Flashback Weekend Diaries: Kids Conquer the Costume Contest!

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Saturday, August 3, 2019, 4:15 PM: I enter Ballroom 1 at the Crowne Plaza in Rosemont and quickly take a seat next to my friend’s, Ron and Angela Urban. Those two always show up to panels and events early and get the best seats. The participants in this year’s costume parade were all lined up against the wall. The first thing I notice is how many kids there are. Usually, the Flashback Weekend costume contest kids division is lucky to have three or four entries. This year, however, they were a force to be reckoned with. But I’m getting ahead of myself here…

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“An Evening with Rich Koz – 40 Years of Svengoolie” at Flashback Weekend!

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The Following highlights were “transcrammed” from the 2019 Flashback Weekend panel celebrating 40 years of Rich Koz’s Svengoolie. The event began with a video presentation narrated by the original Svengoolie – the late Jerry G. Bishop. The panel was moderated by WGN Radio’s Nick Digilio and proved an entertaining 90 minutes – with a few surprises! 

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Svengoolie and that Wacky Wrestling Fundraiser!

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Photo Jim Roche

It’s been over a month and I’m still not sure what to make of horror host, Svengoolie’s, first 2016 appearance. On the surface it sounded like it was tailor made for me; my favorite horror host showing up at a fundraiser revolving around my favorite animals – elephants. The goal was to raise enough cash to help a lucky young lady named Desire’ travel to the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand to work with them. I suppose I should’ve guessed that a unique experience such as this would result in an equally extraordinary send off and that was definitely the case as I stepped into the VFW Hall in Summit, Illinois. It was a large room with a crowd of people, someone dressed up as an elephant, Svengoolie and his producer (Jim Roche) at a signing area, the “King of Geeks” Elliott Serrano, and a big wrestling ring in the middle.

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From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie: Chicago TV Horror Host Book Returns!

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TERROR FROM BEYOND THE DAVES is pleased to announce the re-release of the quintessential guide to Chicago horror hosts and horror programming – “Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie!” I remember buying this book at “Horrorbles” in Berrrr-wyn, Illinois  during its first release. As a die-hard Rich Koz/Svengoolie fan, I was elated to see his visage on the cover of a book. It seems so odd now but, when I look back, I actually used to feel isolated in my fandom of him. Thanks to the Internet and the Svengoolie YAHOO forum I soon discovered that I was far from alone. And, thanks to THIS book, it filled in a lot of Svengoolie-gaps in information that I had been unaware of…

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