Tag Archives: Son of Svengoolie

October 30, 2014 · 7:41 pm

SON OF SVENGOOLIE: SOME HALLOWEEN SONGS

Rich Koz

Rich Koz

It’s Halloween month at Balladeer’s Blog! Rich Koz, the Babe Ruth of Movie Hosts, portrayed his comedic vampire character as Son of Svengoolie from 1979 to 1986, then again on his new show The Koz Zone in 1989 and 1990 before returning in 1995 as just plain Svengoolie. Along with The Texas 27 Film Vault, Koz’s original run was the closest in spirit to the later program MST3K than any of the other early Movie Host shows when it came to the “so bad it’s good” aesthetic.

Here are some of Sven’s fun song parodies adjusted to fit various psychotronic films presented on his show.  

HIT THE ROAD, DRAC (To the tune of Hit the Road, Jack)

BOOGIE WOOGIE BOOGEYMAN OF BERWYN (To the tune of Boogie Woogie Bugle Man) Continue reading →

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November 19, 2012 · 12:23 am

THE SEVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL MOVIE HOSTS: 1954 – 1987

Mad Marvin

Mad Marvin

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my fondness for bad movies and for movie host shows. The bad movie subculture and the realm of movie hosts have always walked hand in hand with many movie hosts even appearing in various schlock film classics during their careers. Here is a salute to some of the most influential figures who made hosting bad and/or weird movies the time-honored American folk art it is today.

7. MAD MARVIN (Real name: Terry Bennett)

Program: Shock Theatre

Run: 1957 – 1959

Home Base: Chicago

Comment: Long before Jerry Bishop’s more well-known host Svengoolie and his even more famous “son” played by Rich Koz, Mad Marvin brought late-night b-movie fun to the Windy City. Marvin was a mad beatnik and was described in contemporary accounts as ” a combination of Charles Addams, Ernie Kovacs and Jack Paar.” Bennett’s program was so popular in Chicago that celebrities like Continue reading →

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May 29, 2011 · 7:56 pm

A VERY SON OF SVENGOOLIE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

 Yes, it’s another quick look at Rich Koz, star and writer of the Son of Svengoolie show from 1979-1986, later known as just plain Svengoolie like his predecessor Jerry Bishop. That second show was launched in 1995 and is still on the air. This glimpse at the work of the Babe Ruth of movie hosts deals with the schlocker Track of the Vampire. Sven does a sketch and a song parody about Continue reading →

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May 19, 2011 · 10:40 pm

MORE SON OF SVENGOOLIE

 For more bits from Rich Koz, the Babe Ruth of the old-time movie hosts, let’s move to his (and his predecessor’s) running jokes about Berwyn, a Polish American community near Chicago. In the 1960’s Cleveland’s late night movie host Ghoulardi poked fun at the Polish suburb of Parma. In the early 1970’s the original Svengoolie used Chicago’s equivalent of Parma, Berwyn, as the butt of frequent jokes. The mere mention of the name would prompt the sound byte of a disbelieving voice quipping “BURRRRR-wiiin?” Son of Svengoolie continued the tradition.

Here are  Continue reading →

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May 16, 2011 · 8:43 pm

YA WANTED MORE SON OF SVENGOOLIE? GLAD TO OBLIGE!

 Well, from the reaction to the latest of my various posts about Rich Koz AKA Son of Svengoolie (and eventually just plain Svengoolie, like his predecessor) readers are intrigued by the guy. Anybody who likes my Bad Movie reviews will love this guy, whose show Son of Svengoolie (1979-1986) was, in my opinion, the funniest of the old-school movie host programs. I never got to see the original shows, but thanks to books and youtube I’ve spent years enjoying “Sven’s” style. Here’s another link to one of his song parodies. Just 2 minutes in length. The occassion was Continue reading →

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