Accolades for Rich Koz & the 35th Anniversary of Svengoolie!

Posted on by

IMG

We’d no sooner taken our seats in a special area located on the second floor of The Museum of Broadcast Communication, when we were back up on our feet cheering the arrival of Svengoolie. The man of the hour, Rich Koz, was celebrating his 35th anniversary as Chicago’s (and now the majority of this country’s) TV horror host and the room was chock full of devout fans and prominent citizens eager to participate in this one of a kind event.  It was a serious affair that might otherwise seem in direct contrast to a career built on never taking himself too seriously though, in this case, well-deserved.

Continue reading →

Ursula Bielski & the Ghosts of Lincoln Park Zoo

Posted on by

1

On the evening of  October 16th I changed out of my work clothes and headed up to the city to experience my very first ghost tour. Many of my friends have done these type of things here in Chicago and I know most major cities offer them during the Halloween season. The Windy City’s past is loaded with gangland violence from the days of Al Capone and Prohibition while also boasting one of the country’s first documented serial killers. Mild-mannered Dr. H. H. Holmes would lure visitors of Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition in 1893 to his hotel (later dubbed a “Murder Castle”) for the sole purpose of killing them. In the end he’d confess to twenty-seven slayings, though historians believe that number to be much closer to two hundred.

Such a violent past can not leave any metropolis without its fair share of  myths and legends, and tonight I would learn that one of Chicago’s major attractions, The Lincoln Park Zoo, was resting on secrets of its own.

Continue reading →

Snapshots from Svengoolie Day 2014!

Posted on by

wciu_svengdaypghead (1)

The official Rich Koz Svengoolie Day  for both the State of Illinois as well as the City of Chicago took place just two days ago; October 31, 2014. Halloween is always a busy day for the horror host on any given year but, in lieu of its unique circumstances, this one was particularly demanding. With a schedule loaded with numerous activities at various different locations, the Svengoolie camp had enough on their plates without having a fanboy like myself tagging along. Therefore we Terror Daves were VERY fortunate to have the whole day archived by Sven’s assistant, and our friend, Jim Roche, who granted us permission to share them with you.

As you’re going through these photos, try and remember that this was all taken on a SINGLE day! Of course this wasn’t just any day…it was Svengoolie Day!

DSC_6338

Continue reading →

Svengoolie & Robert Englund: LIVE Talk Show at Flashback Weekend!

Posted on by

DSC_4229 (800x533)

Happy Halloween and, if you live in the State of Illinois, Happy Svengoolie Day! Since hearing the news back in April that October 31, 2014 would not only mark my favorite holiday but also its merging with my favorite horror host, it seemed just too good to be true. Thanks to my formidable fellow fan, Brian Bernardoni, as well as Representative Kay Hatcher, the seemingly impossible has become reality and here we are. Sven will be busier than ever starting with an appearance on the You & Me This Morning Show on Chicago’s WCIU, various bumper spots throughout today’s MeTV programming, a radio appearance on Chicago’s WGN Radio, and stopping off at The United Center to help kick off The Chicago Bulls home opener.  On behalf of The Terror Daves, we would like to congratulate our friend, Rich Koz, on this momentous occasion!

Continue reading →

Celebrating 35 Years of Svengoolie at The Museum of Broadcast Communications!

Posted on by

2

The Museum of Broadcast Communications lies near the foot of Chicago’s Marina Towers which, so far as this night was concerned, was not without its irony. Back when I was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, it was home to our favored UHF station, WFLD Channel 32. Whenever I was home sick from school it provided a welcome alternative to the soap opera-soaked major networks by offering much more satisfying shows such as Tennessee Tuxedo, The Munsters, and Banana Splits.

Of course those programs would only tie me over until the weekend when Channel 32 would unleash its REAL entertainment. On Saturday nights I’d drop a blanket in front of the family television set and prepare for two hours of monsters, air-popped popcorn, and guaranteed laughs via my favorite horror host, Son of Svengoolie. Yes, despite the constant struggle with our TV antennae in an effort to minimize the often snowy reception, my memories of those nights remain crystal clear.

Continue reading →