The Cool Ghoul was a popular radio and TV character and horror movie host in Cincinnati, Ohio, created and portrayed by Dick Von Hoene, a Cincinnati native. With his trademark shout "Bleah, bleah, BLEAAAHHH!" and his inimitable tongue-fluttering "Bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl...", The Cool Ghoul was an icon of Cincinnati television, radio and local pop culture for over four decades.
When not donning the makeup and wig on the classic 1970s horror movie show Scream-In, Von Hoene doubled as a news anchor on WXIX, and later hosted other news, radio, and public affairs shows in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, including Northern Kentucky Magazine, which he was hosting at the time of his death.
Cincinnati is a major city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is the government seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city drives the Cincinnati–Middletown–Wilmington combined statistical area, which had a population of 2,172,191 in the 2010 census making it Ohio's largest metropolitan area. With a population of 296,943, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 65th in the United States. Its metropolitan area is the fastest growing economic power in the Midwestern United States based on increase of economic output and it is the 28th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. Cincinnati is also within a day's drive of 49.70% of the United States populace.
Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky. Gallatin, Grant, Pendleton, and Bracken counties are often grouped with the aforementioned and are officially part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area, and are sometimes included in definitions of "Northern Kentucky." Historically, Trimble, Mason, and Lewis counties have also been included in "Northern Kentucky."
Character
The Cool Ghoul's origins date back to 1961, when Von Hoene worked on a WCPO (now WDBZ) radio show called "Bob Smith's Monster Mash". Around that time, The Cool Ghoul started appearing in comedy routines Von Hoene wrote for colleague and puppeteer Larry Smith.
WDBZ is an urban talk-formatted radio station serving Cincinnati, Ohio broadcasting on 1230 AM. The station plays urban talk except for weekdays between 10am and Noon, during which time talk show "The Lincoln Ware Show" airs. Saturday mornings and afternoons also feature talk shows. Owned by Urban One, its studios are located at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati and the transmitter site is in Eden Park.
Larry Smith was a puppeteer and producer of children's programming in the Cincinnati area since 1957. His most notable work was a popular afternoon puppet/cartoon show airing on WXIX Television.
By 1969, Von Hoene had moved into television, working at the fledgling TV station WXIX in Cincinnati. It was at this time that Von Hoene developed a costume for the character. Initially, the character proved to be a little too scary for children, so Von Hoene altered the character to it more silly than scary.
The Cool Ghoul's wig, a bright orange-reddish coiffure, became the trademark for the character. Many years later, Von Hoene was told that it was only the rear half of a wig that costumer Dana Bruce made for a customer who was subsequently killed in a car crash. After the woman's death, the wig had been cut in half - the front from the back - and the front part was reportedly placed on the woman's body in the coffin.
Scream-In
Early 70s Promo slide for Scream-In on WXIX-TV
During the early 1970s, The Cool Ghoul hosted his own Saturday night horror movie show, Scream-In (the name was taken from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In). The Cool Ghoul's campy but loveable sense of humor endeared him to fans both young and old. The Cool Ghoul had visitors on his show often, including Larry Smith's Hattie the Witch.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968 to March 12, 1973 on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. It originally aired as a one-time special on September 9, 1967 and was such a success that it was brought back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8 pm (ET).
Von Hoene could do an uncanny vocal impersonation of horror icon Boris Karloff, and so he was also the off-screen voice announcer for the show. Longtime WXIX announcer Greg Eversull claims Von Hoene's Karloff impression was so good, it even fooled a lady who was the real Karloff's private secretary for 30 years.
William Henry Pratt, better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who was primarily known for his roles in horror films. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932).
In 1971, Von Hoene released The Cool Ghoul's Phantasmagorical Funky Fonograf Record, featuring a parody of the 1920s standard "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" called "Ten Foot Two, Eyes Of Glue (Has Anybody Seen My Ghoul)".
Scream-In ran only three and a half years, but the Cool Ghoul had become so popular that he continued to make numerous public appearances for years, including occasional commercials and annual TV appearances almost every Halloween. As The Cool Ghoul, Von Hoene also took part in various fundraisers in and around Cincinnati with local sports teams. The Cincinnati Reds gave The Cool Ghoul a jersey with the "number zero".
In the early 1980s, Von Hoene took The Cool Ghoul to WCTI-TV in New Bern, North Carolina, earning a new generation of fans in the process.
Personal life
Von Hoene was a Cincinnati native, raised in Madisonville and lived most of his life in Price Hill, both Cincinnati suburbs. He earned a B.A. in history and a M.A. in theater from the University of Cincinnati. His real name and stage name were spelled exactly the same, but pronounced differently; at home it was "Haney", on the air it was "Hane."
Dick Von Hoene died of a heart attack at age 63 on February 4, 2004. He was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.
Inner Sanctum Mystery, also known as Inner Sanctum, a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952, was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels of Simon & Schuster. In all, 526 episodes were broadcast.
Scary Movie is a 2000 American horror comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. The film is a parody of the horror, slasher, and mystery film genres. Several 1990s films and TV shows are spoofed, and the script is primarily based on the horror films Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).
John Zacherle was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, often broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character of "Roland/Zacherley," he also did voice work for movies, and recorded the top ten novelty rock and roll song "Dinner With Drac" in 1958. He also edited two collections of horror stories, Zacherley's Vulture Stew and Zacherley's Midnight Snacks.
Ghoulardi was a fictional character invented and portrayed by voice announcer, actor and disc jockey Ernie Anderson as the horror host of Shock Theater at WJW-TV, Channel 8 in Cleveland, Ohio, from January 13, 1963, through December 16, 1966. Shock Theater featured grade-"B" science fiction films and horror films, aired in a Friday late-night time slot. At the peak of Ghoulardi's popularity, the character also hosted the Saturday afternoon Masterpiece Theater, and the weekday children's program Laurel, Ghoulardi and Hardy.
WXIX-TV, virtual channel 19, is a Fox-affiliated television station serving Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that is licensed to Newport, Kentucky. The station is owned by Gray Television. WXIX-TV's studios are located at 19 Broadcast Plaza on Seventh Street just west of downtown Cincinnati, and its transmitter is located in the South Fairmount neighborhood on the northwest side of Cincinnati.
Svengoolie is a hosted horror movie show in the U.S. The show's title is taken from the name of the character host. The show is a long-running local program in the Chicago area and in recent years expanded nationally, airing Saturday nights on MeTV.
Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee, and is the third entry in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster. It is also the first to feature Bela Lugosi as Ygor. The film is the sequel to James Whale's Bride of Frankenstein, and stars top-billed Basil Rathbone, Karloff, Lugosi and Lionel Atwill.
Ronald D. Sweed was an American entertainer and author, known for his late-night television horror host character "The Ghoul".
Saturday Night Dead was a television program that hosted B horror films from 1984 to 1990 on KYW-TV, Channel 3, which at that time was the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, PA. The program ran after the network's late-night program Saturday Night Live at 1 am, and was a cult favorite.
A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror films and low-budget B movies are shown on television or the internet. Usually the host assumes a horror-themed persona, often a campy or humorous one. Generally there are breaks in the film where the host comments on various aspects of the movie. Many horror host shows also include skits involving the hosts themselves, sometimes with a sidekick or other supporting characters. Some better-known horror hosts include Vampira, Zacherley, Ghoulardi, Sinister Seymour, Dr. Creep, The Ghoul, The Cool Ghoul, Svengoolie, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Creature Features was a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local U.S. television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The movies broadcast on these various shows were generally classic and cult horror movies of the 1930s to 1950s, the horror and science-fiction films of the 1950s, British horror films of the 1960s, and the Japanese "giant monster" movies of the 1960s and 1970s.
Count Scary was a character who hosted monthly specials presenting B movie horror films with comedy skits on Detroit television station WDIV from 1982 to the early 1990s.
The Vampira Show was an American variety show hosted by Vampira. The series aired on the Los Angeles ABC television affiliate KABC-TV from April 30, 1954, through April 2, 1955. The series was produced and created by Hunt Stromberg, Jr., and featured the Vampira character created by Maila Nurmi.
A ghoul is an evil spirit from Arabian folklore.
The Son of Ghoul is a horror host played by Keven Scarpino, appearing on The Son of Ghoul Show based in Akron, Ohio, where a B movie is presented along with comedy sketches.
Glenn Ryle Schnitker was a long-time television personality in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best remembered by Cincinnatians for hosting the Skipper Ryle Show for seventeen years on WKRC Television.
The Cool Ghoul of northeastern Ohio was played by George Cavender. The show was popular in the 1970s, and 80’s and 90’s appearing on several stations in the area. The first was WJAN-TV 17 in Canton, Ohio, WOAC-TV 67 and in Cleveland on WOIO-TV 19.
Jerry G. Bishop was a radio and television personality who is known for being Chicago's original "Svengoolie", and for his award-winning twelve-year stint on "Sun-Up San Diego."
Edwin Lynn Raub was a television personality and horror host under the name Uncle Ted in the Northeastern Pennsylvania viewing area of the United States. He is mostly known for hosting the programs Uncle Ted's Children's Party in the 1960s, Uncle Ted's Ghoul School from 1974–1982 and Uncle Ted's Monstermania from 1984–1997. He was posthumously inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame in 2014. According to his first sidekick Richard Briggs: "He was a living legend, one of those guys who was around when (television) started up, and there's not too many of those guys around anymore."
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