|
The Son of Ghoul - The host of the Northeast Ohio
horror show The Son of Ghoul first broadcast in Canton, Ohio on WOAC
Channel 67 in 1986. The Son of Ghoul (played by Kevin Scarpino) replaced WOAC
Channel 67’s horror movie host, The Cool Ghoul.
The Son of Ghoul show features the worst in public domain "B" movies, segments
where he reads letters from his faithful viewers, interludes where he interviews local
bands and the occasional celebrity who happen through town. One of his gimmicks is
to spice up the movies shown on his program by lacing them
with goofy sound effects.
The Son of Ghoul sidekick included Fidge, a sweet, naive midget of a guy (Ron
Huffman) whom Scarpino
needled on the air and Jungle Bob, a local animal handler who replaced Fidge after his
death on February 24th, 2003.
As of 2007, The Son of Ghoul show airs
on the Cleveland Action Television Network (WAOH channel 29 in Akron, and WAX channel 35 in
Akron/Cleveland) and on cable Channel 21 in Massillon, Ohio and in
California on Vallejo Cable Channel 27 (VCAT) on Fridays at 10:00 P.M. and
Saturdays at 8:00 P.M.
Scarpino also does a live weekly game
show on Wednesday nights from 8 to 10 called ‘Son of Ghoul’s House of Fun and
Games’ where he asks trivia questions and gives away prizes. When Kevin is
not doing his Son of Ghoul gig, he plays with Flashback, a local band
that performs sixties and seventies rock and roll.
TRIVIA NOTE: The moniker "The Son of Ghoul" came
to Scarpino in the early 1980s when he won a "The Ghoul" (Ron Sweed)
lookalike contest in the early 1980s. Years later, Sweed took The Son of Ghoul
to court claiming infringement of character, but he lost the case. In reality,
both characters pay homage to Ghoulardi, a Cleveland TV horror show host popular in the
early 1960s.
Sidekick "Fidge" was based on a word from one of the Hal Roach's Little Rascals
comedies. According to Scarpino "There was this one episode where two of the
kids shrink. And there’s this old grouchy guy from the kids’ home who takes them
to this high class party where there are a couple of midgets. And of the kids
goes, “Them fidgets can talk!” So when Ronnie showed up, I think I said,
“C’mere, ya fidge!” And the name stuck."
External Links
Back to Top |
