Chiller Theatre (Pittsburgh)
Encyclopedia
Chiller Theatre was a late-night horror and science fiction movie program on WIIC
/WPXI
, Channel 11, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. It aired from September 14, 1963 to December 31, 1983. It was hosted by Bill Cardille
, known to fans as "Chilly Billy". It was a Saturday night tradition for two generations of Pittsburghers. Two films were shown, one starting at 11:30 p.m. and the second starting at about 1:00 a.m. In between films, and at random times during the films, breaks were taken for skits such as reports from the "PSS"; in these skits, Bill Cardille would go into another part of the WIIC studios and pretend he was broadcasting from the (nonexistent) Pittsburgh Subway System. Other characters (portrayed by Cardille) included Captain Bad, Maurice the Matchmaker, and Mr. Magnificent. Cardille and WIIC publicist Robert Willis wrote the skits and sometimes Channel 11 staffers were enlisted to play bit parts. At the end of the show, Cardille would sit on a stool and banter with the studio crew.
off of its NBC
affiliate WIIC in Pittsburgh for four years. Finally giving in to pressure from NBC, Chiller Theater was forced to follow SNL at 1:00 a.m. where it was reduced to a single feature movie program.
The show was remembered for several unique features, one being its theme song, "Experiment In Terror" performed by Al Caiola
, written by Henry Mancini
. The original set was meant to be a laboratory. It was changed to a castle motif when a cast of supporting characters was added in later years. That cast included Terminal Stare (Donna Rae), Georgette the Fudgemaker (Bonnie Barney), Norman (Norman Elder), and Stefan the Castle Prankster (Steve Luncinski). During breaks in the movie, Cardille would perform several sketches, like reciting horoscopes, trivia, and telling a series of corny jokes to a giggling skull.
The show featured many guests over the years, including: Rod McKuen
; Phyllis Diller
as a monster Chilly Billy creates; Barbara Feldon as "Agent 99" from "Get Smart
"; Lorne Greene
; Albie And Friends performing their 1974 NIK single "Hexorcist World Premiere";Vincent Price
; Richard Campbell and Wayne Smith of the singing group The Gang, who performed "Frickased Chickens" and "All In Color For A Dime"; Jerry Lewis
, promoting the Muscular Distrophy telethon; and Bruno Sammartino
.
immediately after Saturday Night Live, pushing Chiller Theatre's start time to 2:00 a.m. -- too late for even the most devoted fans to fight off sleep. The show ended January 1, 1984.
Chiller Theater was replaced by a new program called "The Saturday Late Show", which still featured the horror and sci-fi movies, but without the local element that made Chiller Theater what it was. The show was canceled less than a year later.
Despite the cancellation of Chiller Theater, Cardille did not disappear from WPXI-TV. He continued his duties as chief booth announcer and did the weather reports during the noon newscasts for many years until his retirement. Since then, Cardille has returned to his radio roots.
Cardille, Rae, and Luncinski continued to make annual Halloween appearances though 2005, including an annual Chiller Cruise on the Gateway Clipper. Luncinski has been on Cardille's daily radio show on Pittsburgh's WJAS
at various times over the years plus was a regular every year on the local part of the Jerry Lewis Annual Telethon broadcast from Monroeville Mall. He also had his own auto repair business in Pittsburgh, Pinnacle Auto Repair. He died on Jan 8th, 2009. Rae lives in the Pittsburgh area and still does some acting. Barney married a golf pro and moved to Florida. Elder, who was an independent filmmaker from Steubenville, Ohio
, died several years ago.
The show continues to be popular thanks in part to Bill Cardille's official website Chiller Theater Memories.
The show also inspired SCTV
s Joe Flaherty
, a Pittsburgh native to create the series of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater" sketches on the program, the difference being that Flaherty's host, "Count Floyd," dressed in vampire regalia, warned of fictional scary films that turned out to be Western Pennsylvania in-jokes; like a film titled "Blood-Sucking Monkeys from West Mifflin. Pennsylvania
" (a Pittsburgh suburb). In other cases, the films were bland, non-horror fare like The Odd Couple
or Georgy Girl
.
WPXI
WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...
/WPXI
WPXI
WPXI, channel 11, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Western Pennsylvania that is licensed to Pittsburgh. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter located on the north side of Pittsburgh. Owned by Cox Enterprises, the station has studios in the...
, Channel 11, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. It aired from September 14, 1963 to December 31, 1983. It was hosted by Bill Cardille
Bill Cardille
William Robert "Bill" Cardille , is a broadcast personality from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Early career:...
, known to fans as "Chilly Billy". It was a Saturday night tradition for two generations of Pittsburghers. Two films were shown, one starting at 11:30 p.m. and the second starting at about 1:00 a.m. In between films, and at random times during the films, breaks were taken for skits such as reports from the "PSS"; in these skits, Bill Cardille would go into another part of the WIIC studios and pretend he was broadcasting from the (nonexistent) Pittsburgh Subway System. Other characters (portrayed by Cardille) included Captain Bad, Maurice the Matchmaker, and Mr. Magnificent. Cardille and WIIC publicist Robert Willis wrote the skits and sometimes Channel 11 staffers were enlisted to play bit parts. At the end of the show, Cardille would sit on a stool and banter with the studio crew.
Popularity and unique features
Chiller Theatre was so popular in Pittsburgh that it kept Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
off of its NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate WIIC in Pittsburgh for four years. Finally giving in to pressure from NBC, Chiller Theater was forced to follow SNL at 1:00 a.m. where it was reduced to a single feature movie program.
The show was remembered for several unique features, one being its theme song, "Experiment In Terror" performed by Al Caiola
Al Caiola
Al Caiola is a guitarist who plays jazz, country, rock, western, and pop music. He has been both a studio musician and stage performer...
, written by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
. The original set was meant to be a laboratory. It was changed to a castle motif when a cast of supporting characters was added in later years. That cast included Terminal Stare (Donna Rae), Georgette the Fudgemaker (Bonnie Barney), Norman (Norman Elder), and Stefan the Castle Prankster (Steve Luncinski). During breaks in the movie, Cardille would perform several sketches, like reciting horoscopes, trivia, and telling a series of corny jokes to a giggling skull.
The show featured many guests over the years, including: Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen
Rod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...
; Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller
Phyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
as a monster Chilly Billy creates; Barbara Feldon as "Agent 99" from "Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
"; Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
; Albie And Friends performing their 1974 NIK single "Hexorcist World Premiere";Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
; Richard Campbell and Wayne Smith of the singing group The Gang, who performed "Frickased Chickens" and "All In Color For A Dime"; Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, promoting the Muscular Distrophy telethon; and Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...
.
Cancellation and legacy
However, Chiller Theatres successful run ended at the end of 1983. Precipitating its demise was a decision by WPXI management to air the hour-long weekend edition of Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
immediately after Saturday Night Live, pushing Chiller Theatre's start time to 2:00 a.m. -- too late for even the most devoted fans to fight off sleep. The show ended January 1, 1984.
Chiller Theater was replaced by a new program called "The Saturday Late Show", which still featured the horror and sci-fi movies, but without the local element that made Chiller Theater what it was. The show was canceled less than a year later.
Despite the cancellation of Chiller Theater, Cardille did not disappear from WPXI-TV. He continued his duties as chief booth announcer and did the weather reports during the noon newscasts for many years until his retirement. Since then, Cardille has returned to his radio roots.
Cardille, Rae, and Luncinski continued to make annual Halloween appearances though 2005, including an annual Chiller Cruise on the Gateway Clipper. Luncinski has been on Cardille's daily radio show on Pittsburgh's WJAS
WJAS
WJAS is an adult standards radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Renda Broadcasting, and broadcasts at 1320 kHz with a power level of 5,000 watts.- The History of 1320 WJAS-AM :...
at various times over the years plus was a regular every year on the local part of the Jerry Lewis Annual Telethon broadcast from Monroeville Mall. He also had his own auto repair business in Pittsburgh, Pinnacle Auto Repair. He died on Jan 8th, 2009. Rae lives in the Pittsburgh area and still does some acting. Barney married a golf pro and moved to Florida. Elder, who was an independent filmmaker from Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, died several years ago.
The show continues to be popular thanks in part to Bill Cardille's official website Chiller Theater Memories.
The show also inspired SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
s Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
, a Pittsburgh native to create the series of "Monster Chiller Horror Theater" sketches on the program, the difference being that Flaherty's host, "Count Floyd," dressed in vampire regalia, warned of fictional scary films that turned out to be Western Pennsylvania in-jokes; like a film titled "Blood-Sucking Monkeys from West Mifflin. Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
" (a Pittsburgh suburb). In other cases, the films were bland, non-horror fare like The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple
The Odd Couple is a 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight, the other more easygoing and...
or Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl is a 1966 British film based on a novel by Margaret Forster. The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano and starred Lynn Redgrave as Georgy, Alan Bates, James Mason, Charlotte Rampling and Bill Owen....
.
See also
- Chiller TheatreChiller TheatreChiller Theatre may refer to:*Chiller Theatre *Chiller Theatre *Chiller Theatre *The title, title track and inspiration for 2001 album of musician John Babcock....
- Creature FeaturesCreature FeaturesCreature Features was a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local U.S. television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s...
- Creature Double FeatureCreature Double FeatureCreature Double Feature was a syndicated horror show, broadcast in the Boston and Philadelphia area during the 1970s and 1980s. It sometimes also aired under names like Sci-Fi Flix and Creature Feature...
- Fright NightFright Night (TV show)Fright Night was the name of at least two science fiction and horror movie programs. One ran from 1970 to 1981, and the other ran from 1973 to 1987...