Son of Svengoolie (1978–1986)

Weekly Television show that originally aired on WFLD 32 in the Chicago area (and originally went by the name "Son of Svengoolie", having been spun off of the original series "Screaming ... See full summary »

Stars:

Rich Koz, Doug Scharf

Cast

Series cast summary:
Rich Koz	...	Son of Svengoolie (148 episodes, 1978-1982)

Storyline

Weekly Television show that originally aired on WFLD 32 in the Chicago area (and originally went by the name "Son of Svengoolie", having been spun off of the original series "Screaming Yellow Theatre" with Jerry G. Bishop as Svengoolie). Starring young wisecracker Rich Koz, the show was an immediate cult favorite, sort of a Dr. Demento of TV, airing multitudes of low budget Sci-Fi and Horror movies, sometimes with Koz's wisecracks and various sound effects thrown in. Temporarily suspended in 1986 when Rupert Murdoch bought WFLD 32 and made it into the current day FOX network, it subsequently found a home on Chicago Cable/UHF station WCIU, where it airs to this day (2003).

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Plot Keywords:

horror host | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site The Svengoolie Web

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Svengoolie

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

WFLD

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aired the film Revenge of the Creature in early 1980s in 3D, as done in old movie house days, and 3D glasses were available from stores all over Chicagoland so that viewers could see the 3D properly.

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Connections

Followed by Svengoolie (1995)

User Reviews

Oddball humor, sci-fi and Horror B-movies, coolness!

A quirky, oddball Chicago area TV show incorporating local guy Rich Koz as the "Svengoolie" character who hosts a series of (mostly) low budget horror and sci-fi movies. The series was originally called "Son of Svengoolie", now simply "Svengoolie", and was actually spun off from a previous series (which Koz was a writer for) called "Screaming Yellow Theatre". Much of the humor is self-deprecating and admittedly cheesy, but is usually funny for just this reason. Koz, in full makeup and costume, opens the show with some slapstick humor and then inbetween the show and commercial breaks, jumps in with more, often with his buddy "Doug Graves" who plays ditties on the piano. The show usually ends with Koz standing in an upright coffin and making a series of jokes so lame that the cameramen start pelting him with rubber chickens. Some low-grade special effects often make an appearance in the form of a moustacioed talking skull and other oddities.

I grew up watching this. It was on once a week, in the evening, after The Incredible Hulk. This show was a major precursor to shows like Mystery Science Theatre 3000, so if you're a fan of that you might get a kick out of this as well.

Cool old movies you don't see very often on TV (if at all!), silly slapstick humor that borrows a lot from The Three Stooges and such. Lots of fun!