Francis Fitzgerald "Larry" Vincent (June 14, 1924—March 8, 1975) was an American television

horror host A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal w ...

, famed for his character Seymour, who presented—and heckled—low-budget horror and science fiction movies on ''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland, in his directorial debut. The film follows teenager Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who discovers that his next-door neighbor Je ...

'' on

KHJ-TV KCAL-TV (channel 9) is an independent television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS West Coast flagship KCBS-TV (channel 2). The two stations share studios at the Rad ...

and ''Seymour's Monster Rally'' on

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

, both local stations in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

between 1969 and 1974. He was noted for his style of criticizing the movies he presented in an offbeat and funny manner, usually appearing in a small window which would pop up in the corner, tossing a quip, then vanishing again. Sometimes he would, using blue-screen, appear in the middle of the movie, apparently interacting with the characters in the movie.

Early career

Born in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

as Francis Fitzgerald Vincent, Vincent was to star in several episodes of ''

The New Three Stooges ''The New 3 Stooges'' is an American animated television series that ran during the 1965–66 television season starring the Three Stooges. The show follows the trio's antics both in live-action and animated segments. The cast consisted of Moe ...

'' in 1965. He also had small roles on ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'', '' Mission: Impossible'', ''

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...

'', and ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series created by Sidney Sheldon and starring Barbara Eden as a beautiful but guileless 2,000-year-old Jinn, genie and Larry Hagman as an astronaut with whom s ...

''. But before moving to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, he was "Captain Starr" on WFBM in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

in the 1960s, as one of a trio of hosts, along with Harlow Hickenlooper and Curley Myers for children's programing, which showed the old ''

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

'' shorts, as well as skits for an in-studio audience of children which usually ended up with pie-in-the face comedy and songs from the hosts. In 1968, he became staff director for

Horror host

From 1969 to 1974 Vincent was the host for the horror shows ''Fright Night'' on KHJ-TV and ''Seymour's Monster Rally'' on KTLA.

Later years

In addition to his television duties, Vincent served as

Knott's Berry Farm Knott's Berry Farm is a amusement park in Buena Park, California, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. In March 2015, it was ranked as the List of amusement park rankings#North America, twelfth-most-visited theme park in North Ameri ...

's inaugural "Ghost Host," in 1973 at Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt. Shortly after his shows ended, Vincent quickly succumbed to

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

and died on March 9, 1975. He left behind four daughters, Diane, Valerie, Beth, Kathryn, and one son, Daniel. On at least occasion, Larry Vincent appeared at the University of California, Riverside campus for an all night sleep-in and science fiction movie festival.

Filmography

*''

'' (1965) - Captain Starr *''

'' (1967) - Technician *''

'' (1967) - Ben *'' Mission: Impossible'' (1969) - Prisoner Stoltz *'' The Witchmaker'' (1969) - Amos Coffin *''

'' (1968–1969) - Farley / Jacoby *''

'' (1969–1973) *''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' (1970) - Wino *''

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant ''The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant'' is a 1971 science fiction/horror film directed by Anthony Lanza. It is sometimes confused with the 1972 blaxploitation film ''The Thing with Two Heads''. Plot Dr. Roger Girard (Bruce Dern) is a wealthy sc ...

'' (1971) - Andrew *'' Seymour's Monster Rally'' (1973–1974) *'' Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls'' (1973) - The Strangler (as Larry 'Seymour' Vincent) *'' Fright Night with Seymour'' (1974) *'' The Apple Dumpling Gang'' (1975) - Townsman (uncredited) (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Larry Horror hosts 1924 births 1975 deaths Deaths from stomach cancer in California Inkpot Award winners