THE COOL GHOUL DRIVE-IN THEATER
THRILLER THEATER

GEORGE CAVENDER - "THE COOL GHOUL"

George Cavender was the horror host "The Cool Ghoul", who hosted a number of horror movies:- 1970-1972 - on WJAN-TV, Channel 17 Canton, Ohio. The name of the show is not known. 1984-1986 - "Thriller Theater", Friday nights on WOAC-TV, Channel 67 Canton-Akron, Ohio. 1990's - on WOIO-TV, Channel 19 Cleveland, Ohio; Halloween specials, the name of the show and the air dates are not known. 2009-? - "The Cool Ghoul Drive-in Theater" online web based classic horror movies. The show's end date is not known.

Portrait of "The Cool Ghoul" by Bradley Beard.
"The Cool Ghoul" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)

He received his first issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine from his father in 1960. Tonight I present The Cool Ghoul, host of Thriller Theatre; the show had several incarnations over the years which ran on WJAN-TV Channel 17 and WOAC-TV Channel 67 in Canton, OH and WOIO-TV Channel 19 in Cleveland, OH. The legendary Zacherley was originally nicknamed "The Cool Ghoul"; a name later adopted by Cincinnati horror host Dick Von Hoene. In 1971, when he was just 16 years of age, George Cavender obtained permission from Von Hoene to re-create the character and begin his own journey as a horror host. His show began in the 70's and aired on and off through the 90's. When Cavender left WOAC-TV, Keven Scarpino, who had worked on the Cool Ghoul's show, took over as Son of Ghoul and another horror hosting legend was born. Cavender cites Ghoulardi as his mentor; when his father was killed in an auto accident in 1965, he says it was Ghoulardi who helped him to get through the ordeal.

The following is a promo for "The Cool Ghoul Drive-in Theater":

"The Cool Ghoul Drive-in Theater" - promo from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.