When I was a kid growing up in Pittsburgh in the '70s, WTAE channel 4 had a regular Saturday-afternoon horror show that I never missed. I can’t remember the name of it, though. KDKA channel 2 had a similar show Sunday Afternoon called “Science Fiction Theater.” And, of course channel 11 (can’t remember the call letters back then) had Chiller Theater Saturday night.
If anyone can remember what the WTAE show was called, you’ll fill a gap in my childhood memory.
TIA
As you said, it’s not Chiller Theater.
I know what you’re talking about on Saturday afternoons, though, that’s where I saw many Godzilla movies. I don’t recall that it had a specific name. There are plenty of Pgh Dopers, so I’m sure somebody will remember.
Wasn’t it Monster Theater or some similar-sounding name? I too remember watching it sometimes, but not enough apparently to the name in storage.
Let me check with my aunt - she’s got a weird ability to recall all those shows.
http://myweb.wvnet.edu/e-gor/tvhorrorhosts/hostss.html#SirRoger
This says it was Sat night (among other nights), not afternoon, but I wonder if
it might be SHOCK THEATRE with “Sir Rodger”(Bob Crews).
It definitely had Monster in the title, and was Saturday afternoon. I had piano lessons Saturday morning, and after walking home I would read the Pittsburgh Press comics Mini Page and then watch this Monster Whatever show.
Creature Feature?
If you get no luck here, you may want to google up “The It’s Alive Show”, a new Pittsburgh based bunch trying to revive the old Saturday night horror movie show genre.
Interesting, and fun.
They have a forum, and someone there might know.
But I’m willing to bet you’ll get an answer here. heheh…
I remember a show out of Kansas City, with a female hostess, Crematia Mortem. Her spots were humorous, and there was an offstage servant of hers named Rasputin. I remember one movie that featured virgins being sacrificed to appease some evil spirit. Crematia sent Rasputin off, during the movie, to find a virgin to appease the spirits in her basement. When he came back, during the commercial break, and she asked if he’d found a virgin you could hear him respond “In this town? I went down to the Plaza and they’d never even heard of virgins!”
Was this the show whose opening credits focused on a cheesy haunted mansion dollhouse and panned down to a model of a misty “river” which was actually dry ice? If so, I remember it, and Monster Theater sounds about right. It might also have been Monster Matinee or something like that. Whatever the title, I loved it.
Ahhh, memories!
. . . aka Monster Mansion. You have to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Now I’m certain this is what I watched back in the day. Does it ring a bell?
If I’m reading this page correctly, the TV show was called Monster Movie Matinee, but the host said “Welcome to Monster Mansion,” which might be the reason we’re having such a hard time remembering the title.
No, the show I’m thinking of didn’t have any hosts. Just bumper music and a graphic with the show title. I remember KDKA’s *Science Fiction Theater *much better; its graphic was a head with a waveform pattern and a cool analog synth tune. Don’t remember much about the WTAE show and it’s been a minor nag for years.
I can’t remember the show. I grew up in Johnstown, and we could receive a few of the Pittsburgh stations. I have fond memories of watching Studio Wrestling with Bill Cardille on Channel 11 and following that up with Chiller Theater on Saturday nights. I have many fond memories of Terminal Stare. 
Linty Fresh, the OP is about a show in Pittsburgh, not upstate New York.
cochrane We used to drive down to Johnstown to watch the Steeler games that were blacked out sometimes. Some of those games could qualify as “horror shows”.
The show was broadcast in PA, which is where I saw it growing up. The OP didn’t specify that it had been produced in Pittsburgh.
I wish I could help with the name of the show, but I expect I was watching something else at the time. I remember the other two shows, though… “Chilly Billy Cardille!” Wotta guy.
However, if I may hijack slightly while everyone’s pondering the weekend lineup… Since it was mentioned, I am inspired to ask: does anybody know what the analog synth tune was for Science Fiction Theater? I swear to god, I was walking through a haunted house a couple Halloweens ago, and heard that exact same tune as part of the background mix! And I’m like, “Holy god, that’s the Science Fiction Theater tune!” But I was never able to find out what it was. It was very distinctive.
Also, I’m blanking on the name of the duck puppet character who hosted the channel 11 morning kiddie show, with the Picture Pages and endless Deputy Dawg cartoons. Not, strictly speaking, a horror show, although I have a feeling that if I saw recordings of the show today I might change my mind…
Are you thinking of Ricki & Copper? My sister was on an episode of that show probably around '67 or so. I would have been around 3 at the time and barely remember being on the set. I was also around for the filming of Night of the Living Dead, as it was near our Butler camp. That’s it for my show-biz entanglements.
I don’t think that was it-- this would have been maybe a decade later. There was this duck hand puppet with a huge, shoebill-like beak, who spoke in the traditional Donald Duck manner, and who I believe sometimes sported a little version of the ever-popular yellow-and-black Steelers knitted snow cap.
I infer that the show was on Channel 11 because the duck character-- or possibly his girlfriend, more or less identical except for a large bow-- occasionally made references to Bill Cardille. I suspect it was the girl duck, and the joke was that she had a crush on him or something.
Damn, I have tears in my eyes. One of my earliest memories is of watching the Three Stooges on Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time. I was probably about three years old and I’ve been a life-long Stooges fan since. I remember Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe would often make guest appearances on his show and make appearances in the Tri-State area.
And I certainly remember watching Rodney and Knish and all the Popeye cartoons. I was also in love with Ricki Wertz. I wanted a dog just like Copper Penny (and as an adult, I did eventually own a couple of golden retrievers). “Hey, Look Me Over” was one of the first songs I learned. It seemed like every kid who ever appeared on that show sang it.
Man, to be a kid again. *sniff
The synth music to KDKA’s “Science Fiction Theater” is taken from the credit intro’s from the sci-fi classic, “Forbidden Planet”. Rent a copy of this classic sci fi film, and you will immediately recognize it!!!
The duck character on WIIC channel 11 who showed cartoons and read the news, was none other than, “Willie the DucK”. Willie was the creation of Don Riggs, who co-hosted with Willie and provided the Donald Duckesque voice of Willie.
Does anybody remember WPGH TV 53 show, “Scream-In”? It was a 1970 - 1971Saturday evening horror show hosted by a coll vampire hipster named Tarantula.