Russ Jones 124 Chaney Sr
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The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze THE GENESIS Lisa Loring 83 Ken Weatherwax 86 Foreword 4 “Addams” memorabilia 88 Introduction 6 Al Lewis 92 Harbingers 10 Butch Patrick 95 “Shock!” 12 Pat Priest 98 John Zacherle 16 “Munster” memorabilia 102 Vampira: TV pioneer 20 TV ’toons 106 Horror hosts 21 Famous Monsters #1 22 MOBILE MONSTERS James Warren 24 Forrest J Ackerman 26 Jitters ’n’ jalopies 108 MOVIE MONSTERS Ed “Big Daddy” Roth 110 George Barris 114 8mm and Super 8 films 47 Tom Daniel 117 Veteran horror stars 50 Weird-Ohs 118 Boris Karloff remembered 52 The stigma is kaput 121 MONSTERABILIA Mars Attacks 58 Ugly Stickers 62 Trading cards 64 Monster Old Maid 66 Monster iron-ons 68 MAINSTREAM INVASION Monster masks 70 Monsters meet rock ’n’ roll 28 TERRORVISION Bobby (Boris) Pickett 32 Aurora monster models 34 TV anthologies 74 MONSTERS IN PRINT James Bama 38 Spooky sitcom broods 76 Controversial kit 42 John Astin 78 Warren renaissance 122 “Naked” monsters 44 Felix Sila 82 Russ Jones 124 Chaney Sr. and Jr. characters 46 Addams vs. “Addams” 82 Angelo Torres 127 Inset images, from left: “Phantom of the Opera” and “Dracula” © Universal Studios; Freddy Flypogger © Monogram Models in America 1957-1972 Creepy, Eerie, Vampi gallery 128 Written and designed by: Mark Voger Frank Frazetta collage 130 Publisher: John Morrow Basil Gogos 132 Front cover: Shock Monster art by Keith Ward (redrafted and colored by Mark Voger); Barnabas Collins © Dan Greg Bazaz 134 Curtis Productions; “Phantom of the Opera” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” © Universal Studios; Herman Famous Films 136 Munster © Kayro-Vue Productions and ™ Universal Studios; Famous Monsters of Filmland © Warren Castle of Frankenstein 138 Publishing; “Ugly Stickers” art by Norman Saunders © the Monster magazines 139 Topps Company Back cover: Vampirella art by Frank Frazetta © Warren Monster comic books 140 Publishing; “Frankenstein” and “Creature From the Black Lagoon” © Universal Studios; “The Munsters” © Kayro- Marvel Comics monsters 142 Vue Productions and ™ Universal Studios; Uncle Fester © Filmways TV Productions; “Planet of the Apes” © 20th Funny monsters 144 Century Fox THE FINAL CURTAIN For my big brother Bud (1939-2013), “Planet of the Apes” 162 who bought Eerie Publications 164 That old gang of ours 168 me vampire Monster Memory Lane 170 fangs and R.I.P. 1972 182 told me all Epilogue 184 about Roland Acknowledgments 190 Bibliography 190 “Monster Mash: The Creepy, Kooky Monster Craze in America Notes 190 1957-1972” © 2015 Mark Voger Index 191 BARNABAS AND FIENDS ISBN (NUMBER HERE) First printing, (DATE HERE) “Dark Shadows” 146 Printed in (COUNTRY HERE) Jonathan Frid 148 All rights reserved under international copyright conven- tions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form Kathryn Leigh Scott 149 or by electronic or mechanical means, including informa- tion storage and retrieval systems, without permission in Lara Parker 150 writing from Mark Voger, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Inquiries should be David Selby 151 addressed to Mark Voger c/o: TwoMorrows Publishing. Photos credited to Kathy Voglesong “Dark Shadows” ensemble 152 © the estate of Kathy Voglesong. “Dark Shadows” memorabilia 156 Published by: “Dark Shadows” novels 158 TwoMorrows Publishing “Dark Shadows” comic books 159 10407 Bedfordtown Drive Ken Bald 160 Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 Inset images, from left: Barnabas Collins © Dan Curtis Productions; Basil Gogos art © Warren Publishing; Reed Crandall art © Warren Publishing; Norman Saunders art © the Topps Company The “We had a makeup man who tried to make me up to man in look like Lon Chaney as the Phantom of the Opera,” said John Zacherle. the long Photo by Kathy Voglesong black coat “SHOCK THEATER” SOUNDS COOL, DOESN’T IT? But actually, the title of the horror-movie show that debuted at 11:25 p.m. EST on Oct. 10, 1957, over Channel 10 in Philadelphia was a bit more of a mouthful: “The Million Dollar Movie Presents Shock Theater.” The film shown could scarcely have been more appropriate: “Frankenstein.” And neither could the host: Roland (accent on the “land”), played by John Zacherle — Presbyterian, Philadelphian, World War II veteran, for- mer cowboy actor. Roland became a local phenomenon, but before long, Zacherle’s national profile would emerge. There was the little matter of a Top 10 novelty song, “Dinner With Drac - Part 1,” which peaked at #6 during its seven weeks on the Billboard chart in 1958. Suddenly, the “Cool Ghoul” — as Dick Clark nicknamed Zacherle — was rocking out on “American Bandstand.” 16 A magazine of our own Like a bat out of Transylvania, FM flew off shelves IT WAS SENSORY OVERLOAD: FOR THE FIRST time, kids were seeing classic horror films such as “Dracula,” “Frankenstein” and “The Mummy,” thanks to the 52-film “Shock!” TV rollout in 1957 and ’58. And just maybe, they were noticing some cast redundancies among the films. (White-haired, bespecta- cled Edward Van Sloan, for exam- ple, was in all three aforementioned movies, spouting wisdom as profes- sorial types.) Or perhaps they were noticing earmarks in the directorial styles of James Whale or Tod Browning or Reginald Le Borg. Or differences in production val- ues between 1930s and ’40s films. Without realizing it, these youngsters were becoming movie buffs. The more they learned, the more they wanted to learn. So if ever a publication came along at the right time, it was Famous Monsters of Filmland — a mag- azine all about monster movies. IT ALL STARTED, AS SO MANY THINGS DO, WITH a girlie magazine. James Warren — a fledgling publisher based in Philadelphia (and an admirer of Hugh Hefner) — put out the Playboy clone After Hours, for which Forrest J Ackerman, then a writer and writ- ers’ agent, was a contributor. In Ackerman’s recollection, Warren folded After Hours due to some transgression on the part of a part- ner, but had enough financial reserves to publish one more “one- ‘My God, if the kids out there are gonna respond to this like I shot” magazine (perhaps on Marilyn Monroe or Elvis Presley). responded in the movie theaters, we just may be able to take one “I met Forry through the pages of After Hours, which was a medium — motion pictures — put it into this magazine, and give shabby imitation of Playboy,” Warren told me in 1997. “He was a them a magazine of Saturday afternoon at the horror movies.’ literary agent for Hollywood-based writers. He “I said, ‘Forry, can you write this thing for had submitted some material for After Hours, James Warren parodied Hugh me if I tell you exactly what to write? Are you and I bought it. I liked him right away, because knowledgeable enough about this?’ Of course, I Hefner on the Famous we got along over the phone and through the was talking to the man who was probably more Monsters of Filmland #1 mail. We both had the same sense of humor. knowledgeable about this than anybody on the “We met, finally, in New York City in 1957. cover with an ascot, shapely planet. That was a stroke of terrific luck, He brought back with him, from England, a blonde ... and Frankenstein because Forry Ackerman was the greatest writer French magazine called Cinéma 57. The entire mask. Above left: Cinéma 57, ever created by God to tell the story of the his- issue of this magazine was a pictorial history of an inspiration from France. tory of horror movies.” past and present horror movies — American as © Warren Publishing; The men agreed that a monster-themed pub- well as foreign. I looked through that, and my © French Federation of Ciné Clubs lication might sell. eyes just opened up wide, because I went back “We looked at each other,” Warren recalled, to my youth, to my Saturday afternoon movie matinees, when I “and I said, ‘Forry, I can see a one-shot magazine on this. I love saw ‘Frankenstein’ in 1938 or ’39.” the subject matter and so do you. I’m going to try and get these While paging through, Warren had a “Eureka!” moment. pictures from the publisher in France.’ He recalled: “The more I looked through it, the more I said, “He said, ‘Why go to the publisher in France? I’ve got ’em 22 The Hef of horror How James Warren created a publishing empire IF YOU TURN PROFESSIONAL PUBLISHER AT THE WARREN: I designed the logo. I designed the book. I designed the age of 10, is it your destiny to become a publishing magnate? interior pages. I picked the type. I designed the two-column for- “I had a newspaper, a neighborhood newspaper, that was print- mat. I chose every picture. And I chose the contents of the maga- ed on a mimeograph machine,” recalled James Warren. “I sold it zine completely. I even picked out the staples. Do you have any door-to-door for 3 cents each. It was stapled together. Four pages. other questions? Some people generally think that the publisher is I did the stapling and the printing and the writing a big, fat guy who sits up there behind a desk with and the artwork and the ad solicitation from the an accounting background and doesn’t know any- James Warren dressed neighborhood stores — a dollar each for an ad, thing about writing or art or production or printers’ as a devil in a blue suit which was a lot of money in those days. So I guess ink. I came from the creative end; I became a busi- for the cover of Famous I became a professional publisher at 10.” nessman. It wasn’t the other way around.