Chiller Theatre

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Chiller Theatre was the name of at least two Saturday night science fiction and horror movie programs. Both programs began broadcast in the early 1960s and ended their runs in the early 1980s.

[edit] Pittsburgh

Chiller Theatre was a late-night horror and science fiction movie program on WIIC/WPXI-TV, Channel 11, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It aired from 1963 to December 31, 1983. It was hosted by Bill Cardille, known to fans as "Chilly Billy". It was a Saturday night tradition for two generations of Pittsburghers. Two films were shown, one starting at 11:30 p.m. and the second starting at about 1:00 a.m.. In between films, and at random times during the films, breaks were taken for skits such as reports from the "PSS"; in these skits, Bill Cardille would go into another part of the WIIC studios and pretend he was broadcasting from the (nonexistent) Pittsburgh Subway System. Other characters (portrayed by Cardille) included Captain Bad and Maurice the Matchmaker. Cardille and WIIC publicist Robert Willis wrote the skits and sometimes Channel 11 staffers were enlisted to play bit parts. At the end of the show, Cardille would sit on a stool and banter with the studio crew. The show was remembered for several unique features, one being its theme song, "Experiment In Terror" performed by Al Caiola, written by Henry Mancini. The original set was meant to be a laboratory. It was changed to a castle motif when a cast of supporting characters was added in later years. That cast included Terminal Stare (Donna Rae), Georgette the Fudgemaker (Bonnie Barney), Norman (Norman Elder), and Stefan the Castle Prankster (Steve Lucinski). The show met its demise in 1983 after NBC demanded that WPXI broadcast Saturday Night Live at 11:30 p.m. Cardille, Rae, and Lucinski continued to make annual Halloween appearances though 2005, including an annual Chiller Cruise on the Gateway Clipper. Lucinski still appears on Cardille's daily radio show on Pittsburgh's WJAS. Rae lives in the Pittsburgh area and still does some acting. Barney married a golf pro and moved to Florida. Elder, who was an independent filmmaker from Steubenville, Ohio, died several years ago.

[edit] New York

Chiller Theatre was also a Saturday night show on Channel 11 WPIX in New York City that showed classic horror movies. Chiller Theater actually began on WPIX during the 1960s with Zacherley ("The Cool Ghoul") as the on-air host. However, by the late 1960s, Zacherle left the show and a new opening was created using a montage of clips from various 1950s sci-fi films. This opening served until 1971 when a claymation hand was used combined with an animated swamp. This opening was used throughout the show's run from 1971 until its end in 1982. The WPIX program showed very much the same classic horror and science fiction movies as the Pittsburgh station did.

[edit] External links

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