The TV horror host has become an indelible part of American pop culture. Most of the major and many minor TV marketplaces had such a local host, usually on an independent station, late at night. Hosts like Paul Bearer, and the famous Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, dished out trashy, grade Z horror films, with between-film segments that were mostly comic. But John Stanley took a more straightforward approach. Building on a legacy built by his predecessor, Creature Features host Bob Wilkins, Stanley hosted the show on KTVU in Oakland from 1979-1984, and interviewed many of the top names in horror and sci-fi entertainment.
I Was a TV Horror Host is a trip down memory lane for Stanley. An oversized book filled with hundreds of photos, it succeeds in bringing back the glory days of horror hosts, and gives insights into some of the most influential actors, writers, and producers in film and television. Having been a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle himself, Stanley’s breezy style and laid-back approach suits the book well.
The book begins with an entertaining look at the history of horror hosts, beginning during the golden age of radio and moving on into the television era. The radio host era is often overlooked in accounts of the development of horror and sci-fi entertainment. Stanley’s book brings to life some of the key players and programs of that time. From there, the book describes his ascension to host of Creature Features and the myriad of interviews he conducted. Some of them include: Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek; Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner; Christopher Lee; schlockmeister William Castle; low-budget director Roger Corman; and George Romero, to name a few.
My favorite chapter was about Stanley’s interviews with Vincent Price. The consummate refined actor, Price starred in some of the most well-known horror films of all time, yet for a while he distanced himself from his horror-film-god role. Stanley relates two interviews with the master. In one, Price backs away from discussing his impact on the genre, while the other, done a few years later, shows Price having finally accepted his crown and talking about it in the affable manner you might expect.
The book does a wonderful job telling its story, and although at times it gets a little syrupy with nostalgia, the great anecdotes keeps it moving along. For fans of bad movies, horror, and sci-fi, Stanley’s work may be considered one of the better memoirs on the subject of horror hosts.
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