Rick Koz says it took him 40 years to become an overnight sensation with the show Svengoolie, a long-running Chicago-based gag fest featuring old-time campy horror and science fiction movies.
And a hit it is. Svengoolie routinely attracts a million viewers on Saturday nights. Compare that to CNN's 660,000. And those viewers have to tune into the little known network MeTV, which features aging television shows like Andy Griffith and the Rifleman.
Most cable packages carry MeTV, but cord cutters are getting antennas just to tune in to see Svengoolie get hit by rubber chickens and remake old songs.
The show hits tilt on the corn-o-meter every episode with its long, meandering joke set-ups followed by underwhelming punchlines. Koz is actually the second Svengoolie. The first was Jerry Bishop, whose Svengoolie was available only in the Chicago market and ended in 1973. Koz took it over in 1979 and hooked up with MeTV, where the show has flourished.
