GHOULARDI
I was born and raised in Ohio. I lived on the Ohio side of the West Virginia and Pennsylvania border about 60 miles from Pittsburg and 60 miles from Cleveland.
In 1963 I was twelve years old. Television was still black and white, there were only five VHF channels and five UHF channels depending on the quality of your antenna. Because of the mountains around Pittsburg most powerful VHF stations were out of Cleveland. Their local news, weather and sports broadcasts made us feel like we were living in Cleveland. Even the radio stations we listen to were out of Cleveland.
Most television stations shut down their transmitters and signed off after the late news. In 1957 Universal released a collection of 52 cheesy horror movies from the 1930's. The package was called Shock Theater. Across the country local stations created movie hosts to expand their late night broadcasting hours.
He already had a successful gig as an announcer but for seventy five more bucks he took on the job. He created a character called Ghoulardi a weirdo beatnik professor. Because of the late hour management ignored what they were doing so they had the freedom to do just about anything.
I was 11 years old when I first saw Ghoulardi, I had to sneak down the creaky wooden stairs to the living room. We were renting an old two story house while our new house was being built. The Beetles were on Ed Sullivan but to an eleven year old a guy blowing things up on live TV was way cooler.
Within weeks the need to see Ghoulardi at eleven o'clock on Friday night was every kids priority. We slept at anyones house who had cool or unaware parents so we could see what this guy was going to do next. If you missed it you were out of the loop because everyone was talking about it. He was like our cool uncle who said and did things our parents would not approve.
One Friday I had a friend over so we were secretly watching Ghoulardi. My dad walked in, he watched the first few minutes, shook his head and then went to bed. Finally I was free to watch at home.
The show became a local phenomenon with kids. After Shock Theater he ran the original Buck Rogers series. This took cheesy to a new level. He mocked the movies, edited himself into scenes and spent most of his time opening fan mail and doing bits.
We had our own language, the center chest salute from Buck Rogers and a collective urge to rebel. Ghoulardi was a beatnik, he hated rock and roll, loved big band music and believed in pure freedom. I think I got some of my question authority from him. I unfortunately got my "hold my beer and watch this" attitude from him too.
He made fun of Parma, a Polish suburb of Cleveland. The city leaders were irritated but the younger residents took it on as an identity. Frank Yankovich Polka Varieties, Polish festivals and pink flamingos, Parma took pride in being a Polish village.
Today if I notice a guy wearing white socks I laugh to myself, that was a Ghoulardi inside Parma joke from over fifty years ago. In high school I went to Parma for a high school basketball tournament, the whole school was wearing white socks as a symbol of pride and solidarity.
The Parma Mayor and a few Councilmen claimed the city was offended but the average Parma citizen embraced the joke and ran with it. Parma Place was an ongoing spoof based on Payton Place with a Polish twist and a Polish western called The Kielbasa Kid, both written by the producer Charles Schodowski.
Today any hint of ethnic humor is frowned on. Sure a few got their feathers ruffled but we knew the difference between a joke and a real insult. People still know the difference but being the victim is the new way of demanding attention. Fortunately most spoiled children grow out of this.
These were the days of Pollock jokes. His were focused on silly habits, unusual customs and their fashion sense but never about their hygiene, morals or intelligence. Todays humor is mean, saying someone is ugly, stupid and immoral is just a cover for hurtful personal insults. I think Pollock jokes needed to go away, they got highjacked and became mean spirited cruel and degrading insults.
Ghoulardi reached out into the community. They raised a quarter of a million dollars for kids who needed operations, families in crisis and other local causes. They played other stations, news papers, schools, city officials, police, firemen and social clubs. Rumors that alcohol was occasionally consumed led them to have an official team bus equipped with a sober driver.
The city embraced his antics but management tolerated it because of the 27 share rating, the network Tonight Show only had a 7. They tried to rein him in but he owned the city.
The Ghoulardi show was only on the air for three and a half years before Ernie got bored and got his break in Hollywood. Ernie’s former partner Tim Conway cleared the way to get him very lucrative voice over work. Ernie was finally using his real gift, his voice.
The show was handed over to Houlihan and Big Chuck, then Big Chuck and Little John and then a failed attempt to remake the Ghoulardi show by his son. Eventually network programing took over, it was the end of an era.
Drew Carry who is from Cleveland used the local humor in his popular Drew Carry Show. If you weren't from the Cleveland area you didn't get some of his jokes. From the Ghoulardi shirt, Cleveland Browns and Indians inside jokes, cracks about Pittsburg, foods, drinking styles and the backyard pool table all were things you only see in Cleveland.
Like any home town there are traditions, inside jokes, ethnic influences and local personalities. Comedians and media regularly use Cleveland as a punch line and the brunt of jokes, most of then are mean spirited insults. I take great pride in being from the Cleveland area because I know the character of the people.
Cleveland is a diverse community with a cross section of America. The rich cultures, community traditions and endless loyalty to three average sports franchises. The Ghoulardi phenomenon was as much a product of the city as it was an influence. Ghoulardi in all of his weirdness understood and revered Cleveland.
Reading about and remembering my years with Ghoulardi made me think about how much I was effected. I also wonder how much he revealed that was already there.
My work ethic, sense of irreverent humor, my need to question authority and a sense of duty to keep my promises and help people came from somewhere. Under the surface the Ghoulardi family had Midwest values with a coating of crazy. We all got a dose from simply identifying with the Cleveland community.
As children we were raised on Captain Penny and Barnaby watching Popeye cartoons, the Three Stooges and Little Rascals. As we entered adolescence Ghoulardi was way cooler but he still understood he was influencing kids.
Under all of the outrageousness Ernie Anderson had a moral compass. No he wasn't a wise teacher or inspiring leader he was a grown man having fun. As a kid it gave me hope that growing up was not as boring as I thought it would be. The world needs a Tyler Durden, Big Lebowski and Ghoulardi to make life interesting.
The sense of community we had in the 60s and 70s crossed all ethnic, racial and economic lines we were all Americans and we were from Cleveland. I'm hoping we can get back to again feeling like a family, weird cool uncles and all.
