"I Was A TV Horror Host" by John Stanley – Like New [Benefits Scares That Care]

Description: I WAS A TV HORROR HOST: MEMOIRS OF A CREATURE FEATURES MAN by John Stanley Mr. Stanley was a TV horror host of "Creature Features" on KTVU-2 in San Francisco as part of his life-long romance with horror films and personalities. Like Joe Bob Briggs, he's also a prolific film critic, sometimes-filmmaker, and author of nearly a dozen books of and about a genre older than motion pictures, which we fans affectionately and enthusiastically call "horror." Published by Creature Features Press, 2007.Large paperback, 201 pages, with text and photographs throughout. ISBN: 0940064111 ISBN-13: 978-0940064119 ** SCARES THAT CARE WILL RECEIVE PART OF THE PROCEEDS FROM THIS SALE, IN MEMORY OF SID HAIG AND SO MANY OTHER HORROR LEGENDS WHO DID MORE FOR FANS THAN THEY COULD EVER KNOW. ** [Original synopsis and author bio are below these next couple paragraphs of my own drivel. Feel free to slide that scroll bar down to the next red note...] John Stanley is a member of one of the most iconic yet informal clubs of entertainers on Planet Earth, that being the group of individuals who don the makeup, costumes, and charismatic personalities to host horror movies on television. This group of legends have been icons in the genre for generations of viewers - and they continue to be no matter how many people "cut the cable." In the past they were usually on local public access stations (with wages that reflected that), spoofing movies and reading fan mail and making masterpieces out of (frankly) 75 minutes of cheese. Insomniacs and mutants and friends at sleepovers would twist the dial or punch the remote until they landed on the station. The programs were always aired late at night but the gems viewers would see ranged from Poe to Price to Poltergeist. Stanley's book is highly illustrative of the characters who carved out their niche with characters as perfectly presented as Elvira's... stage. Numerous filmmakers and stars of cult favorites are interviewed, all with praise and perspective for the fans. And although we've lost some of the greats, the bloody baton is being passed on to a modern horror crowd. Millions of people still tune in to watch absolutely anything so long as the tradition continues - and it's not only continuing, it's proliferating due to online streaming and the facility of internet personalities to gather fans and enjoy the terrifying treats available to stream. There are veterans known coast to coast participating in the business that's migrated from local late-night to cable and now to the internet. Personalities like Svengoolie, Joe Bob Briggs, and Elvira have as many - or even more - fans than they ever did when a network aired their programs. They're among many TV horror hosts mentioned in this book by Stanley. Horror has lost some legendary members of this beloved group, like the Cool Ghoul, Zacherley, who I'm sure straightens his jacket tails and puts his feet up alongside Ghoulia, Count Gore de Vol, Bob Wilkins, Rod Sterling, Vampira, and many more who entertained in local media markets only - or radio. The surge of online media platforms and digital access to thousands of films - many which never had physical releases, much less cans containing film reels - has given rise to a new generation of fearless personalities - many of them supported directly by viewers, not networks. They were born in Blockbuster and raised on the internet, and can be joined by fans around the world. There will be no substitutes for the departed personalities, but the tradition continues and evolves to serve the fans heaping plates of raw meat with generous portions of cheese. Just in my lifetime, I've witnessed my own city's "Cool Ghoul" on public television, then the fuzzy stations of nearby markets with kung-fu and kaiju, the ascendancy to uncensored stations marked by Joe Bob's Drive=In Theater in the '80s on The Movie Channel, HBO's Tales from the Crypt, followed soon after by a new cult program with significant overlap in Mystery Science Theater 3000 (or MST3K). Joe Bob reeled in another generation, some Gen X but mostly millennials when he debuted MonsterVision on TNT. Elvira easily crossed over into Hollywood with starring roles and a long series of horror films hosted by her, commercial-free. Horror film festivals sprouted up. Streaming channels like Chiller, Screambox, Full Moon, Troma Now, and Shudder launched. Today, scarcely a day goes by when there isn't a virtual watch-along available to fans online. Today's horror community, inspired by the strange and unusual caricatures mentioned above and throughout Stanley's book, are the most welcoming, inclusive, eclectic, and enthusiastic group of fans who ever sat before screens in their free time. This wonderful book is a history - and an homage - to the horror culture (or is it a cult?) brought into our lives by TV horror hosts. [HERE is the official, non-drivel, info...] From the book synopsis: Once upon a time there were weird TV hosts in costumes who introduced old horror and science fiction movies on late-night programming. John Stanley, who hosted the highly rated "Creature Features" in the San Francisco-Bay Area for six years (1979-84), preferred to be just himself in normal clothing -- but in the process met some of the most unusual entertainment icons of the 20th Century. In addition to an historic overview of creepy storytellers from early movies and the Golden Age of Radio, this pictorial history, including 559 photos, many in print for the first time, updates Stanley's exclusive interview material to describe such leading players as Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and Gene Roddenberry of "Star Trek," Lucille Ball, Arnold Schwarzenegger, fantasy author Ray Bradbury, Psycho novelist Robert Bloch, "Psycho" star Anthony Perkins, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, special effects master Ray Harryhausen, B-picture producer Roger Corman, movie gimmick specialist William Castle, George Romero, and "Star Wars" figures Anthony Daniels, David Prowse and Peter Mayhew. Stanley also profiles fellow horror hosts Joe Bob Briggs, Elvira, Ghoulardi and Zacherley. The result is a swirling cauldron of fascinating media history -- as only Stanley, who spent 33 years at the San Francisco Chronicle writing about movies and TV production, could recast it. About the AuthoFor six years (1979-84) John Stanley hosted the highly rated "Creature Features" in the San Francisco-Bay Area TV market, introducing science fiction and horror movies to a midnight audience, and interviewing the leading actors, producers and directors of the time. He also spent 33 years as an entertainment writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, specializing in interviewing TV and movie stars. He has written 13 books, including six editions of The Creature Features Movie Guide series. His novels include World War II and Bogart/'48. He edited and published Them Ornery Mitchum Boys by John Mitchum. He is a noted Elderhostel instructor (specializing in movies, TV and music) and he constructed crossword puzzles for TV Guide publications for eight years. He holds a BA degree from San Francisco State College. Thanks for checking out my listing. In the instance that I earn your patronage, PLEASE include a note to me about your favorites and I'll add a flick or two with this book... Cheers, mutants!

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Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

End Time: 2024-08-30T20:57:57.000Z

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