Saturday Night Dead
Encyclopedia
Saturday Night Dead was a television program that hosted B horror films from 1984-1990 on KYW-TV
, Channel 3, which at that time was the NBC
affiliate in Philadelphia, PA. The program ran after the network's late-night program Saturday Night Live
(hence the title playing off from the program) at 1 am, and was a cult favorite.
, a working class neighborhood) or the "Daughter of Desire," Stella delighted in half-clad gorgeous young men and often had one or two hanging in her dungeon awaiting her pleasure. According to her biography, Stella was "born in North Libido, New Jersey, a small village outside of Atlantic City. She is the only child of traveling hecklers. Her parents dropped her in a plastic basket at Fifth and Shunk in front of Guido's Hair Weaving and Plumbing Supplies, but for all intents and purposes she was raised by a flock of pigeons". Reincarnated 37 times, Stella was just your typical "ghoul" next door.
In real life, she was Karen Scioli, a South Philadelphia born actress and homemaker who weekly donned a push-up bra, slinky black dress, feather boa, false eyelashes and a mole on her right cheek to become the female vampiress.
Other regulars on the program were Stella's canopied-bed called "Beda Lugosi" which talked and vibrated; Skeeves the Butler (Bill Brown) who left the show and was replaced by Hives the Butler (Bob Billbrough); Cousin Mel (Glenn Davish), who was nerdy and was told by everyone (in a tribute to a character on The Dick Van Dyke Show
played by Richard Deacon
) to "Shut up, Mel." Davish (who was in the movie Mannequin
with Andrew McCarthy
, Kim Cattrall
and Estelle Getty
) also played a whacked out mad scientist named Dr. Schuylkill (a play off the Schuylkill River and the Schuylkill Expressway
) and voiced a faceless dungeon monster named Iggy who ate anybody that Stella didn't like as well as a portrait that gave sarcastic responses to whatever Stella was wise-cracking about. Two other actresses - Donna Ryan, who played the whacked out psychic "Madame Tofutti" and Kathy Robinson - were regulars on the show.
Saturday Night Dead was produced by KYW-TV and often featured the talent from their local news production, Eyewitness News, including Howard Joffe.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra's recording of "The Mooche" was used as the show's theme song.
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
, Channel 3, which at that time was the 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 in Philadelphia, PA. The program ran after the network's late-night program Saturday Night Live
Saturday 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...
(hence the title playing off from the program) at 1 am, and was a cult favorite.
Stella
The program was hosted by Stella, dubbed "the man-eater from Manayunk" (a section near the Schuylkill RiverSchuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
, a working class neighborhood) or the "Daughter of Desire," Stella delighted in half-clad gorgeous young men and often had one or two hanging in her dungeon awaiting her pleasure. According to her biography, Stella was "born in North Libido, New Jersey, a small village outside of Atlantic City. She is the only child of traveling hecklers. Her parents dropped her in a plastic basket at Fifth and Shunk in front of Guido's Hair Weaving and Plumbing Supplies, but for all intents and purposes she was raised by a flock of pigeons". Reincarnated 37 times, Stella was just your typical "ghoul" next door.
In real life, she was Karen Scioli, a South Philadelphia born actress and homemaker who weekly donned a push-up bra, slinky black dress, feather boa, false eyelashes and a mole on her right cheek to become the female vampiress.
Other regulars on the program were Stella's canopied-bed called "Beda Lugosi" which talked and vibrated; Skeeves the Butler (Bill Brown) who left the show and was replaced by Hives the Butler (Bob Billbrough); Cousin Mel (Glenn Davish), who was nerdy and was told by everyone (in a tribute to a character on The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
played by Richard Deacon
Richard Deacon (actor)
Richard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
) to "Shut up, Mel." Davish (who was in the movie Mannequin
Mannequin (1987 film)
Mannequin is a 1987 romantic comedy film, starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Meshach Taylor, James Spader, G. W. Bailey, and Estelle Getty...
with Andrew McCarthy
Andrew McCarthy
Andrew Thomas McCarthy is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the 1980s films St. Elmo's Fire, Mannequin, Weekend at Bernie's, Pretty in Pink, and Less Than Zero, and more recently for his role in the television shows Lipstick Jungle, White Collar and Royal Pains.-Career:McCarthy...
, Kim Cattrall
Kim Cattrall
Kim Victoria Cattrall is an English actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin, and Porky's...
and Estelle Getty
Estelle Getty
Estelle Scher-Gettleman , better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, television, and theatre...
) also played a whacked out mad scientist named Dr. Schuylkill (a play off the Schuylkill River and the Schuylkill Expressway
Schuylkill Expressway
The Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
) and voiced a faceless dungeon monster named Iggy who ate anybody that Stella didn't like as well as a portrait that gave sarcastic responses to whatever Stella was wise-cracking about. Two other actresses - Donna Ryan, who played the whacked out psychic "Madame Tofutti" and Kathy Robinson - were regulars on the show.
Saturday Night Dead was produced by KYW-TV and often featured the talent from their local news production, Eyewitness News, including Howard Joffe.
The Duke Ellington Orchestra's recording of "The Mooche" was used as the show's theme song.
Featured Films
- Gamera: Super MonsterGamera: Super Monster, a 1980 kaiju film, was the belated final entry in the Shōwa Gamera series, and the last Gamera film written by Nisan Takahashi and directed by Noriaki Yuasa. It relied heavily on stock footage from previous Gamera films. This movie was made when Daiei was brought out of bankruptcy by the Tokuma...
directed by Noriaki YuasaNoriaki Yuasawas a Japanese director, most notable for his involvement in the Gamera film series. Yuasa was a special guest at G-Fest in 1999, 2000, and 2003, and was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award at the latter. He died on June 14, 2004 after suffering a stroke.-Directing Credits:* Shiawasa nara... - Night FrightNight FrightNight Fright is a 1967 American film directed by James A. Sullivan.The film is also known as E.T.N.: The Extraterrestrial Nastie, E.T.N.: The Extraterrestrial Nasty, The Extraterrestrial Nastie or The Extraterrestrial Nasty in the United Kingdom.- Plot summary :A Texas community is beset with a...
directed by James A. Sullivan - ShiversShivers (film)Shivers is a 1975 Canadian body horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg. Cronenberg won "Best Director" at the 1975 Sitges Film Festival.-Plot:Dr...
(a/k/a "They Came From Within") directed by David CronenbergDavid CronenbergDavid Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
(shown in a "Christmas in JulyChristmas in JulyChristmas in July refers to Christmas-themed celebrations held in July.In the northern hemisphere some people throw parties during July that mimic Christmas celebrations, bringing the atmosphere of Christmas but with warmer temperatures. Parties may include Santa Claus, ice cream and other cold...
" episode) - The Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of LigeiaThe Tomb of Ligeia is an American International Pictures horror film starring Vincent Price and Elizabeth Shepherd in a story about a man haunted by the spirit of his dead wife and her effect on his second marriage. The screenplay by Robert Towne was based upon the tale "Ligeia" by American...
directed by Roger CormanRoger CormanRoger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for... - Zombies of Sugar Hill directed by Paul Maslansky
- Zombie LakeZombie LakeZombie Lake, known in the original French as Le Lac des Morts Vivants , is a 1981 zombie horror film directed by Jean Rollin . The film is considered Rollin's worst film ever. Apparently, Rollin felt so embarrassed by the film he had not admitted for years he directed it under his alternative...
directed by Jean RollinJean RollinJean Michel Rollin Roth Le Gentil was a French film director, actor, and novelist best known for his films in the fantastique genre such as the vampire film Le Viol du Vampire and the first French gore film Les Raisins de la Mort .-Early life:Jean Rollin was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine , France to... - BluebeardBluebeard"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
- Dracula vs. Frankenstein, directed by Al AtkinsonAl AtkinsonAllen Edward Atkinson is a former American football linebacker who played in the American Football League and the National Football League . He played high school ball at Monsignor Bonner High School. He played college football at Villanova University, where he was a linebacker...
- The Legend of Boggy CreekThe Legend of Boggy CreekThe Legend of Boggy Creek is a 1972 horror docudrama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s. The film mixes staged interviews with some local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with fictitious...
"starring no one" as described by the Saturday Night Dead announcer during commercial bumpers