John Zacherle ( ; sometimes credited as John Zacherley; September 26, 1918 – October 27, 2016) was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a 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 ...

, often broadcasting horror films in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character of "Roland/Zacherley", he also did voice work for films, and recorded the top ten novelty

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

song "

Dinner with Drac Dinner with Drac is a 1958 novelty song by American radio and TV presenter John Zacherle, released on Cameo-Parkway Records. It was his biggest hit and is widely considered his signature song. Zacherle later released several LPs mixing horror soun ...

" in 1958. He also edited two collections of horror stories, ''Zacherley's Vulture Stew'' and ''Zacherley's Midnight Snacks''.

Biography

Zacherle was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 1954, he gained his first television role at

WCAU-TV WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed Tel ...

in Philadelphia, where he was hired as an actor playing several roles (one was an undertaker) in ''

Action in the Afternoon ''Action in the Afternoon'' is an American Western television series that aired live on CBS from February 2, 1953, to January 29, 1954. The series originated from the studios and back lot of WCAU, Channel 10 in Philadelphia, and was broadcast ...

'', a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

produced by the station and aired in the New York City market. Three years later, he was hired as the host of WCAU's ''

Shock Theater ''Shock Theater'' (marketed as ''Shock!'') is a package of 52 pre-1948 classic horror films from Universal Studios released for television syndication in October 1957 by Screen Gems, the television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures. The ''Shock The ...

'', which debuted on October 7, 1957. it was so popular that when Zacherle asked for three human hairs to make a pillow, he received 23,000 replies. He was a close colleague of Philadelphia broadcaster

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

, and sometimes filled in for Clark on road touring shows of Clark's ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' in the 1960s. Clark reportedly gave Zacherle his nickname of "The Cool

Ghoul In folklore, a ghoul (from , ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid, often associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. In the legends or tales in which they appear, a ghoul is far more ill-mannered and foul than go ...

". In 1958, partly with the assistance and backing of Clark, Zacherle cut ''

'' for

Cameo Records Cameo Records was an American record label that flourished in the 1920s. It was owned by the Cameo Record Corporation in New York City. Cameo released a disc by Lucille Hegamin every two months from 1921 to 1926. Cameo Records are also noted f ...

, backed by

Dave Appell David Appell (March 24, 1922 – November 18, 2014) was an American musician, arranger and record producer born in Philadelphia. Career Appell (pronounced "AP-el") is associated mainly with the Cameo-Parkway record label, in whose history he ...

. At first, Clark thought the recording – in which Zacherle recites humorously grisly

limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

s to rock and roll accompaniment – was too gory to play on ''Bandstand'', and made Zacherle return to the studio to cut a second tamer version. Eventually both versions were released simultaneously as backsides on the same 45, and the record broke the top ten nationally. Zacherle later released several LPs mixing horror

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

s with novelty songs.

Move to New York

The purchase of WCAU by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1958 prompted Zacherle to leave Philadelphia for

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, WABC-TV maintains studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood ...

in New York, where the station added a "y" to the end of his name in the credits. In 1963, he hosted

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

s, as well as ''

Chiller Theatre ''Chiller Theatre'' may refer to: * ''Chiller Theatre'' (1961 TV series), an American horror television series airing 1961–1982 and later * ''Chiller Theatre'' (1963 TV series), an American horror television series airing 1963–1983 * ''Chille ...

'' on

WPIX-TV WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local marketi ...

. In 1965, he hosted a

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

dance show for three years at WNJU-TV in Newark called ''Disc-O-Teen'', hosting the show in full costume and using the teenage show participants in his skits. In December 1968, Zacherle moved to

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

as the morning host for progressive rock

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...

. In the summer of 1969, he became the station night broadcaster (10 pm–2 AM); in June 1971, he switched his show to

WPLJ-FM WPLJ (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station, licensed to New York, New York. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), based in Franklin, Tennessee, it broadcasts EMF's Christian adult contemporary formatted p ...

, where he stayed for ten years. On February 14, 1970, he appeared at

Fillmore East The Fillmore East was Promoter (entertainment), rock promoter Bill Graham (promoter), Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue near 6th Street (Manhattan), East 6th Street on the Lower East Side section of Manhattan, ...

music hall in New York City to introduce the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

; his introduction can be heard on the album ''

Dick's Picks Volume 4 ''Dick's Picks Volume 4'' is the fourth live album in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on February 13 and February 14, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City, and released in February 1996. It was th ...

''.

1980s and beyond

In the early 1980s, he played a wizard on ''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

'', appearing without his Roland/Zacherley costume and make-up. He continued to perform in character at

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

broadcasts in New York and Philadelphia in the 1980s and 1990s, once narrating

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's ''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

'' while backed up by the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

. In 1983, he portrayed himself in the feature-length horror comedy '' Geek Maggot Bingo'' produced and directed by

Nick Zedd Nick Zedd ( James Franklyn Harding III; January 25, 1956 – February 27, 2022) was an American filmmaker, author, and painter based in Mexico City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minde ...

in sequences shot in Zacherle's apartment on the Upper West Side. In 1985, he hosted a special for Newark, New Jersey music video station WWHT U68 entitled "The Thirteenth Hour". In 1986, he hosted a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...

program called ''Horrible Horror'', where he performed Zacherley monologues in between clips from

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

sci-fi and horror films. In 1988, he struck up a friendship with

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

horror director

Frank Henenlotter Frank Henenlotter (born August 29, 1950) is an American film director, screenwriter and film historian. He is known primarily for directing horror comedies, especially '' Basket Case'' (1982), ''Brain Damage'' (1988), and '' Frankenhooker'' (199 ...

. He voiced the puppet "Aylmer", a

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

-like drug-dealing and

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

-eating

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

, one of the lead characters in Henenlotter's 1988 horror-comedy film ''

Brain Damage Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage. A common ...

'', and made a cameo in his 1990 comedy ''

Frankenhooker ''Frankenhooker'' is a 1990 American black comedy horror film co-written and directed by Frank Henenlotter. Loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'', the film stars James Lorinz as medical school ...

'', appropriately playing a TV weatherman who specializes in forecasts for

mad scientists The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly amb ...

. In late 1992, Zacherle joined the staff of "K-Rock", WXRK, at a time when the roster included other free-form radio DJs including

Pete Fornatale Peter Salvatore Fornatale (August 23, 1945 – April 26, 2012) was a New York City disc jockey and author of numerous books on rock and roll. He is considered a "pioneer of FM rock", who played an important role in the progressive rock era of FM ...

, Jimmy Fink,

Vin Scelsa Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several freeform radio programs, the best-known titled ''Idiot's Delight''. ...

(with whom he'd worked at WPLJ) and

Meg Griffin Megan "Meg" Griffin is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. She first appeared in the show's pilot episode, " Death Has a Shadow", on January 31, 1999. The character was originally voiced by La ...

. For the next four years he hosted a Saturday morning show called "Spirit Of The Sixties". He departed in January 1996 when the station switched to an alternative rock format and hired all new jocks. In 2010, Zacherle starred in the documentary, ''The Aurora Monsters: The Model Craze That Gripped the World''. The film was written and produced by Dennis Vincent and Cortlandt Hull, owner of the Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

. The documentary includes a number of short pieces featuring Zacherly and his puppet co-host Gorgo, of Bill Diamond Productions. The film went on to win a Rondo award. Zacherle continued to make appearances at conventions through 2015, and his collectibles, including model kits, T-shirts, and posters, continue to sell. The book ''Goodnight, Whatever You Are'' by Richard Scrivani, chronicling Zacherle's life, debuted at the Chiller Theatre Expo in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

, in October 2006. Scrivani and Tom Weaver followed it up with the scrapbook-style "The Z Files: Treasures from Zacherley's Archives" in 2012. The comic book anthology, ''Zacherley's Midnite Terrors'' (created by

Joseph M. Monks Joseph M. Monks (February 21, 1968–August 19, 2023) was an American writer and the world's first visually impaired feature film director, best known for co-creating the cult phenomena horror comic book ''Cry For Dawn''. Biography Monks, with ...

, and featuring top artists like

Basil Gogos Basil Gogos (March 12, 1929 – September 13, 2017) was an Egyptian-American illustrator best known for his portraits of movie monsters which appeared on the covers of ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' magazine in the 1960s and 1970s. Early lif ...

, Ken Kelly,

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worked on over ...

and Mike Koneful), was created solely as a tribute to "Zach". Three issues were published, and Zacherley acted in a commercial to promote them. Zacherle continued to make occasional on-air appearances, usually around Halloween, including a two-hour show at

WCBS-FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. licensed to New York, New York, and broadcasting a classic hits format. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in ...

with Ron Parker on October 31, 2007. (By this point, the 89-year-old was one of the very few people left in radio that was older than the medium itself.) Zacherley and

returned to the WPIX airwaves on October 25, 2008, for a special showing of the 1955

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

classic ''

Tarantula! ''Tarantula'' is a 1955 American science-fiction monster film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. It stars John Agar, Mara Corday, and Leo G. Carroll. The film is about a scientist developing a miracle nutrient to feed a ra ...

''. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Zacherle into their Hall of Fame in 2010. He died on October 27, 2016, at his home in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

at the age of 98.

Legacy

He was the uncle of ''

My Little Pony ''My Little Pony'' (''MLP'') is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature ...

'' creator

Bonnie Zacherle Bonnie D. Zacherle (born November 14, 1946) is an American illustrator and designer who now resides in Warrenton, Virginia. Zacherle is known as the original creator of the best-selling ''My Little Pony'' toy line. She is also the creator of '' ...

Partial ''Zacherley at Large'' episode guide

Channel 9's resident film historian Chris Steinbrunner compiled a listing of all Zacherley's shows from their start to New Year's 1960: These shows were later syndicated to

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 ...

, the RKO General station in Los Angeles.

Short story collections

Zacherle edited two short story collections for Ballantine Books in 1960. Listed here are their contents.

Discography

Albums

*''Spook Along with Zacherley'' (Elektra: EKL-190) 1960 *''Monster Mash'' (12 songs) (Parkway LP P-7018) 1962 *''Scary Tales'' (Parkway LP P-7023) 1963 *''Monster Mash'' (10 songs; partial re-issue of Parkway album) (Wyncote LP W-9050) 1964

Singles

*"Igor"/"''

''" (Cameo 130-1) *"Dinner with Drac Pt.1"/"Pt.2" (Cameo 130-2) *"Eighty-Two Tombstones"/"Lunch with Mother Goose" (Cameo 139) *"Hurry Burry Baby"/"Dinner With Drac" (Parkway 853) *"I Was a Teenage Cave Man"/"Dummy Doll" (Cameo 145) *"Surfboard 109"/"Clementine" (Parkway 885) *"Scary Tales from Mother Goose"/"Monster Monkey" (Parkway 888)

CDs

*''Twist Collection'' (OOZ 617) 2001 *''Monster Mash''/''Scary Tales'' (ACE CDCHD 1294) 2010 *''Monster Mash Party'' (Transylvania 4-5709) *''Dinner With Zach'' (Transylvania 6-5000) *''Spook Along with Zacherley'' (Collector's Choice Music)

References

External links

Welcome to the Home of Zacherley: The Cool Ghoul
*

by

Bud Webster Clarence Howard "Bud" Webster (July 27, 1952 – February 13, 2016) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer who is also known for his essays on both the history of science fiction and sf/fantasy anthologies as well. He is perhaps bes ...

at Galactic Central
Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacherle, John 1918 births 2016 deaths American male television actors United States Army personnel of World War II American radio DJs American television personalities 20th-century American comedians American comedy musicians Horror hosts Male actors from Philadelphia United States Army soldiers University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American male actors