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MeTV horror movie czar ‘Svengoolie’ connects with viewers nationwide
IT’S not always glamorous being a nationally known horror TV host. Just ask Rich Koz, aka MeTV’s kooky horror czar “Svengoolie,” who, in the spirit of Halloween, spoke to The Post about the part he’s played for the past 44 years. “I used to use a fake mustache that I would have to stick on with spirit gum [adhesive], and under the hot [TV] lights it would come off so I would add more spirit gum,” said Koz (pronounced “Koze”). “I remember going to my dentist and he said, ‘Something is wrong with your mouth.’ It turned out I used so much spirit gum that it leaked into my mouth and affected my gums.
“I was always a big fan of Groucho [Marx],” Koz said, “so now I paint on the mustache.”
Koz, 71, inherited the Svengoolie role from creator Jerry G. Bishop and hasn’t looked back (he was originally known as “Son of Svengoolie”). He’s one of the last authentic horror TV hosts, upholding a tradition that, over the years, produced local personalities past and present including Zacherle (“Chiller Theater” on Ch. 11 in New York), Dr. Paul Bearer (Florida), Elvira and Vampira (LA), Sir Graves Ghastly (Detroit), Dr. Gangrene (Tennessee) and Ghoulardi (Cleveland), to name just a few. On MeTV’s “Svengoolie,” which airs Saturdays at 8 p.m., Koz and his crew (Chris Faulkner, Jim Roche and audio guy Credo) screen different horror movies each week; Svengoolie comments on the action with lighthearted banter and trivia on that week’s film(s).
Svengoolie is currently in the thick of his “Halloween BOOnanza” showcasing horror-movie double features.
(The Oct. 21 double-feature is “Kolchak: Night Stalker” followed by “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” starring Raymond Burr, at 10:30 p.m.)
“I think one of the most important things is to be entertaining and not necessarily detract from the movies we show,” Koz said. “It’s about being there to connect with the viewers. We end up being treated as a friend by them; I notice that when I do personal appearances it’s as if we’ve known each other for years.”
It takes Koz around a half hour to get into his makeup and he’s changed his Svengoolie look only slightly over the years. “For a while, I wore a red turtleneck and that was not a smart idea because, again, the [hot] lights, he said.
“It’s a character, and I think people expect the host of horror movies to be some sort of horror character,” he said. “For a short time … I did a show here in Chicago where I was just myself; the whole premise was that I was a disgruntled employee who was breaking into the station’s TV signal each week and running a movie … which was supposed to be ‘Lassie, Come Home,’ but I would run something else entirely.
“That worked and it was fine,” he said, “but people really like the Svengoolie character and have really taken to it.”
Koz grew up in Morton Grove, Ill. and remembers watching local TV host Terry Bennett, who played a Beatnick ghoul called Marvin and, of course, Bishop/Svengoolie when he graduated high school. “We had a similar sense of humor and I ended up working for him, and he was the one who decided I would be heir to his Svengoolie throne,” Koz said.
“He was a big influence on me, but not every host was a horror movie host here [in the Chicago area]. Jerry did one of those dialing-for-dollars shows and we had a morning show, The Prize Movie. Another one of my mentors was Dick Orkin, the guy who did all the great ‘Chickenman‘ radio shows and ‘The Secret Adventures of the Tooth Fairy. For a short time, he did a show as Ramonde LaRue, a sort of slimy showbiz guy who showed regular movies.”
Koz said he’s very flattered by other horror hosts who’ve sung his praises over the years.
“I’m very proud of the fact that, although I saw very little of Zacherle’s work, and we never met personally, we had a go-between who spoke to him and he thought what I did was good, and I took that as a big compliment,” he said. “Elvira, too, has always been very complimentary and kind in mentioning that she enjoys what I do.
“Those are badges of honor for me.”