a dish-those will automatically “decode” the signal and convert it for your non-digital television set. If you rely on “rabbit ears” or a regular antenna- if it’s a digital-tuner set- you’re still okay- BUT- if it’s an analog tuner- you’re going to need a converter box (does this remind some of you slightly older folks of the days when UHF channels first appeared- and you had to get a converter box to let your channel 2 thru 12 set receive stations like, oh, channel 26?!)
The government will send you money-saving coupons that will give you cash off the price of up to two converter boxes.(This is not  attached to that rebate we’re all supposed to get in May…
Although maybe we can use part of that to pay for whatever the coupons don’t cover…)
This is all pretty confusing for some people-but there is hope. Be watching our stations for some fun announcements that we shot yesterday, featuring my pal George Blaise and myself, that give you more information on what to do, what websites to go to, and how to get those coupons. After all, we do want you to still be able to see us next February!

No, no, we’re not gonna revive the bad memories of a phone company commercial that insulted certain baseball fans-
We’re going to bring you our final showing of one of the classics-one of the big four of Universal monsters! It’s the hairy, scary one- “the Wolf Man!” Tonight at 9, we’ve got the original story of Larry Talbot- played exclusively (at least until the new remake with Benicio Del Toro comes out) through countless Universal films by Lon Chaney Jr.
Talbot returns to his ancestral home in England after the death of his brother-and there’s a hint about strained family relations as he makes up with his father- played by the great Claude Rains. Larry gets a sneak peek at a lovely young woman who works in a village shop (Evelyn Ankers- who, in real life did not get along with Chaney Jr!)-and decides that she’s the gal for him! He accompanies her (and a gal pal she arranges to join them- d’oh! Poor Larry) to a local gypsy fair- where a strange fortune teller (none other than Bela Lugosi!)
spots the pentagram in the gal pal’s palm…and tells her to leave!
Before long, as Larry and his pretty friend hear a shriek- and Larry bounds to the rescue- finding the poor gal pal attacked by…a wolf? A dog? Bitten in the battle, Larry thinks nothing of it- until he starts to have some weird things happen to him when the moon is full- because (say it with me) “even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night- may become a wolf- when the wolf bane blooms- and the autumn moon is bright!”
“The Wolf Man” is a real classic- it brought us the gypsy character Maleva, that rhyme you just read above, and the werewolf make-up by the great Jack Pierce –which is probably engrained in all our minds as the way a wolfish man should look! I have read that Rick Baker’s make-up for the re-make was based on the original design, which Baker holds in reverence. We’ll tell you about various trivia tid-bits regarding the film- and –yes, see the original place where our “Lobo’s Circus” bit ran.
Here’s some trivia we didn’t fit into the show- watch for the
Village church that Larry and his dad visit later in the film-
This is the second time a member of the Chaney acting family visited it- because it was originally built about twenty years previously for Lon’s father’s silent fright film- “Hunchback of Notre Dame!”
However, tonight, his son takes the spotlight- or is it moonlight? Find out at 9 on WCIU- and 1 am on Me-TV !

Okay, one last time- “Prom Night” arrives in theaters everywhere TODAY! If you’re looking for a fright film to
add more chills to what will be a slightly chilly weekend-
and enjoy seeing prom-goers’ dream night turn into a nightmare- go see it!
Can you remember the name of the very FIRST movie that scared you? I think most people do…I probably have told this story before, but for me, at a VERY young age it was-“the Wizard of Oz!” The Wicked Witch scared the living heck out of me- I had no problems with the flying monkeys (and believe me, I know plenty of people who have told me that those flyin’ monks put them into hysterics- not me, though) but that witch- especially with her strident high-pitched voice and nerve-tingling cackle- had me hiding my face in the couch pillows! This was on an old 50s black and white television with a pretty small picture tube, too- imagine if I had seen it in color at that young impressionable age! Of course, many years later, it became a favorite film of mine-and the first time I DID see it in color, I was really amazed by the scenery, costumes, and especially some of the make-up- Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion make-up and outfit were actually pretty darn impressive!
I also remember being scared by- of all things- a Laurel and Hardy short (you might recall me telling the story of how, as a small child, I was frightened by all sorts of stuff- funny how I grew up to be a guy who foists scary movies on the public!)
I remember that I was watching some kids’ show that I normally didn’t watch, or didn’t get to watch for one reason or another- it may have even been “Jabberwocky Place” hosted by Terry Bennett-who was actually Chicago’s first horror host, Marvin!-and they showed just the first part of (what I now know was) “the Laurel and Hardy Murder Case.” There was a lot of stuff in a scary old house, with Stan and Ollie in the dark rooms, afraid of ghosts, killers, etc… I’m guessing most kids wouldn’t think twice about it, but I, with my hyper-active imagination, really got into the story, and was unhappy when they cut it off for time, no doubt planning on showing the rest the next day. I thought nothing more about it- until that night, when I had terrible nightmares! I had plenty of nightmares as a kid- I wish I’d written some of them down, because they’d make for some great-if bizarre- horror stories!
Of course today, I’m a big fan of scary stuff, Laurel and Hardy, etc…maybe all that stuff in my youth was just setting groundwork for my later life. Anyway, now, why don’t you tell me what the first movie that scared you was? You can leave the comments on the link you’ll find at the top of this blog!  

Don’t forget to check out our “Prom Night” webisodes, in support of the scary soirée depicted in the new film  “Prom Night” that will hit theaters tomorrow! There’s a lot of buzz about the film- people are wondering how it will compare with the old 1980 original with Jamie Lee Curtis. I know there are some definite storyline differences- so, go see it and let me know what you think.
Some of the folks who frequent the Yahoo Svengoolieweb group have been letting us know what they think, regarding the songs we do on the show. Almost everybody thinks the weekly song is the top highlight of the program, but the debate centers around what era we should do songs from. While many appreciated our parody of Smashmouth’s “Walking on the Sun” (our version was a quick history of the Sven character, winding up with me here at WCIU and now just “Svengoolie” instead of “Son of Svengoolie”-thusly the parody was named “Stop Calling Him the Son”) as a more current song that worked well, some feel that I should stick to older tunes that more people would recognize- that my doing songs by Pink, or Gwen Stefani or Kanye West throws them because, quite honestly, that’s not what they’re listening to, so they don’t know the songs, and ,therefore, don’t see the parallel wordplay as well. Others seem to like the mix of new and older stuff, which often encourages them to seek out the original versions of what we parody.
I have to say that, I think we’ve always veered back and forth from current, or more modern tunes, to oldies. Once, looking back at some of my old scripts from the “Son of” days, I noticed that we did a fair mix of old and new tunes- some of the new ones, actually, kind of threw me, since I couldn’t remember what the original was from my lyrics- and some of those then-current tunes didn’t exactly become standards that got played again on classic rock or oldies radio stations.
Our over-all musical coverage actually covers a lot of ground, in that we’ve done traditional folk songs (anybody know for sure how old the Italian “Tarantella” song we did in “Tarantula” is?), songs from the 20s and 30s,doo-wop tunes from the 50s, Beatles era and disco songs, right through the songbooks of the 80s, 90s, and today (sounds like the motto of some radio stations I’ve worked at!) I think it’s a pretty good representative sampling of popular music.
What’s your opinion on the Sven songs? Remember, now you can post them right here, using the “comments” link at the top of each blog!

My friends Angie and Ron e-mailed me this link the other day-
…and when I saw the picture, it pretty much blew me away!
The picture and article are from the local Berwyn paper, the Berwyn Life-and, if you read said article, you learn that the wall mural was done by Victor Herrera and his friends. Victor is teaching a class at the Berwyn Cultural Center (and I will NOT make a joke about such a place) teaching young people about the art of graffiti artwork. He feels that, by getting the chance to paint “permission walls” he can possibly help channel young people to use their talents responsibly.
I thought it was very kind of Victor and company to make this cool Sven mural- depicting not only myself (holding a rubber chicken) and our Sven show logo, but even Doug at the keyboard, along with a Chicago skyline, a graveyard setting with some tombstones, and frames of movie film, depicting, I believe, monsters (I can’t see it clearly enough in the photo. If
anyone wants to be industrious and find the mural- and send me some digital pictures so I can see all the details- please feel free- send ‘em to svengoolie@wciu.com  …) Regardless, I appreciate being immortalized in this mural!
I’ve been painted into pieces of art here and there- you’ve probably seen the magnificent Alex Ross artwork with Sven amidst the DC superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman…not to mention the original drawing he did when he appeared with us on our show featuring the “Captain America” movie- a sketch depicting Cap with Sven under his arm, obviously saving him from certain doom!(That picture now hangs proudly in my home office.) People have sent me pictures of Sven as part of various other murals- there’s even a picture of the original Sven in a mural at the White Palace Grill in Chicago. An artist who paints on black velvet has made a remarkable portrait of me on (what else?) black velvet that she has asked to give to me, and, when I get it, we will definitely display it on the show. I still have, down in our studio, the bust that a viewer made of me as “Son of Svengoolie” many years ago! We bring it out occasionally on the show (only occasionally, because it’s so heavy!)
Of course, there are the fine works of art that you, my loyal viewers, have been sending to me during my tenure on the air-
various interpretations of me, done by Sven fans of all ages.
I’m always flattered by these drawings, paintings, sculptures, etc.- and I feel honored that I am a part of this latest mural in Berywn…that’ll teach all those people who thought they’d only see my picture posted on a post office wall!(See, they used to… post “wanted “posters for criminals in the post office…am I getting old or what?!)

I’ve been informed that the comment feature here at the blog should be working- just check at the top of the blog to find out how to leave a comment. If there’s a problem, let me know…
Contrary to what you’re seeing on the main page here at the Svengoolie subsite, our movie this Saturday will NOT be the new “Prom Night” flick that hits theatres this Friday…from what I understand, our net folks wanted to promote the new film, to compliment our webisodes this week playing off the “Prom Night” theme, but didn’t have a place to put the poster, other than where the usual “this week” plug occurs. Please do not be confused by this. You’ll have to go to the multiplex to see “Prom Night!”
Now, onto our main subject- the passing of Charlton Heston.
The famed actor with local roots passed away, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in recent years. Without a doubt, he was one of the big name movie stars, the like of which we will not see again. He came from Evanston, and went to Northwestern University, as did I (no, no matter HOW old you think I am, not at the same time…)-and, in recent years, seemed to be better known for his stance on citizens arming themselves than for anything else.
Sci-fi fans know he made a trilogy of cool genre films- the beloved original “Planet of the Apes”- which will always be remembered by certain members of my family, because an over-heated pre-adolescent female cousin got very excited by a glimpse of Heston’s bare rear in one scene (this is STILL a big joke in our family!)Another Charlton chiller was his “Omega Man”- yet another version of the famed “I Am Legend” story-
which included the vampirish mutants with sort of Harpo Marx hair. (Now that I think about it, I remember a friend of mine, a lady radio engineer, who commented on Chuck Heston looking sexy in a scene where he was shirtless…seems that he was quite the sex symbol to ladies of all ages!)The third film is, of course, “Soylent Green”- the story of a future world where everyone chows down on the mmm-mmm good grub known as soylent green- which Heston discovers is made of ...say it with me…people! Not old copies of “People” magazine, but real actual human beings.
I’ve certainly seen Heston in many films, but tend to lean towards those genre films as my favorites among his work. I have to say that I’ve enjoyed equally some of the impressions of Heston- most notably, those done by the late great Phil Hartman- and, especially, the ones done by SCTV’s Joe Flaherty-especially in the SCTV take-off on “Towering Inferno.”
Regardless, the real item, Charlton Heston, was a towering personality in the film world-and staked his claim to a part of the sci-fi/horror genre that won’t be forgotten.

Have you checked out our “Prom Night” Sven webisodes? It’s all in support of the chilling feature “Prom Night”-slashing its way into your local theater on this Friday April 11.
Yesterday, we ran through the history of the “Prom Night” franchise- which is chock full of revenge, prom night massacres, evil spirits, and teenagers in peril. That got me wondering- why are these proms such a perfect setting for mayhem and horror?
Does it all stem from the unpleasant memories people had about their prom night? The endings of relationships, the end of innocence, the end of the “safe” world of high school- or maybe the rejection of not being asked to the prom, or going with someone who paid more attention to someone else? Is there pent-up anger towards prom nights that writers and directors have released in movies that feature such deadly doings at various proms?
Let’s face it- plenty of bad stuff happens at proms in the movies…and not just in entries in the “Prom Night” series itself. Can anyone who’s ever seen it forget the prom from the classic 1976 horror film “Carrie”? The poor young woman with telekinetic powers is finally having the night of her life at the prom when- BAM!(with apologies to Emeril) she gets marinated with pig’s blood, which sets off her mental powers in a massacre nobody can erase from their mind!
Didn’t we have another telekinetic prom catastrophe in the Scott Baio film “Zapped!” which ran once on our Sven show?
Even when it ran, I thought it qualified as not a horror movie-but a horrible movie…
Here’s a bizarre prom film- 1998’s “I’ve Been Watching You 2: Pep Squad.” Get this-some high school kids are trying to hide the fact that their evil principal has been, let us say, put on detention permanently-oh, okay- accidentally bumped off! However, an evil prom queen candidate knows about it – and decides to blackmail them- so, they get another student to
take out the blackmailing prom queen- but, she agrees to do so ONLY if she can become prom queen! (I just wrote that, and even MY head is spinning…) even more confusing- this is “I’ve Been Watching You 2”- but I have yet to locate the first ‘I’ve Been Watching You!”
Maybe YOU have a personal prom horror story- it may not be movie-worthy, but it could be blog-worthy…so send it to me! svengoolie@wciu.com …  

Hope you enjoyed our “Shriek Preview” of the new version of “Prom Night” on last night’s show- you can also view it right here on our site! Don’t forget that you’ll also get some “prom Night”-based Sven webisodes this week, as well- in preparation for the premiere of “Prom Night” this Friday, April 11, in theaters everywhere…
The original version of “Prom Night” rolled out back in 1980-
and starred Jamie Lee Curtis, fresh from “Halloween” and “The Fog” as prom-going lass Kim, who is targeted, along with her friends by a masked killer out to avenge a child who was accidentally killed six years earlier. Also appearing is someone who is currently seen on movie screens- Leslie Neilsen!(He’s in another current film-the schlock parody “Superhero Movie”…)
There were a bunch of “Prom Night” semi-sequels- two of which we’ve shown in the past on the Sven show-“Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2” and “Prom Night 3: the Last Kiss!” The second film in the series –the “Hello Mary Lou” movie- goes with a completely different story from the first film- the spirit of a murdered prom queen from the ‘50s comes back to inhabit the body of a shy young female student- she goes on a revenge killing spree, culminating in her plan to have all hell set loose at the prom! The next sequel-“Last Kiss”- actually IS a sequel to the “Hello Mary Lou” film- the evil dead prom queen’s spirit escapes from Hell (where she’s in a chained sort-of lethargic chorus line!) and enlists a mild-mannered male student to help her get revenge on…whomever.
There’s yet ANOTHER sequel that has nothing to do with any of the previous films’ plots-“Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil”-with a religious fiend (not a prom queen, living or dead)
out to “punish” teens who he feels have sinned. I think this is the film that finally ground the “Prom Night” franchise to a halt.
There have been a few connections between the “Prom Night” films- each one has taken place in the hallowed and horrid halls of Hamilton High…and supposedly the line “it’s not who you come with, it’s who takes you home…” appears in each movie (is it in the new version?) Also, we’re told that one actor appeared in every one of the original “Prom Night” series- one Brock Simpson (Bart’s brother?)He didn’t play the same character in each film- he was always someone different…and I didn’t notice his name in the credits of the current film.
Why are prom nights such a perfect setting for horror flicks? We’ll examine that- in tomorrow’s blog!

Let me quickly thank our pal Kevin J. O’Connor, who, in an interview in yesterday’s Sun Times movie section, made some nice comments about me. You can catch him in “There Will Be Blood” which comes out on dvd this week…
Tonight at 9, meet the offspring of our favorite blood-sucking count- as Lon Chaney Jr. plays something more sedate and elegant than the simpering, paranoid, depressed Wolf Man Larry Talbot- he’s the “Son of Dracula!”
Many have commented that Lon Jr. was an odd choice to play
the latest Count- but he does manage to pull it off-establishing the cycle of Draculas with little moustaches and no Transylvanian accent that John Carradine would subscribe to!
Our story concerns the daughters of a wealthy Southern family, one of whom is a Goth gal before it became popular, and visited Transylvania-where she became close friends with one Count Alucard (watch people in the movie puzzle over that name, and dance around what it obviously spells backwards!)
She arranges for the count to come visit America, not realizing that he has sinister plans for this country that is so ripe for the siphoning off its life’s blood. See the Count start a new body count in the bayou country (what is it about these bayous that lure our monster pals? Didn’t the Mummy make a stop in the swamps as well?) He even arranges for one of the daughters to join him in the realm of the undead- and soon, it becomes necessary to get the local authorities to believe in vampires and learn the real identity of the “Son of Dracula!”
Make sure you watch for the same violation of vampire film lore in this film, as we saw with Bela Lugosi in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”- we’ll make sure to point it out for you on the show. In addition, there are some cool Sven bits in this one-including my Beach Boys ballad about our “Surfer Ghoul” who skims the surface of the bayou on his coffin- and – as I’ve mentioned –the premiere appearance of our feature “Svengoolie’s Shriek Previews”-giving you a look at the upcoming remake of “Prom Night!” You’ll find additional “Prom Night” fun all this upcoming week here on the WCIU/Sven website, including some webisodes. We’re hoping that the “Previews” will be an occasional feature on the show, where we’ll get to plug new movies in the horror genre.   
That’s the lowdown on the complete Sven package for tonight on WCIU at 9 pm, and our beloved sister station Me-TV at
1 am !

I mentioned yesterday that I would relate the story of how Ernie Banks almost made an appearance on the Svengoolie show- and so- I shall.
This was pretty early on in the program history here at “the U”- probably around the second year. The Cubs great had come to the station, I believe, to do an interview with our old friend Jack Taylor over on the “Stock Market Observer “ business show that was the original mainstay of WCIU. He very graciously was signing autographs for his many fans here, and, since I was not there, one of our associate producers asked him to sign something to me- which I still have- she only had one of my old Svengoolie still photos on hand (to show Ernie who he was signing for)-and he signed the photo “Aim high!” She laughed and wondered if he meant in throwing rubber chickens at me- then asked him if he would like to be a celebrity chicken-chucker on the show!(You’ve no doubt seen celebrities and local names show up on the program doing that…)
Ernie seemed more than happy to do so- and told her to get in touch with his people to set it up. He even told one co-worker as he was leaving- “the next time you see me here, I’ll be chucking chickens!” how cool would that have been?!
…and then- nothing happened. Our associate producer made the call, and got hold of a woman who had been with Ernie as his public relations person or handler or whatever- she might have even been related to him-and she was very cold to the idea, eventually saying that she didn’t think Ernie could do it.
Our producer said she felt that whoever this lady was, SHE was one who thought it was a bad idea, or that maybe it was not suitable for Ernie to do so. So ended our hopes of having “Mr. Cub”- the guy who always wanted to play TWO every day-
as a Sven chicken-chucker.
Other athletes certainly weren’t worried about showing up-Bears great Chris Zorich was happy to come in and fling chickens at me (embarrassing me by saying that he had been watching me since he was a little guy- which MUST have been a long time ago!)-and other sports figures seem to be happy to associate with Sven. Former Bears Otis Wilson, Tom Thayer, Keith Van Horn, and Steve “Mongo” McMichael have proclaimed themselves Sven fans- and White Sox great Bill Melton, as well as Ozzie Gullien, who made an appearance with us as a player- and even remembered us and said hello a year later when we were at the ballpark!
Even the Bulls Will Purdue spotted me once at the United Center, and said- “hey! There’s Svengoolie!” So, Ernie- should you ever decide for yourself that you want to throw chickens at me- what the heck, let’s throw TWO today! You’ll always be welcome to join us!
And- join us tomorrow night on Sven for a special “Shriek Previews” feature! More about that in our next blog…  

All right- for all those of you who were guessing which item in my April 1st blog was the “April Fool” phony item…none of the