John Zacherle may well be the most beloved of all horror hosts. He first hosted a horror film show in Philadelphia called Shock Theater (as many such shows were called in the 1950s) as Roland and later starred in New York on Zacherley at Large as, well, Zacherley, and was wildly popular in both places.
Unlike many horror hosts from the era, like LA's Vampira or Chicago's Mad Marvin, there are some tapes of Zac's broadcasts still in existence. They're fun to watch--at times, his bits (especially where he inserted himself into the movies themselves) were obviously thought out well in advance, while many other times he seemed to just be winging it on live TV. Either way, he appeared to be having a very good time, whether cracking jokes in general or poking fun at the movies he was showing in particular.
Zacherley may also be, quite possibly, the oldest surviving horror host. Zac turned 94 in September, bless him--and, according to his website (yes, he's an old ghoul, but he's still in step with the times), will be appearing, as he has numerous times before, at the annual Chiller Theater Expo in New Jersey. This year's Expo happens this coming weekend--just in time for Halloween.
2 comments:
94! That's just wonderful. I've never seen clips from his shows, only stills. I'd love to attend the Chiller Theater Expo. Have you ever considered going?
Well, now that I know they have that bigass toy fair there, I'd definitely like to go sometie!
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