John Zacherle, later known as John Zacherley, was born on September 26, 1918, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the youngest of four children. He attended high school in the Germantown area and then enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree.
During World War II, Zacherle enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a quartermaster in North Africa and Europe. After the war, he returned to Philadelphia and joined a local repertory theater company.
In 1954, Zacherle began acting at WCAU-TV, playing various roles, including an undertaker, in the western series "Action in the Afternoon." Three years later, he was hired as the host of WCAU's "Shock Theater," a horror-comedy program that debuted on October 7, 1957.
As the host, Zacherle appeared as the character Roland, wearing a long black undertaker's coat and living with his wife, Isobel, and his lab assistant, Igor. The show featured numerous stylized horror-comedy gags and was known for its goriness, with fake severed heads and chocolate syrup blood.
Zacherle was a close colleague of "American Bandstand" host Dick Clark and sometimes filled in on road touring shows of "Bandstand" in the 1960s. Clark reportedly gave Zacherle the nickname "The Cool Ghoul," and in 1958, Zacherle recorded "Dinner with Drac" for Cameo Records, backed by Dave Appell.
In 1958, CBS purchased WCAU-TV, prompting Zacherle to leave Philadelphia for WABC-TV in New York. He continued in the same format as "Shock Theater," but the studio added a "y" to the end of his name and changed the title to "Zacherley at Large."
Zacherle moved to WOR-TV in 1960 and staged a presidential campaign, releasing a "Zacherley for President" album and poster set. He also appeared in motion pictures, including "Key to Murder" (1958),alongside several of his "Action in the Afternoon" colleagues.
In 1963, Zacherle became the first host/performer of WPIX-TV, Channel 11, New York City, hosting "Chiller Theater," "The Mighty Hercules Cartoon Show," and "The Three Stooges Show." He then moved to WNJU-TV in Newark and hosted a teenage dance show called "Disc-O-Teen."
Zacherle was a morning radio host for WNEW-FM in 1967 and then became the station's night broadcaster (10pm-2am) with a progressive rock format. He hosted several rock concerts in New York City's Central Park in the 1960s and 1970s and appeared at Fillmore East music hall in New York to introduce The Grateful Dead in 1970.
In the early 1980s, Zacherle played a wizard on Captain Kangaroo, appearing without his costume and makeup. He continued to perform in character at Halloween broadcasts in the New York and Philadelphia areas throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1986, Zacherle hosted a direct-to-video program called "Horrible Horror," where he performed monologues between clips from public domain sci-fi and horror films. He also voiced one of the lead characters in horror comedy "Brain Damage" (1988) and made a cameo in Frank Henenlotter's "Frankenhooker" (1990).
In late 1992, Zacherle joined the staff of "K-Rock," WXRK-FM, but the station switched to an alternative rock format and hired new disc jockeys in January 1996.
Zacherle was inducted into the Horror Host Hall of Fame in 2011 and has lived in a one-bedroom, rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan for the past 50 years.
