Big Chuck and Little John

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Big Chuck and Little John
Big Chuck and Little John

Big Chuck and Little John, Charles "Big Chuck" Schodowski and "Little John" Rinaldi, have been late-night hosts on television station WJW in Cleveland, Ohio, united States since 1979. In addition to hosting a movie with a live audience, they also perform original sketch comedy routines. At the end of each sketch is a very distinctive laugh that was voiced by Jay Lawrence.

Schodowski had been a long-time friend of Ernie Anderson, and had worked closely with him on the Ghoulardi show. Schodowski had been instrumental in bringing in the blend of blues and polka music that helped define Ghoulardi's show. He added comic audio drop-ins to enliven the often awful movies, and immortalized The Rivingtons' tune "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" by marrying it to the image of an old man "gurning."

When Anderson left Cleveland for California in 1966, his popular Ghoulardi character was retired, and a talent search ensued to find a replacement. Schodowski agreed to help Bob Wells (WJW's "Hoolihan the Weatherman") with his audition, and the management decided they liked the way the two performed together. They became co-hosts of the Hoolihan & Big Chuck Show.

After Hoolihan left the show in 1979, 4 foot-3 inch (1.3 meter) jeweler Rinaldi, a regular performer on the show, took over as co-host on the now renamed Big Chuck & Lil' John Show. Their show currently airs at 12:30 a.m. Saturday nights.

On December 2006, Charles Schodowski announced that he's planning to retire from the show in June, 2007.

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