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 It was the 1960s ... the early 60s to be a little more
precise. Famous Monsters of Filmland was a big seller with the kids, both
little ones and teenagers. Television was still relatively new ... and
programmers had discovered that kids loved MONSTERS! They had grown up with
local kid show hosts - like Buckskin Bill, Pop Winkle, Lester and sop many
more. Now they were ready for something a little different ... a HORROR
show host! Enter Count Macabre, packing a skull named Erik, a castle full of
cardboard creepiness, and a recently purchased package of old monster and sci-fi
movies. The time was right, the personality was right, and we were
READY! Every weekday afternoon, from 3:30 PM till 5:30 PM (when
Huntley/Brinkley would invade and we would vacate the television to the world of
parents) it was COUNT MACABRE - WBRZ-TV, Channel 2 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!
 THE
SITE
A lot of us
kids (mostly guys but there were some girl viewers) were introduced to classic
horror, mystery and science fiction movies through the Count Macabre's daily
visits. Some of us even decided upon our career paths through the films
presented, the theatrical presence of the Count (local magician Jay Marlborough)
and the wonder that was local television in the 60s. Here I placed some
images of memorabilia from the Count's television years, including ads from
personal appearances, TV giveaways, and, soon, posters from his bizarre run for
Governor in the 1964 Louisiana gubernatorial election! If you have any
stories, photos, "stuff" that you would like to share, please contact
me at this e-mail address: countmacabre@dovetailstudio.com.
Now let's relive a little past, shall we?
THE OTHER SHOW
The other show on Baton Rouge television around the same time was titled "Amazing Tales" and aired on Saturdays on WAFB channel 9. It started a couple of years before
Count Macabre and had no host. I remember being introduced to lots of AIP Bert I. Gordon cheese films
like "The Cyclops," Roger Corman's "War of the Satellites,"
and the ever-awful "Frankenstein's Daughter" through that venue.
 APPEARANCES
To my knowledge, the Count didn't host any of the downtown theater's Saturday morning shows. You know - those "baby-sitter" shows that included
cheesy stage performances, prizes and an old horror movie. These usually occurred
at the Hart Theater. Now - I only went to a few of these, but the on-stage hosts seemed to be culled from local radio personalities.
The Count was more into the appearances at department stores and parades. At the same time, Jay was also being promoted in local BR nightclubs, performing his magic act. As a matter of fact, the big time promotion of magic on the BR nightlife scene in the '60s might have been what initially spawned Checker Fun Shop on Third Street. It was originally a joke and MAGIC shop, where I remember going and viewing local magicians performing (very expensive) magic tricks that you could buy. My Dad eventually bought me one of the less expensive trick (at $5.95!), where you could make a stack of quarters disappear. Somewhere there should be a newspaper ad for the Jay
Marlborough magic act - they were in the newspapers almost every week for a couple for years.
THE WEDNESDAY SHOW
Jay was pretty much the entertainer/personality, and eventually tried to turn the show into a "Tonight Show" theme - every Wednesday he would show an Outer Limits episode. This, at less than an hour, gave more time for the local rock bands and other guests to be featured on the show. The Count would even have a desk, chair and sofa set, like Carson had on The Tonight Show! This lasted until he was moved to late Saturday nights in the late 60s (as the monster craze died and we all moved on to other things...) The hook then was that he was in "local color" - including the studio segments and the movies. The castle set was gone and all that we got was a bad, fake brick wall, hastily constructed with bright red brick art. I still remember coming home from dates and flipping on the set to catch the last few minutes of such color wonders as "Flight to Mars" and
"Pyro."
WHERE IS HE NOW?
Ken King sent this information:
"Jay Marlborough died about 5 years ago in Phoenix AZ. He was married for the
last years of his life to my mother and his family, two sons, still live in the
Phoenix area."
WHERE DO I FIND MORE INFORMATION ON
LOCAL HORROR SHOW HOSTS?
Check out E-Gor's Chamber
of TV Horror Hosts.
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