Shock Theater

At least, if you were lucky enough to live in Cleveland in the mid-60s. The Ghoulardi show aired Friday nights and again Saturday afternoon. It was a great way to catch all the horror and sci-fi flicks that were made. I mean, where else were you going to get the chance to eventually catch all of Jon Agar's flicks? Ghoulardi was a certified phenomenon by '65. Merchandise was everywhere, from t-shirts and sweat shirts to special drinks at the Manners Big Boy restaurant. I remember the Ghoulardi shake, served in a plastic mug with Ghoulardi's face on it, drunk through a licquorice straw. One of the classic bits on the show was blowing up model kits. The movie would fade out and up would come a close-up of, say, a battleship with a fuse sticking out of a smokestack. A hand would come in with a lit match and light the fuse. The fuse would burn down, the ship would explode, and cut to a commercial.... Ghoulardi also did the first music video I ever saw, a dramatization of the Royal Guardsmen's pop hit, "Snoopy versus the Red Baron."

When Ernie Anderson's buddy Tim Conway made it semi-big in Hollywood, Ernie decided to follow him westward. He eventually made it big as an announcer for ABC. Any time you heard a voiceover, chances were it was Ernie's golden voice.

Enjoyed reading all the comments. His favorites lines included "purple knif" and "turn blue". He was the ultimate contrast for us kids growing up in the early 60's, from the conservative upbringing in those days. I remember the movie "Cyclops" where the crew sent to find their lost associate are combing the jungle for him. Ghoulardi was superimposed, saying "this way guys, just follow the beer cans". His irreverance to Dorothy Fuldheim, who was married (I believe) to the owner of the station, ensuring her tenure. A rumor passed through our town that if we gathered enough signatures, he would come to our school to do a show. He thanked us on the air, but said no chance. We loved him anyway. Not much to do in those days, but his show was a nice break.

Before Cinema Insomnia, before Elvira, before MST3K/Cinematic Titanic/Rifftrax, and before Svengoolie, there was Ernie Anderson- Ghoulardi. One of the most outrageous(-ly funny) shows to hit Northeast Ohio (or anywhere, for that matter)! The show brimmed with all sorts of laugh-out-loud mischief, such as Ghoulardi messing around with the cheesy "B"-grade and "Z"-grade films he presented, cracking (frequently off-color) jokes, and, yes, even setting off M-80s and other firecrackers on set. The show's lifespan was then later expanded after Anderson left for Hollywood, as it was overhauled into "Hoolihan and Big Chuck", with WJW's weatherman Bob "Hoolihan" Wells, and Ernie's cameraman, "Big" Chuck Schodowski (who is most recognizable for his "certain ethnic" bits). After Wells departed Cleveland, another generation (mine) then saw the continuation of the series with Chuck and wee-sized local jeweler John Rinaldi (as "The Big Chuck and Lil' John Show"). Although Big Chuck and Lil' John no longer make new episodes of the show, they continue to host their old skits, still making Saturday mornings fun after all these years! Furthermore, the Ghouldari character has a successor as well in the "Son of Ghoul", who also continues to host his own show on Northeastern Ohio TV. Stay sick, ya finks! Turn blue!

Growing up in northeastern Ohio, Ghoulardi was the King of Saturdays. What could compare to watching B&W "sci fi" monster movies overdubbed with the Rivington's "Papa Oom Mow Mow"? Or a scene of an exploding Plasticville "five & dime" cut into a rampaging Japanese Gojira?

When compared to the other "personalities" on offer (Dorothy Fuldheim and Jungle Larry were leading lights), Ernie was the only talent who could make a Cleveland TV station watchable. How I wish I still had my bilious green and lavender "Turn Blue" sweatshirt -- and a set of all the "Shock Theater" broadcasts on DVD (PLEASE, Channel 8, think of the potential revenue)... Although the residents of Parma probably enjoyed Ernie less than this Cantonian. But who could respect the opinion of any polka fan with white socks and a plastic flamingo in their front yard?

Hoolihan & Big Chuck could never fill his boots. And I will never forget the master of the low-budget Saturday SciFi double-feature.

Here's my list, carefully jotted down at the time of broadcast, of movies screened by my hero (I was a teenager living in Cleveland back then) Ghoulardi on his Friday Night at the Cheapies show (not including any Saturday afternoon material where he held forth with Laurel, Ghoulardi and Hardy): Queen of Outer Space, Not of This Earth (memorable for Ghoulardi creating a loop, making for an endless car pursuit sequence), Spy in the Sky, The Atomic Man, From Hell It Came, The Beast with a Million Eyes, The Giant Leeches, The Disembodied, Attack of the Crab Monsters, The Giant Gila Monster, Caltiki the Immortal Monster, Cyclops, The Amazing Colossal Man, Last Woman on Earth, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Undead, The Killer Shrews, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Crazy Mixed-Up Zombies, The Womaneater, The Wasp Woman, Them!, The Brain from the Planet Arous, She-Devil, Voodoo Woman, The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow, Frankenstein: 1970, Kronos, The Monolith Monsters, Fiend Without a Face, Creature with the Atom Brain, The Atomic Submarine, Attack of the Puppet People, Battle of the Worlds, The Phantom Planet, Back from the Dead, Terror in the Haunted House, Creature from the Haunted Sea, Cat Girl, The Day the World Ended, Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, The Flame Barrier, The Giant Behemoth, Ghost Diver, House of Wax, The Man in Half Moon Street, The House on Haunted Hill, The Zombies of Mora Tau, The Hypnotic Eye, The Headless Ghost, The Indestructible Man, Invasion of the Saucer Men, It Conquered the World, Target: Earth, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Snow Creature, Teenagers from Outer Space, Terror from the Year 5000, The Unknown Terror, The Dungeon of Horror. As the great Ernie Anderson used to exclaim: Cool It with the Boom Booms!