The Cool Ghoul
Encyclopedia
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, created and portrayed by Dick Von Hoene, a Cincinnati native. With his trademark shout "Bleah, bleah, BLEAAAHHH!" and his inimitable tongue-fluttering "Bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl-bl...", The Cool Ghoul was an icon of Cincinnati television, radio and local pop culture for over four decades.
When not donning the makeup and wig on the classic 1970s horror movie show Scream-In, Von Hoene doubled as a news anchor on WXIX, and later hosted other news, radio, and public affairs shows in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...
, including Northern Kentucky Magazine, which he was hosting at the time of his death.
The Character
The Cool Ghoul's origins date back to 1961, when Von Hoene worked on a WCPO radio show called "Bob Smith's Monster Mash". Around that time, The Cool Ghoul started appearing in comedy routines Von Hoene wrote for colleague and puppeteer Larry SmithLarry Smith (puppeteer)
Larry Smith is a puppeteer and producer of children's programming in the Cincinnati area since 1957. His most notable work was a popular afternoon puppet/cartoon show airing on WXIX Television....
.
By 1969, Von Hoene had moved into television, working at the fledgling TV station WXIX in Cincinnati. It was at this time that Von Hoene developed a costume for the character. Initially, the character proved to be a little too scary for children, so Von Hoene altered the character to it more silly than scary.
The Cool Ghoul's wig, a bright orange-reddish coiffure, became the trademark for the character. Many years later, Von Hoene was told that it was only the rear half of a wig that costumer Dana Bruce made for a customer who was subsequently killed in a car crash. After the woman's death, the wig had been cut in half - the front from the back - and the front part was reportedly placed on the woman's body in the coffin.
Scream-In
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Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
). The Cool Ghoul's campy but loveable sense of humor endeared him to fans both young and old. The Cool Ghoul had visitors on his show often, including Larry Smith's Hattie the Witch.
Von Hoene could do an uncanny vocal impersonation of horror icon Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
, and so he was also the off-screen voice announcer for the show. Longtime WXIX announcer Greg Eversull claims Von Hoene's Karloff impression was so good, it even fooled a lady who was the real Karloff's private secretary for 30 years.
In 1971, Von Hoene released The Cool Ghoul's Phantasmagorical Funky Fonograf Record, featuring a parody of the 1920s standard "Has Anybody Seen My Gal?
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (song)
"Has Anybody Seen My Gal?" was a popular song of the 1920s, music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Sam M. Lewis & Joseph Widow Young, first recorded by The California Ramblers in 1925 on their self-titled album The California Ramblers...
" called "Ten Foot Two, Eyes Of Glue (Has Anybody Seen My Ghoul)".
Scream-In ran only three and a half years, but the Cool Ghoul had become so popular that he continued to make numerous public appearances for years, including occasional commercials and annual TV appearances almost every Halloween. As The Cool Ghoul, Von Hoene also took part in various fundraisers in and around Cincinnati with local sports teams. The Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
gave The Cool Ghoul a jersey with the "number zero".
In the early 1980s, Von Hoene took The Cool Ghoul to WCTI-TV
WCTI-TV
WCTI-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Inner Banks area of Eastern North Carolina that is licensed to New Bern. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Trenton along NC 58...
in New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
, earning a new generation of fans in the process.
Personal life
Von Hoene was a Cincinnati native, raised in Madisonville and lived most of his life in Price HillPrice Hill, Cincinnati
Price Hill is a neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, located north of Sedamsville and Riverside, south of Westwood and South Fairmount, and west of Queensgate. It is one of the oldest outlying settlements of Cincinnati, and includes parts of the zip codes 45205, 45238, and 45204.-Geography:Price Hill...
, both Cincinnati suburbs. He earned a B.A. in history and a M.A. in theater from the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. Dick Von Hoene died of a heart attack on February 4, 2004, and was buried at Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
in Cincinnati.