The second entry in JPic’s Inktober’s series of local TV horror movie hosts is Cleveland’s legendary Ghoulardi.
In 1963, announcer and disc jockey Ernie Anderson was tapped to host the late-night showings of horror movies on Cleveland’s WJW-TV. Dispensing with the usually “mad scientist” or “vampire” persona favored by other TV movie hosts, Eddie adopted a cool but wacky hipster dubbed “Ghoulardi.” Decked out in a crazy wig and identity-hiding facial hair, Eddie wanted to keep the character separate from his usual (and recognizable) duties at the station. He played novelty songs and made friendly fun of Cleveland’s suburbs. He improvised all of his on-air dialogue and often mocked the film he showed. “If you want to watch a movie,” he say, “don’t watch this one. Go to bed instead.” The character and show format were wildly popular, attracting 70% of Cleveland’s late-night audiences. Ernie was receiving over a thousand pieces of fan mail per day. His cast of on-air supporting players included future sitcom star Tim Conway.
Ernie moved to Los Angeles where he enjoyed a long and successful career in voice-over work, specifically as the long-time announcer for the ABC Network. His iconic pronunciations of “Fall Guy” and “The Love Boat” in network promos were memorable. He passed away in 1997, having only reprised his popular “Ghoulardi” character a few more times.
Ernie and Ghoulardi were often referenced on The Drew Carey Show which took place in Cleveland. Ghoulardi had many other famous fans, including The Cramps, The Black Keys, Devo and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Ernie was the father of director Paul Thomas Anderson, who named his production company “The Ghoulardi Film Company” in his father’s honor.