Welcome to the table,
I hope your haunted holidays are full of warmth and cheer. I’ve been thinking a lot about TV horror hosts. For those of you who don’t know (readers under 40), a horror host is a TV personality who is typically in character and serves as the host or presenter of a program that features horror films and low-budget movies on television or the Internet.
Normally the character being portrayed is a campy or humorous one and even when they look a little scary they are fairly kind and joyful in nature. These hosts give commentary on the movie during breaks in the film and there are normally little skits featuring side characters or guests creating these fun little self-contained universes around these hosts.
The first television horror host was known as Vampira, played by Maila Nurmi. Like most of the horror hosts who would come after, The Vampira Show featured mostly low-budget suspense films, as few horror films had yet been released for television broadcast. It ran from 1954-1955 only in the Los Angeles market, but Nurmi’s fan-embraced persona (based on cartoonist Charles Addams‘ Morticia character) became a bit of a cult icon and soon saw fame across magazines, TV, and film.
In 1957, John Zacherle of Philadelphia’s WCAU set the standard format for horror hosts with his Roland character for the station’s Shock Theater. Zacherle’s set, style, film commentary, and special effects were quickly emulated at local stations around the world, and as an homage today by hosts such as the nationally syndicated Svengoolie portrayed by Rich Koz from MeTV.
During Super7‘s Boodega celebration fans of horror hosts and ReAction figures will delight at the Svengoolie ReAction figure! For over 40 years, Svengoolie has been a mainstay of late-night horror movie shows and has delighted fans with jokes, flying rubber chickens, and parody songs as they watch classics of the genre on Saturday nights on MeTV.
This 3.75” scale, articulated ReAction Figure of Svengoolie depicts the legendary TV presenter looking equal parts spooky and zany and includes a signature rubber chicken accessory. Once you add the ReAction Figure of Svengoolie to your collection, you can cue up your favorite vintage horror movie and relive the horror host icon’s hijinks in person, and honestly, who does not want that?
As I have come to expect, the packaging on these is brilliant. You can score your very own Svengoolie at this link.
Until next time, The time has come for scary things. Like vampires, ghosts, and vampire wings, Like horrible movies, all drippy and drooly. And horrible hosts like him, Svengoolie!
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