Through Glass Eyes: Chiller Theater Expo April 30, 2011

Zahcerle, "The Cool Ghoul" and Master of Ceremony for
the Chiller Theater Expo.

On April 30th, I attended the Chiller Theater Toy, Model, and Film Expo in Parsippany, NJ. It's a Horror Convention for fans alike to converge and celebrate the historic local television show of the same name. For those unfamiliar with Chiller Theater, it first aired locally in the New York tri-state area on Saturday nights during the Early 50's as a vehicle for showcasing classic horror movies. It was hosted by Zacherle, "The Cool Ghoul", a character who became synonymous with the show through it's 50 years of broadcasts and many revivals. This Convention (Chiller as most refer to it) offers a stroll down memory lane for all fanboys and fangirls of the horror genre. There are guests abundant for people to meet, and Kevin Clemet, AKA Mr. Chiller, never disappoints the fans by always booking high demand and obscure celebes. Some of the great guests in attendance that weekend included Loni Anderson, Gary Busey, Ernest Borgnine and Dean Stockwell to name a few.

Dean Stockwell and myself.

As a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica, and an avid watcher of Quantum Leap, I was looking forward most to meeting Dean Stockwell. Dean signed my Battlestar Galactica mini-series DVD, which I already had autographed by fellow BSG star and director Edward James Olmos at a previous Chiller. Also on my list of celebrities to meet was Maud Adams of James Bond fame. She's notorious for being the only Bond Girl to appear in 2 films, The Man with the Golden Gun and the infamous Octopussy. Maud Adams is still quite the sophisticated woman, just as her on screen characters would lead you to believe. She was appearing at the show with fellow Bond girl Britt Ekland.

Matt with Maud Adams and Britt Ekland
(Because 2 Bond girls are better than 1!)

Radio personality and co-host of the VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show", Eddie Trunk, was also in attendance at Chiller. My friend Giovanni and I picked up signed copies of his new book Eddie Trunk's Essential Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Eddie's co-host Don Jamieson was also scheduled to appear at Chiller, but didn't make it for one reason or another.. Filling in for Don was Eddie's other co-host, Jim Florintine who put on a great comedic display at Eddie Trunk's expense.

After visiting Eddie Trunk, we ran into the wonderful, and as her nickname implies, Gorgeous George Frankenstein. George is best known for her run in WCW (World Championship Wrestling) in the 90s as Randy "Macho Man" Savage's valet and real life girlfriend. She was appearing at Chiller with her husband Doyle Von Wolfgang Frankenstein of Misfists fame. George was allowing fans to taste test samples of her new Hot Sauce. Unfortunately I was unable to procure information about where and when it'll be available for sale.

My friends and I had a blast during the concert and after party. The show got off to a bang with Zacherle himself kicking us off with a singing of the famed "Monster Mash". Shortly after the Dead Elvi took to the stage. Invited on stage to perform with the Dead Elvi were Undead and former Misfits band member Bobby Steele, Jane Wieldlin of the Go-Go's fame, and Chinese born actress Bai Ling. Earlier that day, in a private ceremony at the convention, singer Bobby Steele was married. In place of a traditional wedding gown, bride wore a Supergirl costume.

Blue Coupe, comprised of founding Blue Oyster Cult members Albert and Joe Bouchard and former Alice Cooper band mate Dennis Dunaway, took the stage for one of the better performances ever given by a band at Chiller. They rocked the crowed with classics including Alice Cooper's "Eighteen" and the Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reeper", which caused the crowd to erupt in cheers!

Matt, Tony Clifton, and myself in one of the more
surreal moments of the evening

The big highlight of my night came when legendary comedian Tony Clifton surprised everyone with an onstage performance. After announcing the death of Glen Campbell (witch we later discovered to be false), Tony went on to perform a 15 minute version of Rhinestone Cowboy! He played all of his classics such as "I will Survive" and "Volare". My night was made!

Later in the evening we caught up with Tony at the bar and had a great discussion with him as he kindly posed for a picture with us. We promised Tony we'd visit him soon in Las Vegas. He proceeded to tell us about his act and how it features 5 of the most beautiful burlesque dancers in the country. Also hanging out at the bar was Larry B. Scott, known for singing the winning talent show song in Revenge of the Nerds. My friend Rollie was hoping that Larry would reprise the song for us on stage, but it sadly did not happen. We also ran into film actor Akihiro Kiramura, known for his role in the cult classic Human Centipede.

All in all, Chiller delivered a great time and a lot of memorable moments. As always we ended our weekend with breakfast at the Original Pancake House in Whippany, NJ. The next Chiller Theater Expo will be held in Parsippany on the weekend of October, 2011. It'll feature their annual Halloween costume contest.