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FRIGHTFUL YEARS
It's been a half-century since Zacherley, the 'Cool Ghoul,' first flickered on our TV screens
BY MARK VOGER
STAFF WRITER
At 89, broadcasting legend John Zacherle is a hale and hearty fellow, still buttoning
up his long, black coat, afixing his prop blue jewel to his gold ascot and greeting fans at personal appearances.
At 50, his alter ego, Zacherley the "Cool Ghoul," remains an icon of TV horror and humor.
"When I was young, I used to dress up like an old man. Now, I don't have to," Zacherle often jokes.
It's a busy period for the New Yorker.
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On Friday through Sunday, Zacherle is set to appear at the Chiller Theatre expo in
Parsippany, an event he has toplined twice a year since its inauguration in 1991. Sunday will mark the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of "Shock Theater," the show that launched Zacherle's career. And on Nov. 3, Zacherle will appear at an event marking the 40th anniversary of "Disc-O-Teen," his '60s afternoon dance show, in Elizabeth.
"It's just a great feeling, really," Zacherle says of this whirlwind of activity.
Richard Scrivani of Bergenfield wrote "Good Night, Whatever You Are! My Journey With Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul" (Dynoship), published in 2006. Scrivani appeared on "Disc-O-Teen" as a teenager.
"I was in awe of Zacherley," Scrivani says.
"He was just such a non-egocentric person. He was so accessible. I thought of him as a big brother or something."
Joe LoRe of Fayetteville, Ga., was a camera operator on "Disc-O-Teen."
"I was a fan of Zacherley way before 'Disc-O-Teen' ever happened, when he was doing 'Shock Theatre' on Channel 7 and his shows on the other stations," LoRe says.
"It was an unbelievable thrill to be actually working with him side-by-side. Working with Zacherley on 'Disc-O-Teen' was one of the highlights of my career. I've worked for NBC, ABC and CBS in New York; MTV; five seasons of 'Sesame Street'; so I've been around."
Myke Scavone of Eatontown is a member of the Doughboys, a rock group that appeared on "Disc-O-Teen" and will perform at the Elizabeth reunion.
"Zach was the coolest guy," Scavone says.
"He still is. When I was 10 years old, I used to dress up like him for Halloween."
'An icon to all of us'
Kevin Clement is the founder of the Chiller Theatre expo.
"Zach is the man," declares Clement.
"If it wasn't for Zacherley, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today with the
conventions. Zach has told me that when he does Chiller Theatre, it's like tana leaves to the Mummy. It revitalizes him every six months," Clement adds (referring to a plot point in Universal Studios' "Mummy" film series).
"We couldn't have done the show all these years without Zach. There's nobody in the world like Zach. He's just an icon to all of us. Zach is the original horror host. The man's been doing it for 50 years. It's a job that probably should have lasted one summer."
Clement isn't that far off.
Nobody — least of all Zacherle himself — could have guessed that TV history was being made when, on Oct. 7, 1957, "The Million Dollar Movie Presents the Shock Theater" debuted on Channel 10 in Philadelphia. The first film shown was "Frankenstein" (1931) starring Boris Karloff. Zacherle then called himself "Roland."
He won the role after earlier playing an undertaker on a Western soap opera titled "Action in the Afternoon." Although Zacherle was now hosting horror movies, he was hardly an expert on the film genre.
"I had never seen those films at all when I was a kid," Zacherle says with a laugh.
"I wasn't allowed to see them in the 1930s when they were made — the old black-and-white horror films like 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula.' Suddenly, I found myself doing this."
Zacherle recalls he performed an introduction, eight "intermissions" and a finale — all absolutely live.
"I'd do a crazy little experiment, which we would stretch out through all the intermissions," he recalls.
"Any experiment I did had to last all night. I had to make sure I didn't get too far
ahead, or I'd be out of things to do and say toward the end. So it was kind of exciting."
The excitement was contagious to viewers in Philadelphia.
"We were a big, big, big hit," Zacherle says.
"We topped the charts there, so to speak, when they decided to have an open house on a Saturday afternoon, to see how many people were really watching the show. They knew they had good ratings, but they wanted to have something physical. The station claimed that 12,000 people showed up; the cops said 8,000. I have no idea if either of them were correct, but it was one huge mob. That got a lot of people's attention."
That and a novelty hit single, "Dinner With Drac," helped Zacherle's fame grow outside of the Philly area.
"Suddenly, I found myself in New York City," Zacherle recalls of an offer from Channel 7 to host "Shock Theatre," which debuted on Sept. 22, 1958. The first film shown was "Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1935) starring Claude Rains. Zacherle renamed himself "Zacherley."
Live from New York
As in Philadelphia, Zacherle's early New York broadcasts were live.
"I was here long enough to enjoy the same situation of live television," Zacherle says.
"It was an amazing experience. I think I was very lucky to have those experiences. Because many people who had been in television, doing live dramatic series and so on, had the same feeling I had, only more so, when suddenly they were told, 'Hey, we have something new, videotape! And it's not going to be live anymore.'"
In New York, Zacherle station-hopped. By the mid '60s, he was hosting "Disc-O-Teen" for Channel 47 in Newark.
Recalls Zacherle: "Because it was me in my costume — and the history I had with the scary movies — we made it look a little spooky on the dance floor."
Zacherle lauded the area teenagers who danced on "Disc-O-Teen."
"They were so faithful and so wonderful to come there every day — in the wintertime, getting home after dark and all that," he says.
"And of course, in 1967, the riots happened all over the country. That was happening in Newark also. I remember after the riots began, the next day we had three girls show up with their father. And the Sweet Inspirations, who were booked to sing for us, showed up, too. They lived in Newark, so they came over.
"So we did a dancing show with three girls and three ladies who were singing. But we had fun."
Fittingly, the final broadcast of "Disc-O-Teen" was on Halloween 1967. By that summer, Zacherle landed a spot as a DJ on WNEW-FM alongside Scott Muni, Jonathan Schwartz and Alison Steele.
He maintains that this amazing career path was wholly unplanned.
"It was a great experience, it really was," Zacherle says.
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. All this stuff just kind of happened to me. I
never dreamed I was going to do that kind of thing in my life."
— Zacherley is scheduled to appear at the Chiller Theatre Toy, Model & Film Expo alongside Val Kilmer, Henry Winkler, Traci Bingham, May Pang, David Faustino, Marcia Wallace, Frank Stallone, Elvira, Seka and 60 others at 6-11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at the Hotel Parsippany, One Hilton Court, Parsippany. $25 per day. (973) 267-7373. www.chillertheatre.com.
— The Disc-O-Teen Reunion Celebration featuring Zacherley, the Doughboys, former "Disc-O-Teen" dancers and surprise guests is scheduled to be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Hilton Newark Airport Hotel, 1170 Spring St., Elizabeth. $55 per person; $99 per couple. For registration information, log onto www.wnjut47.com.
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