R.I.P. COOL GHOUL
They were a fixture of every monster kid’s household in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s: The Horror Television Host. Equipped with a ferocious wit and adorned in a morbidly playful attire, horror hosts without a doubt made an indelible mark in the genre and it’s with great sadness we have to report the passing of one of these icons.
Cincinnati’s Dick Von Hoene, a.k.a. the Cool Ghoul, has passed away at the age of 63. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Hoene began a career in the broadcasting field in 1962 at WCPO but it was a year earlier that his alter ego attracted everyone’s attention for Bob Smith’s Monster Mash show on Halloween 1961.
‘I think he was a tremendous entertainer. As the character he played as the Ghoul, it was tremendously popular,’ Hoene’s brother told the Enquirer. ‘He came across as funny, but also caring – and he had a mutual admiration with the audience.’
The Cool Ghoul called it quits in the early ’80s as Hoene branched into other television hosting gigs. You can find a more detailed background on Hoene by clicking here.
Courtesy of Creature Corner
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