42 Years Ago Today

It seems like only yesterday...

I'm just kidding. No. It doesn't.

It seems like we've always had Svengoolie on our TV screens every Saturday night--first on WFLD (now Chicago's Fox affiliate), then on WCIU, and now on the ME-TV network.

But no. He had to start somewhere, and on June 16, 1979, he showed up on our TV screens for the very first time as Son of Svengoolie.

His show stayed on for several years, ending in 1986. And that, it seemed, was that.

Until it wasn't.

In January 1995, Son of Sven returned to the airwaves, now on WCIU, the U, and now just Svengoolie, the "Son of" having been lopped off with the permission of the original Sven, Jerry G. Bishop.

He still shows old horror and sci-fi movies--some great, some awful--with the same corny sense of humor and same thorough knowledge of the genres every Saturday night (with reruns the following Saturday at 11 a.m. on--surprise!--WCIU).

Happy Anniversary, Sven. Long may your rubber chickens fly.