First Episode of Chiller Theater Airs on WIIC/WPXI, Channel 11 in Pittsburgh
Sep 14, 1963
Saturday
Sep 14, 1963
Date TypesSeason 1 Premiere, TV/Streaming Premiere
Shows / MoviesChiller Theater (1963), The Brain from Planet Arous (1957), The Giant Behemoth (1959)
CompaniesWIIC-TV, WPXI
People / Bands / TeamsAndré Morell, Bill Cardille, Bonnie Barney, Donna Rae, Eugène Lourié, Gene Evans, John Agar, John Turner, Joyce Meadows, Joyce Sterling, Leigh Madison, Nathan Juran, Norman Elder, Robert Fuller, Skeets Skettino, Steve Luncinski, Ted James
Chiller Theater (sometimes spelled Chiller Theatre) was a hosted late-night horror and science fiction movie program that aired on WIIC/WPXI, Channel 11, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Chiller Theater aired from September 14, 1963 to January 1, 1984, hosted by Bill Cardille, known to television fans as “Chilly Billy.” The cast of Chiller Theater also included Bonnie Barney as Georgette The Fudgemaker, Norman Elder as Norman The Castle Keeper, Ted James as Beauregard C. Beauregard, Steve Luncinski as Stefan The Castle Prankster, Donna Rae as Terminal Stare, Skeets Skettino as Pizza Man, and Joyce Sterling as Sister Susie.
During the initial broadcast of Chiller Theater, Bill Cardille was the off-screen booth announcer for the new show. The first movie shown was the 1957 adventure horror The Brain from Planet Arous and it had a Saturday afternoon start time of 3:00 p.m. The Nathan Juran-directed film starred John Agar, Joyce Meadows and Robert Fuller.
The following day, on Sunday, September 15th, a second episode of the show aired the 1959 monster movie The Giant Behemoth. Eugène Lourié directed the stop-motion spectacle, with a cast that included Gene Evans, André Morell, John Turner and Leigh Madison.
The hosted series was a Saturday night tradition for two generations of Pittsburgh residents. Chiller Theater’s format included airing two classic horror or science fiction films, the first beginning at 11:30 p.m. and the second at 1:00 a.m. Between the movies, and at random times during commercial breaks, skits were performed, such as reports from the “PSS.” During the routines, Bill Cardille would go into another part of WIIC’s studios and pretend he was broadcasting from the nonexistent Pittsburgh Subway System.
Cardille played other characters including Captain Bad, Maurice the Matchmaker and Mr. Magnificent. Cardille and WIIC publicist Robert Willis wrote the skits and Channel 11 staffers played bit parts. At the end of the show, Cardille would sit on a stool and casually chat with the television studio crew. Click Here to find out more about Chiller Theater.
