Fellow fans of “Svengoolie” on Me-TV will be looking forward to the legendary Chicago-based horror host’s premiere of a cult TV horror film.
“Svengoolie” presents: “Gargoyles” (1972)
Bernie Casey as the lead gargoyle in Bill Norton’s “Gargoyles“
(1972).
Sven will be premiering the 1972 television horror film “Gargoyles” this Sat., May 13 at 10 p.m. Eastern/9 p.m. Central on Me-TV.
Directed by Bill Norton (credited as “B.W.L. Norton” in the telefilm), his made-for-TV movie was originally telecast on Nov. 21, 1972 (according to IMDB).
Norton’s film aired on the CBS television network as part of the “CBS Tuesday Night Movie” (according to a promotional booklet for Tomorrow Entertainment’s 1972-73 lineup of filmed productions in Broadcasting Magazine).
Who appeared in “Gargoyles” (1972)?
Bernie Casey (as the lead gargoyle) and Cornel Wilde (as Dr. Mercer Boley) in “Gargoyles” (1972).
The players who appeared in “Gargoyles” (1972) were Bernie Casey (as the lead gargoyle), Cornel Wilde (as Dr. Mercer Boley), Jennifer Salt (as Diana Boley), Grayson Hall (as Mrs. Parks), Scott Glenn (as James Reeger) and Woody Chambliss (as “Uncle Willie”).
Alongside Bernie Casey, actors Mickey Alzola, Rock Walker and Greg Walker played additional gargoyle characters in the film. According to the trivia section for “Gargoyles” on IMDB, Casey’s dialogue was dubbed by actor Vic Perrin.
“Gargoyles:” Stan Winston’s earliest work in visual make-up effects
“Gargoyles” was one of the first productions that Stan Winston worked on as a special effects make-up artist. He worked with Ellis Burman, Jr. and veteran make-up artist Del Armstrong in designing the “gargoyle” special effects makeup for Bernie Casey, Mickey Alzola, Rock Walker and Greg Walker’s gargoyle character roles.
Winston would go on to a long career specializing in visual make-up and special effects with his own firm, the Stan Winston Studio. His team would work on visual, animatronic and make-up effects for various films, including James Cameron’s “The Terminator” (1984), Fred Dekker’s “The Monster Squad” (1987), Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) and Steven Spielberg’s “Jurrassic Park” (1993, based off of Michael Crichton’s novel). Winston would continue working until his death in 2008.
“Gargoyles:” An Emmy award-winning telefilm
Bill Norton’s “Gargoyles” won the 1973 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup (Ellis Burman, Jr.; Stan Winston and Del Armstrong).
Editor Frank P. Keller was nominated for the American Cinema Editors’ “Eddie” Award that same year, under the category of “Best Edited Television Special” (according to IMDB). Keller lost to editor Ira Heymann, who won the Eddie for his work on the 1972 made-for-TV drama film, “Visions of Death” (also known as “Visions”).
Produced by “Tomorrow Entertainment”
“Gargoyles” was produced by Tomorrow Entertainment, which was a subsidiary of General Electric (the firm was set up by GE in 1970 as “Tomorrow Productions”). The industrial conglomerate’s production subsidiary specialized in producing features for the three major networks’ “movie of the week” presentations and for syndication purposes.
In addition to producing “Gargoyles” and numerous features for television, the company also had an interest in Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass’ animation studio at the time, Rankin/Bass Productions (originally known as “Videocraft International”).
Watch Svengoolie’s premiere of “Gargoyles” this Sat. on Me-TV
Svengoolie (portrayed by Rich Koz) and Kerwyn!
You won’t want to miss out on Svengoolie’s premiere of Bill Norton’s 1972 cult made-for-TV horror film, “Gargoyles” this Sat. on Me-TV (along with Sven’s fun facts, Doug Graves’ musical intermission and Kerwyn’s “mail call” segment)!
Svengoolie presents: “Gargoyles” (1972)
Sat., May 13 at 10 p.m. Eastern/9 p.m. Central on Me-TV
In the Frederick, Maryland/Washington, D.C. area: WTTG-5.3 (over-the-air)/Comcast 196
In the Baltimore, Maryland area: WBAL-TV 11.2 (“Svengoolie” is time-delayed to 11 p.m. due to TV-11’s 10 p.m. newscast on their Me-TV sub-channel).
Me-TV’s Coast-To-Coast Affiliate Finder
*By arrangement with DreamWorks Classics, owners of the Classic Media, LLC entertainment holdings.
Questions/Comments about “Svengoolie” or “Gargoyles” (1972)? Drop a line in the comments section!
Silver Screen Reflections 
Cant Wait for it, love this flick. It was always on the Late-Late-Late show while babysitting.
LikeLiked by 1 person