I received some incredibly wonderful news today that local Chicago horror host Svengoolie (Rich Koz) will be making his first public appearance after heart surgery this April 27th at the C2E2 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo.
This past November, fans of the popular nationally televised Svengoolie show were stunned to hear that Rich Koz a.k.a. Svengoolie had a massive heart attack and was having bypass surgery. His future as one of the last remaining televised horror hosts in the country was uncertain. I was elated to hear of his comeback today via friend Dave Fuentes who is one half of the Terror from Beyond the Daves award winning blogging team.
Horror movie host Rich Koz has been a fixture on Chicago television for over 32 years playing the wise-cracking Svengoolie character.
Svengoolie is one of the last, and greatest remaining on-air horror hosts in the country, a holdout from a time when TV horror hosts were widespread across the Unites States. His antics include jokes aplenty, comedy routines, song parodies, and his trademark rubber chickens which are thrown at him every episode. For the past several years, Svengoolie has had a licensing agreement with Universal to air most of their catalog of horror films.
Koz’s greatest success has come just in the last year when Me-TV began airing the Svengoolie show nationally, and is now available in 87% of the US markets. A multiple Chicago Emmy Award winner, he was inducted in the Silver Circle of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2004.
On a personal note, I breathe a sigh of relief to hear of Svengoolie’s comeback and hope he will continue to be a staple in horror host history for years to come! Rich Koz’s Svengoolie has been a beloved part of my childhood and adult life since his inception back in 1979, and I will forever be grateful for all the wonderful memories he has given me and my family.
Follow Svengoolie on Facebook and visit the Official Svengoolie website!
