SALUTE TO RICH KOZ
WHEREAS, September 18, 2014 marks the 44" Anniversary of "Svengoolie" a uniquely Chicago cultural icon who is brought to life by the czar of the low-budget horror show TV venue, Rich Koz; and
WHEREAS, A comic mash-up of "ghoul", those ever popular zombie-like creatures, with "Svengali", a fictional character from an 1895 novel that has come to refer to a muse with evil intent who dominates, manipulates and controls the wills of the weak, Rich Koz as "Svengoolie" along with his fictional cohorts have dominated this esoteric and campy genre on and off the television airwaves for more than four decades; and
WHEREAS, Originally portrayed by the late local TV and radio personality, Jerry G. Bishop, Rich Koz has been Svengoolie since 1979. The show airs low-budget, horror and science-fiction movies with Koz performing sketches, telling corny jokes, and performing song parodies that spoofed the film being aired just before and after commercial breaks as well as occasionally interjecting humorous comments as the film was being shown; and
WHEREAS, Rich Koz started out as a fan who sent in sketch ideas from time to time and eventually ended up as Bishop's collaborator. The original show lasted froml970 to 1973. When an opportunity arose, Koz five years later, he and Bishop decided to resurrect the Svengoolie franchise. "Son of Svengoolie" arose from the dead on June 16, 1979 with Koz now appearing as the main character in thick black makeup around his eyes, with a moustache, goatee and fright wig, wearing a top hat and tuxedo jacket over a bright red open-collared button-down shirt; and
WHEREAS, Rich Koz created new characters who were periodically included in the Svengoolie show. Pianist "Doug Graves" was played by musician and crew member Doug Scharf. However, "Zallman T. Tombstone", a disembodied skull, "Kerwyn", a wise-cracking rubber chicken, and "Durwood the Dummy", a ventriloquist's doll from the original 1970 show as well as many other incidental ch...
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