GRAVESEND MANOR
SON OF GRAVESEND MANOR

ED WEISS - "MALCOLM THE BUTLER"
JIM VARNUM - "THE DUKE OF DESMODAS"
RON SCOTT - "CLAUDE THE GREAT"
JOHN VOIGHT - "ESMERELDA"
FRED KALAMAJA - "BORIS KUTCHYOURHEADOFFSKI"

"Gravesend Manor" was a hosted horror movie show with Ed Weiss as "Malcom the Butler" and Jim Varnum as "The Duke of Desmodas" presenting movies on Saturday nights on WOI-TV, Channel 5 Des Moines, Iowa in the late 1950's to early 1960's. The show would return in 1964; then again as the mid 1970's for a few years as "Son of Gravesend Manor" The Cast: Gravesend Manor (late 1950's-early 1960's) Gravesend Manor was sometimes printed in TV guides as "Grave's End Manor". Ed Weiss Malcolm the Butler Jim Varnum The Duke of Desmodas Ron Scott Claude the Great John Voight Esmerelda Gravesend Manor (1964) Ed Weiss Malcolm the Butler Jim Varnum The Duke of Desmodas John Voight Esmerelda Son of Gravesend Manor (1974-1976) Ed Weiss Malcolm the Butler Jim Varnum The Duke of Desmodas Fred Kalamaja Boris Kutchyourheadoffski Portrait of "The Duke of Desmodas" by Bradley Beard. "The Duke of Desmodas" - biography (taken from Bradley's Facebook page)" Long ago, they lived in the manor of The Master. Today I present The Duke of Desmodas, co-host of and resident in Gravesend Manor on WOI-TV Channel 5 in Des Moines, Iowa. It is unclear whether the show began in the late 1950's but it did run until 1968… or not. The Master who presided over the manor was never seen because he was far too hideous. The primary host of the show was Malcolm the Butler who was played by Ed Weiss. Malcolm's sidekick was Claude the Great, played by Ron Scott, and was a creation of the Master. The Duke of Desmodas, played by Jim "Red" Varnum, was a boarder in the manor and rounded out the cast. Very little information on this show exists; there are even several conflicting accounts of the Duke’s actual name, Desmodas seems to be the most common reference. Sadly, it seems that the residents of Gravesend Manor are all but forgotten. Ed Weiss Jim Varnum Ron Scott John Voight Sadly Fred Kalamaja passed away on 2 March 1998. The following are some clips from the shows, and interviews with the cast: Gravesend Manor - hosted by Malcom the Butler and The Duke of Desmodas from The Professor on Vimeo.

LINKS

Internet Movie Data Base "Gravesend Manor (1950's-1960's)"	Facebook: Bradley Beard - Horror Host Artist "The Duke of Desmodas"	Internet Movie Data Base "Gravesend Manor (1964)"
Internet Movie Data Base "Son of Gravesend Manor"	E-gors Chamber of TV Horror Hosts "Malcolm the Butler and The Duke of Desmodas"	Internet Movie Data Base "Ed Weiss"
Internet Movie Data Base "Jim Varnum"	Internet Movie Data Base "Ron Scott"	Internet Movie Data Base "John Voight"
Internet Movie Data Base "Fred Kalamaja"	Cardinal Tales "Gravesend Manor"	Des Moines Broadcasting "Gravesend Manor"

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