John Zacherle: Dinner With Drac

Well it appears that I have taken an extended vacation and I apologize for that. My real job has kept me hopping and last week I was out of town for several days. So accept my apology for my extended absence, I hope I can get back into the swing of things.

Being that it’s a Wednesday and the week prior to Halloween, it’s time for a Halloween themed one hit wonder. John Zacherle, otherwise known as “The Cool Ghoul,” released his one hit wonder, “Dinner with Drac” during the spring of 1958. It’s not one you hear very often today and it was unusual that it peaked the charts at #6 in March rather than in October.

Zacherle as Roland

Zacherle (sometimes spelled Zacherley) had his start as a television broadcaster in Philadelphia and later served as the host of New York’s “Chiller Theatre” (not to be confused with Pittsburgh’s show of the same name), where he interspersed late night horror movies with bits and gags based on his alter ego, Roland the undertaker. “. . . and the veins of a mummy named Betty. I first frowned upon it but put ketchup on it and it tasted very much like spaghetti.”