The Son of Ghoul is a horror host played by Keven Scarpino, appearing on The Son of Ghoul Show based in Akron, Ohio, where a B movie is presented along with comedy sketches.
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History
Scarpino's original inspiration came from Ernie Anderson's popular 1960s host character Ghoulardi. At a 1982 look-alike contest sponsored by Anderson's successor, The Ghoul (played by Ron Sweed), Scarpino won first prize and was given the title, "Son of Ghoul" by Sweed himself. Shortly thereafter, he began working at WOAC in Canton, Ohio, where he became familiar with The Cool Ghoul, another Ghoulardi-inspired television host played by George Cavender. Scarpino was hired as a technician on Cavender's show, "Thriller Theater", and was later given small parts in sketches.
Cavender departed WOAC and Thriller Theater in 1986, and Scarpino auditioned along with others to become the show's next host. He got the job, and later renamed it The Son of Ghoul Show. In 1995, WOAC was sold and switched to a home-shopping format, and Scarpino moved the show to the relatively new WAOH-LP, where the show is currently based.
Lawsuit
In the late 1980s, Ron Sweed sued Scarpino, alleging that Scarpino stole Sweed's character. The lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that the character similarities (e.g. their ghoulish appearance and hosting style) were too broad to be protected.
Sidekicks
Scarpino's long-time sidekick was Ron "Fidge" Huffman, known for having dwarfism. Huffman died of alcohol poisoning in 2003, and his place was taken by "Jungle Bob". Scarpino has stated Huffman's passing was one of the roughest periods in the history of the show.