Lights Out

Before there was Tales From the Crypt, before there was Tales From the Darkside, before there was even Thriller, One Step Beyond, or The Twilight Zone, there was Lights Out. Lights Out was not the first horror radio show, but it was one of the earliest and probably the one which made the most impact. With Grand Guignol plots which sometimes ran to very dark humour, Lights Out was to radio shows what E.C. Comics were to comic books and Thriller was to television.

Lights Out was conceived by writer Wyllis Cooper, a writer at NBC in 1933. According to an article in the November 28, 1933 issue of Variety, Mr. Cooper developed the idea of  "...a midnight mystery serial to catch the attention of the listeners at the witching hour." He soon dropped the idea of a midnight mystery serial, but kept the idea of a series which would air at the witching hour, namely a horror anthology series. That idea would become Lights Out.

Lights Out debuted on January 1934 on WENR in Chicago. In the beginning it was only 15 minutes in length, but the show proved so successful that it expanded to a half hour in April 1934. Very much in demand as a writer, Wyllis Cooper's workload grew as he worked on Lights Out. Indeed, he wrote radio plays for NBC's award winning Immortal Dramas, which adapted tales from the Hebrew Bible. For that reason in January 1935 Lights Out was cancelled. Listeners would demand its return in droves, however, so that Lights Out returned after only a few weeks. Indeed, in April 1935 Lights Out went nationwide on the NBC Red Network.

Under Wyllis Cooper Lights Out emphasised sound effects to depict action over descriptions read by a narrator. What is more, Lights Out was very gruesome, although often played tongue in cheek. Indeed, Mr. Cooper endowed Lights Out with a sense of the bizarre that would not be seen on any other horror anthology. The episode "Cat's Wife" featured a woman who could turn into a human sized cat (this was several years before Val Lewton's Cat People). In "Death Robbery" a scientist who has developed a resurrection serum planned to use it on his dead wife. Naturally, because of the nature of the subject matter featured on Lights Out, NBC only aired the series late at night. Sadly, only a few of Mr. Cooper's original recordings survive.

Wyllis Cooper left Lights Out in 1936 to write for Hollywood (writing among other things the screenplay for The Son of Frankenstein and many entries in the "Mr. Moto" series). NBC then turned to writer Arch Oboler to take over the series. If anything Arch Oboler would be even more outrageous with his scripts than Wyllis Cooper had been. Indeed, his first radio play for the series, "Burial Services," concerned a paralysed girl who is buried alive. Because of the episode NBC received 50,000 letters in complaint! Mr. Oboler kept the tradition of graphic sound effects which Mr. Cooper had established, but at the same time made Lights Out all his own. He experimented with narration, even bringing something to Lights Out rarely heard on other radio shows--stories told from a specific point of view. Among other things he used on a series were a stream of consciousness technique and monologue techniques, allowing listeners to get into the heads of characters.

While Wyllis Cooper created the series, Arch Oboler arguably wrote the most memorable episodes. Indeed, the most famous radio play of all time besides the "War of the Worlds" broadcast of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, may have been "Chicken Heart," in which a chicken's heart grows to enormous sizes and devours everything in its path. In "The Dream" a character accused of murder (played by Boris Karloff) is haunted by an unearthly siren urging him to kill. In"Revolt of the Worms," common earthworms grow to gigantic proportions after a scientist disposes of a formula in his backyard. In "Murder Castle" a man finds a novel way to finance his dream home.

It was in 1938 that Arch Oboler decided to leave Lights Out. He had tired of fighting with NBC's Broadcast Standards over the content of the show, and had a desire to write plays as well. The show would continue until it was finally cancelled in 1939. Lights Out would not remain dead, however, as Arch Oboler would bring it back to life in October 1942 on CBS. For this revival of the series, Oboler re-used material from the original run of the show, as well as material from his plays. It lasted until September 1943. NBC would revive Lights Out from July to September 1945 and again from July to August 1946. ABC revived the show from  July to August 1947. From 1970 to 1973 episodes from the 1942 to 1943 run were syndicated under the title The Devil and Mr. O. Since the Sixties many collections of episodes of Lights Out would be released, first on vinyl records and later on cassette tapes and CDs.

It was in 1946 that NBC brought Lights Out to television in a series of four specials produced by Fred Coe and aired live. It would be in 1949 that Lights Out  would become a regularly scheduled programme, including both original episodes and adaptations of Wyllis Cooper's radio plays. It ran until 1952. In 1972 Lights Out was revived as a telefilm, adapting episodes from the radio show.

As popular as Lights Out was, it would have an enormous impact on pop culture. The episode "Chicken Heart" would inspire Bill Cosby's well known comedy routine of the same name. The episode "What the Devil," in which two drivers are stalked by a truck drive they can't see, may have inspired Steven Spielberg's movie Duel. It would also have a lasting impact on horror anthology series on both radio and television, including stylised introductions and gallows humour. In the end, shows from Starring Boris Karloff to Alfred Hitchcock Presents to The Twilight Zone to Thriller, all owe their existence to Lights Out.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

It was 17 years ago that the great Vincent Price died from lung cancer. It is natural , then, that my thoughts should turn to his many films. In particular, I am thinking of one of his later works, yet one that is still one of his best. I am talking about The Abominable Dr. Phibes, released 18 May 1971.

In some respects The Abominable Dr. Phibes was a bit of an anachronism when it was released. In 1971 the cycle towards Gothic horror which Hammer Films began with the release of The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 was finally coming to an end. Although set in 1925, The Abominable Dr. Phibes feels very much like a classic, Gothic horror movie. Indeed, it looks and very much like the classic Hammer \and American International Gothic horror films released in the Sixties.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes centres upon the title character, one Dr. Anton Phibes (played by Vincent Price),  a talented organist who holds degrees in both Music and Theology. Four years earlier Dr. Phibes and his beautiful wife were in a horrible crash which disfigured Dr. Phibes and would leave his wife dead. Dr. Phibes would create a realistic mask to replace his damaged face and use his skill in music to create technology that would allow him to "speak" despite the damage to his vocal cords. Dr. Phibes would not stop there, however, as he would seek revenge on those he blamed for his wife's death, killing them one by one in the most terrifying ways. Seeking to stop Dr. Phibes' reign of terror are Dr. Vesalius (the great Joseph Cotton), one of the men Dr. Phibes blames for his wife's death, and Inspector Trout of Scotland Yard (Peter Jeffrey).


The Abominable Dr. Phibes has often been classed as camp. And there is some justification in this to a small degree. It features beautiful, but extravagant art deco sets and the murders Dr. Phibes commits, although horrifying in the extreme, are admittedly over the top. That having been said, I truly do not believe The Abominable Dr. Phibes is camp. Things that are truly campy elicit laughs more than anything else, while The Abominable Dr. Phibes elicits screams rather than laughs. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is no more campy that the classic Hammer or American International horror of the movies. It is much closer to Hammer's version of Dracula (1958) and the American International Pictures classic The Masque of the Red Death (1964), in which Vincent Price also starred) than the Sixties Batman TV series or the movie Hairspray (1988).

Indeed, while both the art deco sets and the means through which Dr. Phibes commits his murders are over the top, Vincent Price's performance as Dr. Anton Phibes is remarkably restrained. It is arguably one of Vincent Price's best pieces of acting in his his long career. This is all the more incredible given that, because Dr. Phibes never actually speaks in the film (he only "talks" through the sound system he created), Mr. Price had to dub all his lines after the film had been shot! This would lead to Joseph Cotten complaining that he had to remember and deliver lines, while Mr. Price would dub all of his lines in post production, to which Vincent Price replied, "Yes, but I still know them, Joe." Here it must be pointed out that Vincent Price's capacity for memorising lines was so great that he could not only memorise his own character's lines in scripts, but that of every single character!

Of course, there should be little wonder that Vincent Price should play Dr. Anton Phibes so well, as he is an archetypal Vincent Price character. While Mr. Price would play a variety of roles in his career, many of his best known characters from his horror movies were tragic figures who elicited our sympathy even as they committed unspeakable horrors. In House of the Seven Gables (1940),  he played Clifford Pyncheon, the victim of his evil brother Jaffrey's scheming.  In House of Wax (1953) Vincent Price played wax sculptor Prof. Henry Jarrod, whose original wax museum was burned in an arson and whose body was badly burned in that fire. In The Last Man on Earth (1964, the first film based on Richard Matheson's classic novel I Am Legend), Mr. Price played Dr. Robert Morgan, one of the few survivors of a plague that turned its victims into vampiric creatures. Dr. Phibes, who was disfigured in a wreck and the love of whose life died in that wreck, is a similarly tragic character. We may not condone what he does, but we can certainly understand why he is doing it.

Of course, Vincent Price does not offer the only great performance. Joseph Cotten may have had difficulty remembering his lines, but he does a very good job as Dr. Vesalius, a man who knows he is targeted by Dr. Phibes and knows that if Phibes is successful, then he will die a most gruesome death. Peter Jeffrey also gives a good performance as Inspector Harry Trout, the dedicated police detective trying to unravel the mystery of some of the most horrific crimes ever committed in London.

While The Abominable Dr. Phibes unmistakably belongs to the Gothic horror genre, it does a fantastic job of capturing the feel of the Twenties. The sets are art deco, the preferred style of the time. It also utilises a good deal of the music from the era, including "Charmaine," "Darktown Strutter's Ball," "You Stepped Out of a Dream," "Close Your Eyes," and "Elmer's Tune." Arguably, The Abominable Dr. Phibes has one of the greatest soundtracks of any horror movie.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes was produced by American International Pictures and released in May, 1971. It did remarkably well at the box office, so much so that a sequel would be made, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). Other sequels would be considered, with such titles as Dr. Phibes in the Holy Land,The Son of Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Resurrectus, Dr. Phibes, and The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes. A Dr. Phibes TV series was even pitched to NBC. Bands from The Misfits to The Damned to Angel Witch have released songs based on Dr. Phibes.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes would be Vincent Price's best film released in the Seventies and remains one of the best films he ever made. It is truly terrifying, but at the same time Mr. Price played a character with whom any one who has ever been in love could sympathise. It was set in a time period rarely utilised in horror movies (the 1920's), evoking that era quite well, but still feeling like a classic Gothic horror film. It makes great use of music, including classic songs from the era. Quite simply, The Abominable Dr. Phibes  is a remarkable horror film of the sort that even people who not fans of the genre can enjoy. It is, quite simply, a classic.

Starring Boris Karloff and The Veil

Given his status as the best known actor in horror movies in the mid-20th Century, it was inevitable that Boris Karloff would host a horror anthology series on television. Most people know that he hosted Thriller, the legendary horror anthology show which ran from 1960 to 1962 on NBC, but Boris Karloff would host two other horror series before Thriller. Indeed, one of them may was the second horror series to ever air on American network television.

In the late Forties Boris Karloff was represented by David Susskind at the powerful talent agency MCA.Mr. Susskind put together a deal for Mr. Karloff, whose movie theatre was in the doldrums at that point, hosting a radio show and television series. Starring Boris Karloff, also known as The Boris Karloff Mystery Theatre and Boris Karloff Presents, was a half hour anthology series which debuted on September 22, 1949 on the American Broadcast Company (ABC). Starring Boris Karloff aired on radio on Wednesday, followed by the television broadcast on Thursday. From reports the series was very similar to Mr. Karloff's later show Thriller. Its debut episodes, "Five Golden Guineas" dealt with a hangman who unknowingly executes his own son. It very closely resembles the later Thriller episode "Guillotine."Another episode, "The Shop at Sly Corner," was an adaptation of the Edward Percy play of the same name, in which a Devil's Island convict operates a suspicious antique shop.

Boris Karloff put in a good deal of work on the show, so much so that MCA wanted to credit him as a producer. Ever the professional, Mr. Karloff objected most strenuously.  He maintained he handled none of the production duties and should not be credited as such, and that the credit should go to actual producer and director Alex Segal. The next payday Mr. Segal noticed his pay cheque had increased from $75 a week to $125 a week. While Mr. Segal was not given a producer credit, Mr. Karloff's anger had convinced MCA to give him a pay raise!

Sadly, Starring Boris Karloff would only last thirteen weeks. Even more sadly, not one episode survives. This is particularly sad given the fact that it may be the second horror anthology series on American television, pre-dating Inner Sanctum (Suspense, the adaptation of the famous radio show, only occasionally adapted horror stories, more often concentrating on the traditional mystery) and debuting only a few months after Lights Out (which premiered in July of 1949).

It would be almost ten years later before Boris Karloff would host another anthology series. Produced in 1958, The Veil sprang from the mind of Frank P Bibas, and produced by Hal Roach Studios. Although also a horror anthology series, The Veil was very different from Starring Boris Karloff and Thriller. It was supposedly based on real life accounts of supernatural occurrences, making it in some ways similar to Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond. Episodes dealt with such events as a teenager possessed by the ghost of a dead girl, an Indian woman who claims to have been reincarnated and knows minutiae from her past life, and a ghost who tries to make a pilot crash a plane.

Sadly, The Veil would never air. Its production would prove to be a troubled one. An co-production agreement that Hal Roach Studios had made with syndicator fell apart early in the show's history. Worse yet, in 1958 Hal Roach Studios was in dire financial straits. After only ten episodes, the studio ran out of financing for the show. Ten episodes were considered too few even for a syndication run, so the show remained unaired. Four episodes would be edited into the movie Destination Nightmare (1958), and the entire run of the series would be released on DVD in  2001 (a full nine years before Thriller).

Boris Karloff would go onto host the legendary series Thriller. He would also appear frequently on television, guest starring in such shows as Lights Out, Suspense, Climax, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Route 66 (as himself, alongside Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr.), The Wild Wild West, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., and The Name of the Game.He also starred in the series Colonel March of Scotland Yard, which featured more than its fair share of supernatural plots. When it comes to television, however, he is perhaps best known as the host of Thriller. Despite this, it was actually the third show he hosted, after Starring Boris Karloff and The Veil.

This....is a Thriller!

(As regular readers of this blog know, every year the week before Halloween I make a blog post befitting the holiday each day. Today I am breaking a bit with tradition in reprinting a post from the first year of this blog, although it is on a subject well suited to Halloween. "This....is a Thriller!" was first published on 29 October 2004. The article was about the classic horror anthology series, Thriller, hosted by Boris Karloff. I reprint it today for two reasons. The first is that in 2004 it was very difficult to post pictures to Blogger, but today it is much easier. This version of the article then includes photos to go with the text. The second reason is that since 2004 the entire series has been released on DVD, news I wanted to include in this version of the article. Without further ado, then, "This...is a Thriller!")

Next Sunday is Halloween and my mind is turning to the horror genre. Growing up I remember a horror anthology series called Thriller. I was not yet born when the series first debuted on September 13, 1960. In fact, I was not even born when the series last aired on NBC on April 30, 1962. For much of that two year run, Thriller brought tales of unspeakable horror to the small screen, including adaptations of some classic stories from horror literature. This was perhaps fitting, as the series was hosted by famous movie ghoul, Boris Karloff. Fortunately, as I was not yet born during its original run, Thriller had a healthy syndication run. I remember KRCG reran it in the Seventies. I watched it as often as I could. It was possibly the most frightening TV show I had ever seen, short of a few episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Though it is best known as a horror anthology series, Thriller did not start out that way. Thriller was created by TV legend Hubbell Robinson (former programming chief of CBS). As originally conceived by Mr. Robinson, Thriller would be "the Studio One of mystery, a quality anthology drawing on the whole rich field of suspense literature." The series would be on par with Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. Mr. Robinson assured NBC that Thriller would be his own personal project. Mr, Robinson had been programming chief at CBS during the so called Golden Age of Television. During that time he had watched over the development of many of that network's greatest series, including I Love Lucy and Sergeant Bilko. Mr. Robinson championed such classic anthology series as Studio One and Playhouse 90. He had also been executive producer for Playhourse 90. Mr. Robinson then had a good deal of clout in the televison community and NBC added Thriller to their fall 1960-1961 lineup without requiring a pilot episode.

Unfortunately, problems regarding the series developed almost immediately. Nineteen sixty was the year of the third longest Writers Guild strike of all time. For the duration of the strike, no television writer could write, re-write, or even so much as edit any script of any TV series. To do so would result in sanctions from the Guild. Needless to say, this made things extremely difficult for televison shows, particularly those going into production for the first time. A more serious problem was a disagreement between executive producer Hubbell Robinson, line producer Fletcher Markle, and associate producer/story editor James P. Cavanaugh as to what consulted a good "thriller." The three men disagreed as to whether horror and black comedy could be included under the heading of "thriller," whether graphic violence was necessary within a thriller, and nearly everything else about the show.

Between the writer's strike and inner turmoil in the production staff, Thriller debuted to almost universally hostile reviews and low ratings. As the series progressed, neither the quality of the stories nor the reviews nor the ratings showed any significant improvement. Its sponsor was not happy, hence neither was NBC. Robinson blamed the low quality of the initial episodes on the writers' strike. From another producer this might be an acceptable explanation, but, from Hubbell Robinson, NBC did not buy it. NBC conducted its own investigation and discovered the ugly truth: Messrs. Robinson, Markle, and Cavanaugh simply could not agree on anything

After eight episodes, NBC handed Mr. Robinson an ultimatum: either Thriller would be brought up to the level of quality they had expected of the show or it would face cancellation. Mr. Robinson decided that the series' problem was the fact that its focus was simply too broad. Its focus was then narrowed from the whole field of mystery to two specific subgenres: the horror/mystery tale with supernatural elements and the fast paced crime story. Mr, Markle was fired and two new producers were hired. William Frye would produce the horror episodes, while Maxwell Shane would produce the crime episodes. Peter Rugolo, who provided Thriller with loud, jazzy musical scores, was replaced by Morton Stevens and Jerry Goldsmith, who provided the series with more appropriately chilling music. Finally, Boris Karloff, the master of horror himself, was brought in as the show's host.

Mr. Robinson's solution initially made for an uneven series. Though the episodes were now of a fairly high quality, the show itself was divided between two very distinct genres. One week the viewer might tune in to see an exciting tale of murder and drug smuggling, while the next week he might tune in to see a terrifying tale of the undead and ghostly possession. As the first season of Thriller progressed, however, the show began to take shape as a definite horror anthology. Tales of terror outnumbered the tales of crime, and even the crime stories took on a more of an air of Hitchcockian suspense or psychological horror.

In some respects it was logical that Thriller would evolve into a horror anthology. This would further set it apart from Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to which it is still compared. At the same time, television had yet to fully mine the horror genre. Thriller first ventured into the horror genre with its fourth aired episode, the first one produced by William Frye, "The Purple Room." This episode dealt with an heir (played by Rip Torn) who must first spend a night in a house said to be haunted before he can inherit the property. It was with the series' 12th episode that Thriller took shape as the horror anthology which most fans remember it as. "The Cheaters" was based on a story by Robert Bloch, originally published in Weird Tales back in 1947. The episode centred upon a mysterious pair of glasses which allowed the wearer to see through the facades of anyone to the truth about that person. Unfortunately, it does so at a terrible cost to the wearer. "The Cheaters" was pivotal in the development of Thriller in that it was the first of many to be based on a classic horror story and it was the first in which Boris Karloff utters the immortal words, "This....is a Thriller!" That phrase would become the tagline for the series.

"The Cheaters" was among the best episodes of the first season of Thriller. "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" was based on the classic Robert Bloch story from a 1943 issue of Weird Tales, in which a man (John Williams) discovers that Jack the Ripper is alive and well in the United States and continuing to commit murders. Robert Bloch himself adapted "The Devil's Ticket," based on his own story which first appeared in Weird Tales in 1944. In "The Devil's Ticket" a starving artist (MacDonald Carey) pawns his soul to Satan for three months of fame and fortune. Perhaps the most terrifying episode of the series' entire run as John Kneubuhl's adaptation of "Pigeons from Hell," based on the story by Robert E. Howard which first appeared in Weird Tales in 1938. In "Pigeons from Hell" two brothers, stranded by car trouble, find themselves facing the undead presences of a particular sadistic plantation family's servants. Over all, the first season of Thriller saw some of the best horror tales ever aired. To this day many of the episodes remain unmatched in their power to evoke terror.

For its second season Thriller shifted almost entirely to a horror format. Only the final episode, "The Specialists," an unsold pilot about an international ring of jewel thieves, contained absolutely no elements of terror. Among the best episodes of this season was Robert Bloch's adaptation of his own "Waxworks," first published in Weird Tales in 1939, in which figures in a travelling wax museum modelled after famous killers are brought to life. In another one of Bloch's adaptation of his own stories, "The Weird Tailor,"a man has a tailor make a special suit that will resurrect his dead son.

Not every episode of Thriller was an exercise in chills. The show also dealt in black comedy. An example of this is "The Remarkable Mrs. Hawks" in which a lady hog farmer (Jo Van Fleet) in a small American community turns out to be the legendary Circe!

Boris Karloff himself appeared in a few of the second seasons. Among these was an adaptation of Poe's "The Premature Burial." Mr. Karloff played a woman's lover who buries her cataleptic husband alive. Mr. Karloff also appeared in "The Last of the Sommervilles," in which he plots with his cousin to kill their wealthy aunt. In "The Incredible Dr. Markesan," based on an August Derleth/Mark Schorer story first published in Weird Tales in 1934, Karloff plays a doctor who has figured out a way to cheat death.

In addition to Boris Karloff, Thriller would feature several well known guest stars. Classic movie stars Mary Astor, John Carradine, Reginald Owen, and Everett Sloane all appeared in episodes on the series. The show also featured many television actors who were already famous or soon would be: Donna Douglas of The Beverly Hillbillies, Russell Johnson (soon to be best known as The Professor on Gilligan's Island), Werner Klemperer (a few years from lasting fame as Colonel Klink on Hogan's Heroes), Elizabeth Montgomery (who a few years later became the star of Bewitched), Mary Tyler Moore (already starring on The Dick Van Dyke Show), William Shatner (soon to be forever known as Captain Kirk on Star Trek), and Dick York (a few years away from becoming Darren Stevens on Bewitched).

By the end of its second season, Thriller was a cult favourite with horror fans and had redeemed itself with television critics. Unfortunately, this would not guarantee that it would see a third season. . At the time NBC was also home to Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Unlike the hour long Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents had only been a half hour in length. With the 1962-1963 season, Hitchcock and his production staff decided to expand his series to one hour and rename it The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. It seems possible that Thriller was cancelled to make room for more Hitchcock. Perhaps confirming this theory is a report from Thriller associate producer Doug Benton who had heard that Hitchcock thought that in making Thriller Hubbell Robinson had tread on his turf. From what Mr. Benton had heard, Hitchcock thought that Thriller was doing the same sort of material he covered in his own show. The fact that both shows aired on NBC and that both were made at the production company Revue (now Universal Television) at least makes it possible that Hitchcock expanded his show to an hour in an effort to compete with Thriller.

Regardless, Thriller went onto a very successful syndication run, airing on local stations for literally years. To this day it is perhaps better remembered than horror series with longer runs. The reason is not just its famous host, Boris Karloff, but the fact that despite an awkward start it went onto become a quality anthology series. While Mr. Robinson had wanted to do the Studio One of mystery, he ultimately produced the Studio One of horror. It was one of the few shows to adapt classic tales of horror from pulp magazines, often by a master of horror himself (Robert Bloch). The show also benefited from several talented directors, among them John Newland, John Brahm, and Ida Lupino. Finally, as both host and actor, Boris Karloff lent the series both an atmosphere of terror and an air of prestige.

To this day I have fond memories of watching Thriller Saturday afternoons and nights on KRCG . Sadly, the series would almost totally disappear from syndication in the Eighties. In the Nineties individual episodes of the show would be released on VHS. In the Naughts Thriller would be rerun on the Scream cable channel. At long last, on August 31, 2010, the entire run of Thriller would be released on DVD. Not only were the episodes remastered and uncut, but the DVD set includes a number of special features. Among the extras on the DVD set are commentaries by such names as Arthur Hiller, Daniel Benton, Marc Scott Zircee, Larry Blamire, and others, production and promotional still galleries, the original network promo for the show, and promos for individual episodes. Unfortunately, Thriller is only sold in a DVD set including both the first and second seasons, making it prohibitively expensive for many ($99.99 on Amazon). Regardless, at long last Thriller is finally widely available for the first time for years. For people such as me who remember it from our childhoods and for fans for the horror genre, classic television, and Boris Karloff, this is truly a blessing. At last many will get to see the greatest horror anthology of all time again or, in many cases, for the very first time.

Scholastic Turns 90

In most places around the world, chances are you have heard of Scholastic Inc. Indeed, it is the largest publisher and distributor of children's books in the world. Of course, Scholastic does more than publish children's books. It also publishes several various magazines for the classroom, such as Scholastic News and Let's Find Out. It also owns Weston Woods Studios, which produces films and audio books for children, Tom Snyder Productions, which produces educational software for children, and book publisher Arthur A. Levine Books. Of course, for many Americans Scholastic may be most familiar through its Book Clubs division, book clubs through which children can buy discounted books through the classroom.

Scholastic Inc. was founded on October 22, 1920 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by M. R. Robinson. Its first publication was The Western Pennsylvania Scholastic, which covered high school sports and was founded on that day. It was in 1922 that Scholastic Inc. went national with The Scholastic, a classroom magazine meant to educate children on the news of the day. In 1923 the Scholastic Writing Awards would be established as part of The Scholastic. This would lead to the first book published by Scholastic, in 1926. It entitled Saplings, it collected the best material from the various Scholastic Writing Awards winners.

In the Thirties, Scholastic would expand with the publication of the magazine Scholastic Coach, meant for high school and college coaches. The magazine is still being published today, making it Scholastic's longest running magazine. In 1937 Scholastic expanded into the junior high market with Junior Scholastic, which remains one of the company's oldest publications

Following World War II Scholastic would add more publications, including Scholastic Teacher, Prep, and Literary Cavalcade. It would be in 1948 that Scholastic would enter into a joint venture with paperback publisher Pocket Books to create their first Book Club, T.A.B. ("Teen Age Book Club"). The book clubs would prove extremely successful, so that Scholastic would add more over the years. It was in 1957 that Scholastic created their Arrow Book Club, currently serving fourth to sixth grades. It was in 1961 that the Lucky Book Club, serving second to third grades, was launched. In 1966 Scholastic launched its Seesaw Book Club, centred on kindergarten and first grade. Since then the Scholastic Book Clubs have expanded even more. In 1994 Scholastic acquired one of their competitors, Trumpet Book Clubs. In 2003 they acquired another competitor, Troll Book Clubs.

It was in 1957 that Scholastic founded its first subsidiary outside the United States, Scholastic Canada. The company would expand into the United Kingdom and New Zealand in 1964, and Australia, in 1968. Today there are Scholastic subsidiaries around the world. Over the years Scholastic would also expand the number of magazines it published. News Time would be introduced in 1952, its first news magazine directed at elementary school. News Time would be the forerunner of the now familiar Scholastic News, which has editions published for every grade in elementary school. In 1964 Scholastic launched Scope, a magazine for struggling readers. From 1974 to 1992, Scholastic published Dynamite, which as a guide to pop culture for children. Dynamite was one of the few Scholastic magazines to be sold on newsstands. It was also sold through the Book Clubs.

It was in 1978 that Scholastic Productions was formed with the goal of producing children's television shows and feature films. Beginning with the TV series Voyagers, Scholastic Productions would go onto produce such shows as Charles in Charge, The Magic School Bus, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Word Girl. It would also produce such feature films as The Indian in the Cupboard (1995), Tuck Everlasting (2002), and The Golden Compass (2007).

It was in 1981 that Scholastic entered the book fair business by buying California Book Fairs. In 1983 Scholastic Book Fairs would go national after the company bought Great American Book Fairs. Since then Scholastic has continued to expand. In 1989 it bought Instructor, the oldest magazine for teachers, published since 1891. In 1993 Scholastic launched the Scholastic Network on AOL, the first online service for teachers and students. It was the direct forerunner of Scholastic's web site (launched in 1996). In 1996 Scholastic bought Weston Woods, which produces films and audio books for children. In 2001 Scholastic opened its first retail store in New York City. In 2004 it would open another in Scarsdale, New York. That same year Scholastic acquired Tom Snyder Productions. In 2002 Scholastic launched COOL (Clubs Ordering Online), which allows teachers and parents to order through the Book Clubs online.

Starting with a single magazine in 1920, Scholastic Inc. is now the largest publisher of children's books in the world. Indeed, it owns the American publishing rights to the highly successful "Harry Potter" series, as well as such successful series as "Clifford the Big Red Dog" series, "Goosebumps" series, "Baby Sitter's Club" series, and others. It seems quite likely that since 1960 there have been very few American children who have not been touched by Scholastic, either through Scholsatic News, the Scholastic Books, or, most likely both. I remember reading both Scholastic News and Dynamite growing up, as well as buying books through the Book Clubs (indeed, I bought my first book by Ian Fleming through the Book Clubs--Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). Of course, today Scholastic has a bigger impact on my life than it did when I was a child, given I have worked for them for six years now. I can't think of any company I would rather work for.

Johnny Sheffield Passes On

Johnny Sheffield, who played Boy in the Tarzan movies and Bomba the Jungle Boy, passed on October 15, 2010 at the age of 79. The cause was a heart attack.

Johnny Sheffield was born in Pasadena, California on April 11, 1931. His father, Reginald Sheffield, had been a child actor who appeared in silent movies and on Broadway.

It was in 1938 that Johnny Sheffield made his acting debut in the West Coast production of the Broadway play On Borrowed Time. He would later appear in the play on Broadway as a replacement. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in The Man on the Rock (1938). It was in 1939 that he first played Boy in the movie Tarzan Finds a Son. He would go onto appear in Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941), Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), Tarzan Triumphs (1943), Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943), Tarzan and the Amazons (1945), Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946), and Tarzan and the Huntress (1947). He also appeared in the films Babes in Arms (1939), Little Orvie (1940), Lucky Cisco Kid (1940), Knute Rockne All American (1940), Million Dollar Baby (1941), Roughly Speaking (1945), and The Sun Comes Up (1949).

In 1949 Johnny Sheffield starred in the movie Bomba the Jungle Boy, based on the Stratemeyer Syndicate boy's adventure novels published from 1926 to 1938. He would appear in eleven more Bomba movies, including Bomba on Panther Island (1949), The Lost Volcano (1950), Bomba and the Hidden City (1950),
The Lion Hunters (1951, The Elephant Stampede (1951), African Treasure, 1952, Bomba and the Jungle Girl, 1952, Safari Drums (1953), The Golden Idol (1954), Killer Leopard (1954), and Lord of the Jungle (1955). After the Bomba series had run its course, in 1956, Johnny Sheffield's father, Reginald Sheffield, produced a pilot for a TV series entitled Bantu the Zebra Boy. It did not find a sponsor and as a result a series never materialised.

Mr. Sheffield earned a business degree from UCLA and worked for a company that farmed various crops in Yuma, Arizona. He later went into real estate in California, and afterwards worked for a company that imported lobsters from Baja California. He eventually became a contractor.

Johnny Sheffield was hardly a great actor, but he played the parts of Boy and Bomba well. While the later Tarzan films and especially the Bomba movies can hardly be considered classics, they were entertaining adventure movies that seemed perfectly suited to little boys watching in the cinema or at home on television on a Saturday afternoon. As both Boy and Bomba, Mr. Sheffield was rather convincing, as if he had been born to the part. Indeed, he had continued to receive fan mail to this day, decades after he had given up acting.

Tom Bosley R.I.P.

Tom Bosley, who appeared in such films as Love with the Proper Stranger, The World of Henry Orient, and Divorce American Style, as well as starring in the TV series Happy Days and The Father Dowling Mysteries, passed yesterday at the age of  83. The cause was lung cancer.

Tom Bolsey was born in Chicago on October 1, 1927. During World War II he served in the United States Navy. After he was demobilised in 1947, Mr. Bosley returned to Chicago where he enrolled in classes at DePaul University in hopes of becoming a sportscaster. While there he made his acting debut with the Canterbury Players at the Fine Arts Theatre in a production of Our Town. He would also play the Woodstock Opera House in Woodstock, Illinois alongside Paul Newman.

In 1955 Mr. Bosley made his television debut on The Hallmark Hall of Fame in a production of "Alice in Wonderland." He made his debut on Broadway in 1958 The Power and the Glory. In 1959 he appeared on Broadway in the play The Beaux Stratagem. It was that year that his big break would come. He was cast Mayor Fiorello La Guardia of New York City in the musical Fiorello! For his role in the play Mr. Bosley won the 1960 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.  Over the next few years Tom Bosley guest starred on such shows as Play of the Week, Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Law and Mr. Jones, Car 54 Where Are You, The Naked City, and Route 66. On Broadway he appeared in the plays Nowhere to Go But Up (1962) and Natural Affection (1963).

Tom Bosley made his film debut in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), in which he played Anthony Columbo, the clumsy but sweet owner of a small restaurant. For the remainder of the Sixties Mr. Bosley would work in the movies, television, and on Broadway. He appeared in such films as The World of Henry Orient (1964), Divorce American Style (1967), The Bang-Bang Kid (1967), The Secret War of Henry Frigg (1968), and Yours Mine and Ours (1968). He was a regular on the short lived sitcom The Debbie Reynolds Show. He guest starred on such shows as Dr. Kildare, Profiles in Courage, Ben Casey, The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., The F.B.I., Get Smart, The Virginian, and Bonanza. On Broadway he appeared in A Murderer Among Us  (1964), Catch Me If You Can (1965), and  The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N (1968).

In the Seventies Mr. Bosley would be a regular on The Sandy Duncan Show and Howard Cunningham on the long running sitcom Happy Days. He was the voice of lead character Harry Boyle on the animated series Wait Till Your Father Gets Home. He guest starred on such shows as Night Gallery, The Name of the Game, Bewitched, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, The Sixth Sense, Medical Centre, The Paul Lynde Show, Maude, Love American Style, McMillan and Wife,  Insight, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Ellery Queen, and The Streets of San Francisco. He appeared in the films To Find a Man (1972), Mixed Company (1974), and Gus (1976).

In the Eighties Tom Bosley was a regular on Murder She Wrote, playing Sheriff Amos Tupper. He also played the lead role in The Father Dowling Mysteries. He was the voice of David the Gnome in the animated series of the same name. He guest starred on such shows as Tales of the Unexpected, Hotel, and Out of This World. He appeared in the films O'Hara's Wife and Million Dollar Mystery. From the Nineties into the Naughts, Mr. Bosley guest starred on such shows as Burke's Law, The Drew Carey Show, Johnny Bravo, Port Charles, Maggie, Jack and Jill, Family Law, and One Tree Hill. He returned to Broadway in Beauty and the Beast (1994) and a revival of Cabaret (1998). His last work was as the voice of Santa Paws in the movie Santa Buddies (2009).

Many might best remember Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham on Happy Days, but he did so much more. Indeed, he was a very prolific actor who appeared in movies, on television, and on Broadway. Indeed, I remember Mr. Bosley best not as Mr. C, but from his very film roles: Columbo in Love with the Proper Stranger, Frank Boyd in The World of Henry Orient, and Farley in Divorce American Style. It should be little wonder that Mr. Bosley should have such a long and prolific career playing in three different media. He was a gifted actor, particularly as comedy. He had a perfect sense of timing that was unmatched by most actors, and he was equally good whether playing the straight man or the gag man. He was also a consummate professional who was loved by everyone who worked with him. Indeed, it is a testament to Tom Bosley that he would have a character in one of the most popular shows from the Seventies named for him. Aaron Spelling named "Bosley" on Charlie's Angels for Mr. Bosley and even wanted him to play the role (ultimately played by David Doyle). Unfortunately for Mr. Spelling, Tom Bosley had turn him down as he was already in the hit show Happy Days. So talented and beloved was Mr. Bosley that he would inspire a character based on himself