Sir Graves Ghastly

Sir Graves Ghastly was a tongue-in-cheek vampire character created by Cleveland-born actor Lawson J. Deming (1913-2007). The character was the host of a popular Saturday afternoon horror movie television show that ran from 1967 to 1982 in Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, D.C. and parts of Canada. The program was originally billed as "Sir Graves' Big Show", but later became known simply by the character name.

The Sir Graves character was most widely recognized for his dark, fake moustache and goatee, plus a cackling, nasally laugh ("Nyaaa-aaaaaaah"). But Sir Graves wasn't the only character on the show. Deming also developed a sidekick named Baruba, a ghostly apparition called The Glob, a cemetery caretaker named Reel McCoy (who dug up the movie reels at the beginning of the show), castle maid Tilly Trollhouse, and a German-accented cousin named Baron Boogaloff. While billed as a kids' show, Deming's sly sense of humor often flew over the heads of children, which might explain why a ratings poll in 1971 showed that about one-third of his audience were adults.

"Sir Graves Ghastly" had its longest run on WJBK, TV2 in Detroit -- 15 seasons in all. The explosion of televised sports in the early 1980s, particularly college football, caused "Sir Graves" to go into hiatus after airing a show in November 1982. A management change during this time led to the program being "officially" cancelled in 1983 before any other shows were produced. As he did while his show was running, Deming continued to do speaking engagements and personal appearances well into the 1990s.

For more on the "Sir Graves Ghastly" show history and the life of its lead actor, see Lawson J. Deming.

ources

* "Sir Graves Show History" at www.sirgravesghastly.com