The final show was November 6, 1982. The final movie shown was "Corridors of Blood." The Saturday-afternoon show went on hiatus for sporting events and holiday programming. On April 28, 1983, the Detroit Free Press announced that WJBK-TV's new general manager Bill Flynn had canceled the show and not renewed Lawson Deming's contract, ending the 15 year run.
Deming also developed a sidekick named Baruba (dressed in a monk's outfit and hood, so you couldn't see the face), who did his bidding. Perhaps the most beloved character was The Glob, whose face appeared (via early special effects) in the moon above the cemetery set. (The face was actually Sir Graves', upside-down, with eyes and nose painted on the chin.) The Glob's main role was to lip sync silly parody songs, such as "I Wanna Bite Your Hand" and "Ghoul Days."
Other characters included Reel McCoy (a diminutive caretaker who would dig up the movie reels at the beginning of the show), Tilly Trollhouse (a castle maid with a deep Bela Lugosi accent, played by Deming in drag) and Sir Graves' German-accented cousin, Baron Boogaloff. While billed as a kids' show, Deming's sly sense of humor often flew over the heads of children, which might explain why a TV2 ratings poll in 1971 showed that about one-third of his audience were adults.
Other characters included Reel McCoy (a diminutive caretaker who would dig up the movie reels at the beginning of the show), Tilly Trollhouse (a castle maid with a deep Bela Lugosi accent, played by Deming in drag) and Sir Graves' German-accented cousin, Baron Boogaloff. While billed as a kids' show, Deming's sly sense of humor often flew over the heads of children, which might explain why a TV2 ratings poll in 1971 showed that about one-third of his audience were adults.