The Chicago broadcasting community has lost a legendary member of their family as Jerry G. Bishop passed away on Sunday. Bishop will probably best be remembered as Chicago horror host, the original Svengoolie.
Mr. Bishop hosted “Screaming Yellow Theater,” a horror-film show on WFLD-Ch. 32 from 1970 to 1973, as the coffin-dwelling hippie with a wacky sense of humor. His character has a devoted following to this day, family and former colleagues said.
From The Chicago Tribune:
“He was making really creative TV on almost no budget,” said Wally Podrazik, curator at Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications. “I’d call Jerry G. Bishop the master of the non sequitur and running gag. Not just as Svengoolie, but as a radio DJ with a superb timing and a sense of unabashed silliness.”
Mr. Bishop wasn’t the first to host a horror-movie show, but he attracted a devoted following, said Rich Koz, Mr. Bishop’s co-writer and protege who inherited the Svengoolie role.
“The material was so fun, people liked the character, and it still had a really local feel,” Koz said.”He was an incredibly talented, generous man.”
Mr. Bishop, 77, a resident of San Diego, died of a heart attack Sunday, Sept. 15, at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center, according to family members.
He was born Jerry Ghan in Chicago on Aug. 3, 1936, and graduated from Wright City College, the University of Illinois and Columbia College, then got his start in radio at the former WNMP in Evanston in 1962. Within a few years, he was a popular nighttime DJ at Cleveland’s KYW who traveled with the Beatles during their 1965 and 1966 U.S. tours.
He returned to Chicago in 1967 to lead WCFL’s morning radio show and moved to WFLD-TV in 1969. A year later, the show that introduced Svengoolie was born. He saw the role as a great vehicle for comedy, even though he didn’t particularly like horror films, Koz said.
Though “Screaming Yellow Theater” was canceled in 1973, Mr. Bishop’s character lived on. Koz, who landed a spot
writing for the show after mailing Mr. Bishop ideas for jokes, launched the “Son of Svengoolie” TV series in 1979 and continued to play Svengoolie — with Mr. Bishop’s blessing — ever since. He still uses some of their original jokes, including frequent mocking references to Berwyn and flocks of flying rubber chickens. In 2011, Mr. Bishop — as his character — was inducted into the Horror Host Hall of Fame.
He is also survived by his wife of 49 years, Liz; a son, Christopher; and a granddaughter.
Jerry G. Bishop will always be remembered by the Chicago broadcasting community as well as fans of the horror host worldwide. It is with our deepest sympathies here at Horror Society we send our sincerest condolences to Jerry G. Bishop’s family and friends. He will be missed.
