I was happily surprised to run into Mr. Lobo and Dixie at the annual FRIGHT NIGHT FILM FEST in Kentucky! As mentioned in our recent Atomic Age Cinema piece, horror hosts were slated to appear at this event but Mr. Lobo wasn’t one of them. Needless to say, the sight of the spectacled host wearing his signature suit & green/black striped tie was a welcomed one at that! I found the mastermind of Cinema Insomnia chatting with Blake Powell, the guru behind Midnite Mausoleum, and wasted no time interrupting the two late night TV mavericks.
Category Archives: Horror Hosts
HORROR HOSTS & POLITICS: Dr David Lady on the Big Top Radio!
There’s an old adage that says one should never talk about politics or religion while in a social venue. Kenosha Public Access host, Dr Destruction, on the other hand, can’t seem to get away from the former! Often espousing his own views via his weekly Crimson Theatre, Dr Destruction was even prompted to make his own run for Mayor some years back. While he would not win, he did make friends with many of his local politicians including the current Mayor of Kenosha – Keith Bosman.
Tribute to Jerry G. Bishop’s SVENGOOLIE!
Svengoolie autograph from the collection of Richard Church!
In 1970, the original Svengoolie hit the Chicago airwaves and the Windy city hasn’t been the same since! The vampire hippy, with his quick wit, rubber chickens, and hilarious commercial/song parodies made for a night of side-splitting entertainment in a region that had been starved of a horror host since Shock Theatre (Marvin’s) departure a decade before.
ATOMIC AGE CINEMA: Kentucky Fried Riff Trax is a Rocky Horror!
It was hot down in Kentucky for the recent FRIGHT NIGHT FILM FEST which saw the appearance of John Carpenter, Linda Blair, and Henry Winkler – along with a cache’ of independent films to be unveiled to an overheated (it was humid and like 100 degrees, I kid you not) horror audience. Among all these events and “A-list” horror celebrities was a small conclave of horror hosts who were invited by Horrorhound’s Jason Hignite to put on a LIVE show. While nowhere near the number of hosts seen at the Indy Horrorhound, FRIGHT NIGHT was visited by Midnite Mausoleum, Captain Crypt & Fenriz Fatal from Horror Dungeon, and The Count & Countess Gregula. Mr. Lobo & Dixie from Cinema Insomnia also made a stop through (to be covered in a future post) and I am pretty sure I saw Mel Praxis walking around too, but was on my way to the John Carpenter Q&A and never able to formerly meet him.
Horror Host Lost & Found: The Winner of 2007’s “Search for the Next Elvira!”
Back in October of 2007, TV Horror Hostess – Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, debuted her FOX Reality TV show “The Search for the Next Elvira.” The premise of the show was for attractive young contestants to don their own slinky, black dresses while displaying their own hosting skills via a televised competition. Though technically a “reality” game show, this was no “Survivor” nor “Donald Trump’s Apprentice.” The show never took itself too seriously and the “camp” factor was about as high as the very films Elvira had been famous for hosting. Losing contestants scream in terror as they are “disintegrated” in a cavalcade of computerized fire and brimstone.
Son of Svengoolie Channels “American Werewolf in London” David Naughton!
EXCERPT FROM SVENGOOLIE NEWSLETTER 7/29/11
Our “Photo of the Month” is actually an autographed picture this time, thanks to our pal Dave Fuentes of the “Terror from beyond the Daves” website that he does along with Dave Albaugh. Dave went to a convention, where he met David Naughton- star of “An American Werewolf in London” – and those “I’m a Pepper/You’re a Pepper” TV commercials from the 70s. He told David about the old commercial parody we did years ago at WFLD where I combined the soft drink commercial with his werewolf transformation from the movie. Mr. Naughton said he had indeed heard of me, and thought the parody idea was “genius” (oh, now, you’re making me blush!). He also signed the below autographed picture for me, indicating that he drinks Dr. Rabies, too! He also told Dave to give me his congratulations on our program going national!
Terror from Beyond the Dave 
