The Prototype Horror Show Host

Remembering John Zacherle, Tammy Grimes, Curly Putman, Met Life Snoopy

In the 1950’s when the movie studios sold many of their B-horror movies to television, program directors realized they were hard to watch. So they developed the gimmick of the horror movie host to liven up the movies. John Zacherle was the master of the art, and hosted memorable late-night horror movies in Philadelphia and New York. He was the model for the horror show movie hosts all over the country who came after him. Tammy Grimes was the Broadway star who burst on the scene as Molly Brown in Meredith Willson’s hit musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960). Curly Putman was the songwriter who wrote country classics including “The Green, Green Grass of Home”. Charles Schulz’s character, Snoopy, was the logo for the insurance company Metropolitan Life for over 30 years