Svengoolie Goes Full Tilt for “Pinball Life!”

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So far as fall days go, you couldn’t ask for anything better than Friday October 16th in Illinois. The sun was shining with temps hovering in the ‘60s and it was one of those rare weekdays I was scheduled off. Best of all, it was on a day when national commercial TV horror host, Svengoolie, was making one of his Halloween season appearances! This one was about 90 minutes northwest from my place in the village of Huntley, Illinois.  I was familiar with the rural town as my sister used to teach school there several years back and this had been our favorite time of year to visit her. It meant postcard perfect fall leaves and a visit to one of the numerous apple orchards and pumpkin patches found in that region. Today would be a lot different.

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A Mad Monster Party with Svengoolie!

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This year’s Flashback Weekend offered something different from previous years and specifically geared towards younger horror fans; a screening of the 1967 Rankin/Bass Mad Monster Party hosted by national commercial TV horror host, Svengoolie! Though not as popular as the animation team’s Christmas TV specials (Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, The Year without a Santa Claus, etc.) this full-length film featured the voice work of the legendary Karlos Borloff as well as Phyllis Diller!

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Svengoolie at Flashback Weekend!

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There’s a whole room reserved for national commercial TV horror host, Svengoolie, to his fans at Flashback Weekend. I was informed by my friend, Don Johnston that he and his crew arrived and headed straight there from the main ballroom. Don manages the event’s hotel, the Crown Plaza in Rosemont, and is a great guy who often grants me event and parking passes in exchange for helping out where needed. In this instance it was to direct fans into the room he was in while seeing to it the line stayed moving. Lucky for these folks, waiting in line involved sitting in chairs that wrapped around the room’s perimeter. After fans got up to meet him, the rest would simply move down the corresponding number of chairs until it was their turn. It may sound goofy but, trust me, as someone who has stood in line for hours to meet a convention guest before, being able to sit in a comfortable seat for the duration was worth its weight in gold!

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Svengoolie Collides with “Mystery Science Theater 3000!”

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National TV horror host, Svengoolie,  has never had any trouble attracting long lines at C2E2 (Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo)  and this year would be no exception. The only notable difference was the time of his appearance; earlier than previous years and conflicting with the photo op time tickets I had for Stan Lee. Fortunately C2E2 is a well-oiled machine and despite missing his arrival I was still able to get to him rather quickly…though hardly alone.

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The 2015 Hearse Show was quite a ride!

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On Saturday June 13th I headed up to Lombard, Illinois to attend a Hearse Show. Not only did the event promise a collection of automobiles specifically designed to deliver you to your final destination but also live music and a visit from national horror host Svengoolie. As someone who firmly believes that Halloween is much more a state of mind rather than just a date on the calendar, an occasion such as this was just too darn fun to pass up! Joining me for the ride was my friend, Susan, a gal who also enjoys the macabre. Continue reading →

The Terror Daves visit Svengoolie at the Studio Part 2!

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Dave: Doug Scharf (a.k.a. Doug Graves) arrived at the studio and this was a big deal to me. I’d watched him accompany Svengoolie during his musical numbers since I was eight years old as well as participate in various skits and viewer mail segments. He settled in and I was particularly happy to see that he’d brought his horn with him which meant I’d get to see him play two instruments for two different numbers! As soon as he arrived, he and Sven hunkered down Sven to discuss their segments.

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