The Cool Ghoul of northeastern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

was played by George Cavender. The show was popular from the 1970s to the 90s, appearing on several stations in the area. The first was WJAN-TV 17 in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

, WOAC-TV 67 and in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

WOIO WOIO (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States, serving the Cleveland area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD (channel 6) and Lorai ...

-TV 19. George had been an aficionado of classic

Universal Monsters Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially concei ...

horror films Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

since his father brought home his first copy of

Famous Monsters of Filmland ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' is an American genre-specific film magazine, started in 1958 by publisher James Warren and editor Forrest J Ackerman. ''Famous Monsters of Filmland'' directly inspired the creation of many other similar publicat ...

magazine in 1960. Cavender studied the careers of

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

, and

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

to name a few. And it was a chance meeting of Vincent Price, while he was on a

lecture tour A public lecture (also known as an open lecture) is one means employed for educating the public in the arts and sciences. The Royal Institution has a long history of public lectures and demonstrations given by prominent experts in the field. In t ...

, that led Cavender to revive the show in 1984 on WOAC-TV. One of his favorite mentors was ''

Ghoulardi Ghoulardi was a fictional character created and portrayed by voice announcer, actor and disc jockey Ernie Anderson as the horror host of ''Shock Theater'' at WJW-TV, Channel 8 (a.k.a. "TV-8") the CBS Affiliate station in Cleveland, Ohio, from J ...

'', an early 60s

Horror Host A horror host is a person who acts as the host or presenter of a program where horror films and low-budget B movies are shown on television or the Internet. Usually the host assumes a horror-themed persona, often a campy or humorous one. Generall ...

in Cleveland, Ohio. George's father was killed in a car accident in 1965 and he credits the horror host Ghoulardi with getting him through the ordeal. His fascination with movies didn't stop with horror. He also developed a love for

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and, with the encouragement of his mother; he starred in many theatrical productions throughout

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

, and

Community Theater Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...

playing roles as diverse as Mathew Harrison Brady in '' Inherit the Wind'', the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly ...

in '' The Wizard of Oz'', and

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

in a play of the same title. In 1971 at the age of 16, George Cavender got his first chance to play the role of The Cool Ghoul when he made an appointment with the Station Manager of WJAN-TV. He drew posters of the set, had an outline of the show and made his presentation. After he was done there was a long silence. The Station Manager, Don Crump, leaned over the desk and said “When can you start?” Startled at the answer, George said “Give me a week.” Having so little time, and having lived in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

for a few years, he was a fan of The Cool Ghoul in that area, played and created by Dick Von Hoene. He called him at

WXIX-TV WXIX-TV (channel 19) is a television station licensed to Newport, Kentucky, United States, serving the Cincinnati metro as the market's Fox affiliate. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power Cozi TV affiliate WBQC-LD (channel 25). ...

and explained the situation. Amused by George's age, he gave him permission to use his persona. Over the years the persona has undergone a massive transformation. The only resemblance to the Cincinnati version of The Cool Ghoul is the

make-up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...

and hair color, but George has always been very appreciative of Dick Von Hoene, giving him the opportunity to get his start. After WJAN switched to religions programming, Cavender moved to WOAC channel 67. After more than a decade on that station, he left to move to WOIO-TV, channel 19. His place at WOAC was taken by a technician and frequent extra, Keven Scarpino, who took on the persona of the

Son of Ghoul The Son of Ghoul is a horror host played by Keven Scarpino, appearing on ''The Son of Ghoul Show'' based in Akron, Ohio, where a B movie is presented along with comedy sketches. In 2020, he was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' ...

. In a bit of irony, after spending time at WOIO-TV as IT Manager, he was transferred to WXIX-TV in Cincinnati, Von Hoene's station and a sister station of WOIO. There, worked with Dick Von Hoene's brother. George Cavender's Cool Ghoul worked with many charities including The

Jerry Lewis Telethon The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded i ...

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqua ...

, and Bowling for Kids, to name a few.

Personal

Cavender is a native of Canton, Ohio. Home of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

. He attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

majoring in

Theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

. Recently he has hosted the show, during the

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

season, on

Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, opera ...

of Northeastern Ohio and is currently planning a once a month

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

on his site, http://www.ghoul.tv. A.K.A. – http://www.thecoolghoul.com.

References

External links

Cool Ghoul website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cool Ghoul American television personalities Horror hosts