Media Crypt: Audio
And now, pull down the shades and return to your childhood...
Detroit
Recordings 
February
19, 1971 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Friday night)
It is a chilly winter night in Michigan in 1971. The wind
is howling outside through the frozen, snowy suburban streets. But
it's the weekend, school is out till Monday (unless we're lucky enough
to get a Snow Day!), and we're allowed to stay up late. It's the perfect
time to cuddle up in your favorite spot by the telly and watch some
classic monster movies with Sir Graves! This is a TV audio recording
of a WJBK Friday night "Gruesome Twosome" double-feature
Graves show. The movies that night were: The Wolf Man, and The
Mummy. Note how these early shows had a more dark and creepy
sound than the later '70s and '80s shows did! Of interest is also
the echo effect heard on Sir Graves' voice. This was done for a
while in the earlier years of the show, but abandoned later. Also,
during the duet between Sir Graves and Walter, a chroma-key split-screen
effect was used. The announcer heard in the commercial breaks is
Ken Lawrence. And a million ghastly thanks to mega-fan, Lee Harris,
for digging this (and other recordings I'll add here soon) up from
dusty obscurity for all fans to enjoy! I really do appreciate it,
Lee. (source: cassette
tape) Length: 18:27
February
20, 1971 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
This recording (which is the next day's show following the
Friday Double-Feature above) is the regular Saturday afternoon show.
It also happens to be that year's Valentine's show (Valentine's Day
having fallen on the Sunday that week before this show). The movie
today was Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. This is a long clip
here, too--it's over 23 minutes long! Can life get much better than
this? I submit to you that it cannot. Anyway, there's much fun to
be had in this one, and just as in the other tape above, lots of wonderful
insight into the show and long-lost memories will hopefully be gleaned
and resurrected as you listen! It's a Sir Graves fan's treasure trove,
dear hearts. Listen as Sir Graves explains why the show's planned
double-feature lineup is getting bumped down to just one movie. Is
it due to special live Pope coverage? Perhaps a late-breaking, worldwide
news story or championship sporting event? Listen and find out (I
love the positive slant he puts on it, too!). Among the highlights
here are a duet between Mr. Skull and Tilly Trollhouse, Sir Graves
reads Valentines sent in by the kiddies, The Glob sings (or whatever
you call it), we finally get to hear Sir Graves do the Birthday Roll
segment again!, Cool Ghoul reads jokes and riddles sent in by viewers,
and Sir Graves tippy-toes through the Art Ghoulery as Cool Ghoul sings
one of my favorite songs.
Recording courtesy, Lee Harris. (source: cassette tape) Length:
23:23
February
27, 1971 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
Another chilling, fun-filled Saturday afternoon with Sir Graves
& his friends! The cheap little K-mart cassette recorder was
set up in front of the TV that day, and this was what was heard! It
was a double-feature show, with The Ghost of Frankenstein,
followed by The House of Dracula, both starring Lon Chaney
Jr. Among other things, we hear the show opening and Sir Graves
intro the movies, Walter repeatedly telling Graves he's sick!, sick!,
sick!, sick! sick!... (which I haven't heard since I was a kid!
Wow), and happy birthday greetings. Recording courtesy, Lee
Harris. (source: cassette tape) Length: 9:35
June,
1971 or '72 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
We have here 4 minute's worth of a decaying reel-to-reel recording
(thankfully it's saved forever now!). The show is from June of either
'71 or '72, I'm still not sure yet, and it contains two segments.
First, Sir Graves reads a fan letter on the air, and then The Glob
does his globby thang. The quality of this recording is really low,
and we only get a couple of pieces from this show, but what's here
is still very cool, as always! Recording courtesy, Lee Harris.
(source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:01
Early
1971 or '72 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
This is 7 minute's worth of a show that, once again, I don't
know the exact date of. It's from either '71 or '72, and as far as
I can figure, I believe it's from early in the year--probably
February. Sir Graves does infer that it was a double-feature that
day and mentions that the first movie is The Invisible Man. With
these clues I should be able to figure out the exact date eventually
when I get more TV guide data to fill in the early '70s, which I don't
have many listings for currently. At any rate, in this recording we
get to hear Shrilly, er, I mean Tilly, torture Sir Graves with a depressing
song (not to mention a depressing performance), then Sir Graves tells
viewers about a a new Michigan-based horror fan club called, The
Lugosians, and finally, The Glob gets down with his
very
bad self yet again. Recording courtesy, Lee Harris. (source:
cassette tape) Length: 6:58
Date
unknown, probably 1977 - WJBK-TV Detroit (most likely Saturday afternoon)
The following five short clips from the late-seventies, were
sent in by fellow Grave Digger, Peter Kenter. The quality isn't great
(they were recorded from across the River, in Canada), and I've done
what I can to restore/enhance them to make them more listenable, but
you may have to adjust the volume knob here and there to make out
everything--a modern-day "fiddling with the rabbit ears",
you might say! Hehe. First up in this clip is Sir Graves introing
the movie for that day; The Monster That Challenged the World.
Since this film doesn't yet show up in the current TV
Guide database
here, we're not sure on an exact date for this show, but Peter tells
me it's most likely from somewhere around '76 or '77. Looking at the
TV listings I see that the 1976 data is actually complete, so this
isn't from that year. In 1977 there are only two gaps in the listings;
September 16, and December 17. It could very well have been one of
those dates then. Beyond that, there is still one gap in 1978 (10/28),
and one in 1979 (11/3), before getting into the '80s. For now, we'll
assume this is from one of the dates in 1977. Meantime, I'll try to
find the definitive answer and update this when I do. Recording
courtesy, Peter Kenter. (source: cassette tape) Length: 1:33
Date
unknown, 1977 - WJBK-TV Detroit (most likely Saturday afternoon)
Sir Graves reads from the mailbag in this 1977 show (exact
date is unknown). Interesting to note here is mention of The
Ghoul, Sir Graves' fellow Detroit area Horror Host rival! The
reception really goes south near the end of this recording, unfortunately,
so be forewarned. Recording courtesy, Peter Kenter. (source:
cassette tape) Length: 2:11
February
19, 1977 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
It's Birthday time in the old boneyard! Sir Graves reads the
day's birthdays. Movie that day was The
Black Castle. Some of this is tough to make out, but
I plan to write up transcripts (as best I can) for all these recordings
in the near future and put links to them here. Maybe that will help.
Recording courtesy, Peter Kenter. (source: cassette tape) Length: 1:51
November
19,_1977 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
Here Gravesy announces next week's frightful film, The
Curse of the Faceless Man, and wraps up this week's show, where
the movie was Scared to Death. Happy Haunting! Note: there
are several gaps in this recording due to technical difficulties
during the recording. But rather than leave those spaces silent
(which was just too distracting), I inserted some vintage TV static
instead. :) Anyway,
just for the sake of full-disclosure. Recording courtesy, Peter
Kenter. (source: cassette tape) Length: 1:46
March
10,_1979 - WJBK-TV Detroit (Saturday afternoon)
The date I was given on this one is 2/5/77, however, Sir Graves
mentions that it's March 10 here! So, assuming it is indeed March
10 as the date, the only listing that matches that day (assuming
this is a regular Saturday afternoon show, though I guess we can't
guarantee that) would be in 1979. For the moment then, shall we assume
the correct date for this recording is March 10, 1979? Let's do. And
I'll look into this one, too! So, the movie today would be the great, Creature
from the Black Lagoon! This clip is interesting in that
you hear Sir Graves refer to Ivan Awfulitch, the Russian muscle-bound
bodybuilding character who frequented the show in those days (also
played by Lawson). Then it's Birthday time again, before Sir Graves
takes one last parting shot at Tilly. Give her heck, Gravesy! The
quality was terrible on this one, folks! I did what I could. Recording
courtesy, Peter Kenter. (source: cassette tape) Length: 1:37
Washington
Recordings
Notes: The following WTOP-TV channel 9 reel-to-reel audio collection was kindly donated by Richard Barrack, and I can't thank him enough for this wonderful treasure trove! These clips consist of only the intro/outro portions of the shows, and unfortunately, the original recording dates were unknown, and the segments themselves all out of order and mis-matched on the tape. In order to date them, I studied each recording closely, noting the films being mentioned, sound/noise levels, and other clues, and once all the intro/outro pieces were matched up and the separate show segments finally emerged whole again, I then cross-referenced these newly organized clips with my Washington Graves TV listings to figure out all the exact show dates. I believe I have them all dated correctly now (though I'm still having difficulty with a few). Sir Graves ran for only a couple years on channel 9, with two shows weekly: Friday nights at 11:30, and Saturday afternoons between 2 and 4. Around July of '71, the Saturday afternoon shows were dropped, leaving only Friday night airings until Sir Graves was eventually let go by the station some months later. And now, enjoy!
April
25, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Saturday afternoon)
We're just three short months into the Washington run
here as Sir Graves hosts The
Incredible Shrinking Man for
this day's show. But first, he has a few complaints (as usual) about
Tilly--yes, even in Washington she was giving Gravesy fits! To intro
the movie, Sir Graves walks down to the gatepost to unroll the weekly
scroll containing the day's movie title. Recording courtesy, Richard
Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:40
May
22, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
Intro/outro for House of Frankenstein in
this short Friday night clip. Recording courtesy, Richard Barrack.
(source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 1:52
August
14, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday evening Special)
Time for a rare Sir Graves evening special! With WTOP
TV-9 about to start airing The Wild Wild West in weekly
syndication, the task fell to Sir Graves Ghastly to try to rope
in all them little doggies out there in TV land to watch! This
7:30 PM evening western-themed show was mainly an effort by WTOP
to remind viewers to tune-in to The Wild Wild West, and
from the sound of it, Sir Graves seemed to be having a grand old
time with the idea! It's also apparent from what he says, that
the set got somewhat of a "western" makeover for this
special, too, as he mentions a roving cactus and the cowboy hat
he was wearing, among other things.
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was the evening's
movie, and get a load of the song playing over the end of this
show! Recording courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel
tape) Length: 5:31
September
11, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday evening Special)
Another primetime evening special! Sir Graves intro's
this 7:30 evening airing of the Universal Bela Lugosi classic,
Dracula, with a promise to explain the purpose behind
this special edition of Sir Graves Presents during an intermission,
but alas, that portion isn't captured in this recording, so I'm
not sure what the specific tie-in was here. After the movie, the
Ghastly one mentions upcoming shows, then wishes us our usual happy
hauntings! Recording courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel
tape) Length: 2:25
October
3, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Saturday afternoon)
Sir Graves intro's The Werewolf of London, then
has some problems with George, who seeks to doom his marital dreams
with his love, Tilly, who then calls with some bad
news for old Gravesy. The show ends on a rather tearful note. Recording
courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:34
November
6, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
The film tonight was King Kong, and Sir Graves
gives a nice and decidedly chilling intro to it for the latenight
monster kiddies tuning in. After the film he mentions upcoming
shows, which include Hitchcock's frightful Psycho! Recording
courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 3:32
December
11, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
Sir Graves gets all choked up tonight over The Bride
of Frankenstein, then mentions something about escaping from
some handcuffs and Tilly (no doubt she's the one what
cuffed him!), and finally makes note of a schedule change due to
football, as George (I believe) finally ends the show on a sour
note, by singing the "portions recorded" message
over the end credits! Oiy. Recording courtesy, Richard Barrack.
(source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 3:52
January
15, 1971 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
Just one day shy of Sir Graves' 1-year anniversary at
WTOP, our ghostly hosty gets booted out of Studio 13!
This is an amazingly cool recording, as we actually get to hear
Sir Graves transition into
a brand new set, which he describes very vividly,
as only a veteran radio man can! This would've been a great show
to see. Though I dearly wish I had photos of this new set, I can
almost see it in my mind from Lawson's wonderful description and
the sound effects! Anyway, Sir Graves has a bit of trouble finding
the movie scroll in this one, but eventually does, and we learn
that tonight's frightful film fare is Dracula's Daughter.
After the movie, Sir Graves gets a welcome from his new neighbors. Recording
courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 9:09
February
5, 1971 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
Still settling into his new digs in "Bloody Acres",
Sir Graves talks of loneliness and possible new friends, like Beef
Stroganoff. The movie tonight is House of Frankenstein. Recording
courtesy, Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:22
March
12, 1971 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
It's a beautiful night for a drive, and Sir Graves takes
one--much to the chagrin of his insurance man, who calls to complain
about his foolhardy ways. Sir Graves is vague
about tonight's movie, but I have figured out that it was actually The
Mummy. Note that the weekly
Saturday afternoon airings have, for the most part, been completely
removed from WTOP's schedule since around the first of the year,
leaving only the Friday night 11:30 PM shows. Recording courtesy,
Richard Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:31
April
16, 1971 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night)
Sir Graves bids viewers welcome, and then announces the
night's film, Frankenstein. Recording courtesy, Richard
Barrack. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 3:10
* * *
Notes: The following WTOP-TV channel 9 reel-to-reel audio recordings were generously donated to the site by Richard Webb. Many Ghastly thanks to you, Richard, for not only recording the shows all those years ago and managing to preserve them, but also for sharing them with SirGravesGhastly.com!
January,
1970 - WTOP-TV Washington NEW!
This is a short clip actually made by a friend of our
donor and then sent to him, describing WTOP's new TV
horror host, Sir Graves Ghastly. It's especially interesting
because it also contains a tiny snippet of on-air radio from
a local DC area station (WHMC), where the DJ mentions Sir Graves
on the air! It was recorded one day after the Graves show's WTOP-TV
debut. I couldn't resist including it. Recording courtesy,
Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 2:21
1970
- WTOP-TV Washington NEW!
Another bit from the same friend above, where we
just hear quick snippets from various 1970 Sir Graves shows--done
in the form of "movie quizzes" (this guy was in radio
production). I'm including it because we do get to hear the intro
for the November 13, 1970 show (Friday the 13th, Sir Graves'--not
Deming's--birthday, as he mentions). The movie for that Friday
night 11:40pm broadcast was Hitchcock's Psycho (with
a stern warning from Sir Graves regarding children watching it). Then
there's a mention of the Friday night (11:30pm), March 13,
1970 airing
of The
Raven,
followed by some talk about the good flicks Graves has been airing.
And finally, there's just a couple seconds' worth of the outro
from Sir Graves' Saturday afternoon, March 14, 1970 airing of The
Ghost of Frankenstein, where you can just barely hear him
say he hopes you've enjoyed the movie. I'm a completist, so this
clip had to be put in the archive. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 3:00
February
27, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night) NEW!
Another very short clip, where we get to hear
Sir Graves intro Frankenstein. As far as I could figure
in my research, this looks to be a recording from the 2-27-70 show. Recording courtesy,
Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 0:52
April
3,1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday
night) NEW!
The movie for this Friday night broadcast was X: The
Man with the X-Ray Eyes. Walter sings April
Love by Pat Boone (we only get to hear the end of it),
much to Sir Graves' chagrin, followed by the show outro, where
the next day's afternoon kiddie feature, The Mole People,
is announced. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 2:47
April
4,1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Saturday
afternoon) NEW!
Settle in, because this one's over 20 minutes of ghouly
Ghastly Goodness! First up, Sir graves intros this afternoon's
movie, The
Mole People,
followed by The Glob singing one of his biggest hits by popular
request, I Want To Bite Your Hand, then Gravesy croons
the Al Jolson--I mean Ghoulson--standard, April
Showers.
Next up it's Tilly's turn to take a stab (or hack) at a Spring-themed
number when she dances to the Jonathan & Darlene Edwards version
of April In Paris. Then Sir Graves tells viewers where they can send
mail for the Art Ghoulery or riddles for Cool Ghoul's Ghoul Riddle Time, followed
by Cool Ghoul singing The Book Was So Much Better Than the Picture,
by Jerry Lewis. Finally, it's time for some Ghoul Riddles from Cool Ghoul, and
then Sir Graves closes the show (with a short voiceover right near the end by
the tape's audio recorder). Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 20:53
May
22, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday
night) NEW!
Show opening, then Tilly sings When I'm Calling You (sounds
like a Jonathan & Darlene Edwards or Mrs. Miller cover, but I haven't
nailed this one down yet), followed by The Glob singing Monster Goose
Rhymes from the old Gene Moss Dracula's Greatest Hits LP.
Next, unfortunately, Walter sings Ever Since You Told Me That You
Love Me (I'm a Nut)
by Tiny Tim, a singer who's always frightened me far more than any movie
Sir Graves ever showed, and then Voice of Doom has to help Gravesy out
of an invisibility jam with his new weightlifter friend, Beef
Stroganoff, after which our Ghostly Hosty, Sir Graves, bids us Happy
Haunting for another week. House of Frankenstein was the
fright-filled film fare for that night. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 14:38
June
26, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday
night) NEW!
In this clip we hear the Show opening and Sir Graves
intros tonight's film, The
Mummy's Ghost, followed by a short host segment break and then the
show's outro. I'm leaving in the next bit that follows Sir Graves on
this recording, where we hear a "Television 9" station id, and then the
intro to the WTOP "Movie 9" film, Invasion, Starring
Ed Judd. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 5:08
June
27, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Saturday
afternoon) NEW!
Sir Graves gives a chilling intro to this afternoon's
film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, then we jump to the end
as the show closes. Short but sweet. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 2:39
August
14, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday evening Special) NEW!
This clip contains only the ending portion of the same
Friday evening special of 8-14-70, that you can find in an earlier
clip near the top of the Washington listings, but what the heck,
I'm including it here as well. If you'd like to hear more from
this show, which featured Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein,
see the entry for the same date above on this page. Here Sir Graves
wraps up the show and tells viewers to watch The Wild Wild
West on WTOP-TV's upcoming schedule. Recording courtesy,
Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 3:28
October
2, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday
night) NEW!
The show opens and Sir Graves hints at a nagging
feeling, then intros
tonight's film, Mario Bava's Black Sabbath, starring Boris Karloff.
Next up is a host break where Sir Graves decides it's finally time to
start thinking about getting married, and Tilly's the one he's got his
eye on (must be a blind eye). So he calls her up in Transylvania where
she's on vacation, but things don't go so well for old Gravesy. Next
is another host segment where Sir Graves performs an incantation to put
a spell on Tilly to win her affections--much to George's bewilderment.
And finally, the film ends and Sir Graves has a run-in with George that
leaves him heartbroken. Note that in one of the previous recordings here
in the audio archive, Sir Graves plays out this touching Tilly saga almost
exactly on the next day's Saturday afternoon show as well (October 3,
1970). You'll find it above, 5th clip down in the first Washington recordings
on this page. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 11:51
October
31, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Saturday afternoon) NEW!
Here are some bits from the 1970 Sir Graves Halloween
show! The movie that day was The Wolf Man, and in the
first host segment on this recording, Gravesy laments his failure
with a recent plot to destroy Tilly, then Tilly herself steps in
to sing Tiny Tim's Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight.
Next, Sir Graves is trying to bob for apples (or whatever) and
keeps getting interrupted by George's annoying trick-or-treating,
then in another segment during a film break, he's trying to spool
up some film on a movie projector to show a bit of a classic, but
has some trouble, and then mentions the American Film Institute
Theater (with some help from an off-camera stagehand or director,
heh). Finally, George comes around trick-or-treating again so Graves,
being fed up, gives him a really dynamite treat for Halloween
from the sound of it. Served him right, I say. Happy Halloween
1970, boys and ghouls! Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 8:46
1970
- WTOP-TV Washington (Friday
night?) NEW!
Short clip that I believe is from a Friday night show
in 1970, but I don't know the exact date or the movie shown. Here,
Sir Graves makes reference to Tilly's "Hysteria", which
I believe was some character or other that I don't know anything
about yet (maybe one of Tilly's pets?), as the show comes to yet
another creepy end. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 1:54
December
11, 1970 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night) NEW!
This clip happens to mirror one of the same
date already residing in the archive above, except that while this
one lacks the former's inclusion of the show ending, it does contain
a little bit of host material that the other doesn't. Anyway, Graves
announces the movie for tonight, Bride of Frankenstein,
then we hear some quick snippets of a couple of host breaks--more
talk of Tilly and a few really awful jokes. Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length:
1:45
January
29, 1971 - WTOP-TV Washington (Friday night) NEW!
Sir Graves opens the show and talks a little about his
new digs at "Bloody Acres" (in the show dated January 16, 1971
in the first batch of Washington recordings above, you can hear
the move as he was booted to this new studio set at WTOP), and
about Tilly's good behavior of late, then announces the night's
movie, House of Dracula. Next, another host break, where
Sir Graves is still wondering whether or not he should marry Tilly,
followed by another, where he finally comes to his senses! Recording
courtesy, Richard Webb. (source: reel-to-reel tape) Length: 4:20
Realplayer
is required to hear these clips. Please download
it here.
Back | Next
All
content & graphics ©2002-2007 Keith Milford.
