Thursday, October 25, 2012

Spooktober: Seymour Presents (1971)

We've all read about classic horror show hosts like Ghoulardi, Zacherle, Svengoolie, and, in recent years, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, who became a cottage industry of merchandising all by herself. There is one, however, who seems to have slipped through the cracks.

The sinister Seymour (Larry Vincent) was based in Southern California, working for KHJ-TV and hosting a Friday night program. In 1971, Seymour went national with a syndication deal through Rhodes Productions, which later became a subsidiary of Filmways. Anyway, Seymour Presents was meant to air at night (of course), but in Albany, NY, the show aired in the afternoon occasionally, when there wasn't any sports programming on the schedule.

Sad to say, no footage of Seymour Presents is actually available on YouTube at present, and all I can offer you of the late Seymour, who passed away in 1975, is this outtake from KHJ-TV.



About the only film I can recall seeing on this show was "The Monster Club", with Vincent Price & John Carradine, among others. I guess that, in a nutshell, illustrates just how forgotten Seymour has become. Rating: C.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I remember the show - when my brother & I saw it, it aired late Fri or Sat night on channel 13, I think. Didn't he use "Swan Lake" as his opening theme? He was always berating his feckless off-camera assistant named Eugenski - years before MST3K was ever thought of!

What a treat to be able to see those now...

hobbyfan said...

Maybe they'll release some of the best bits on DVD someday, but don't hold your breath.