Lawson Deming as "Sir Graves Ghastly"[1]The life-sized relief sculpture of Sir Graves Ghastly created by his son, David Deming. On permanent display in the inner lobby of the Redford Theatre in Detroit, Michigan.
Sir Graves Ghastly was a character created by Cleveland-born actor Lawson J. Deming (1913–2007) for the popular television show of the same name.
Sir Graves was a vampire whose persona, look, and exaggerated laugh ("Nnnnyeah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaaaah!") were intended to parody the cliched portrayal of vampires in horror films of the time. Other characters on the show included Sir Graves' sidekick Baruba, a ghostly apparition known only as The Glob, and a cemetery caretaker named Reel McCoy, who traditionally opened each episode by unearthing a movie reel from what appeared to be a grave. The show followed a consistent format of back-to-back horror films, interspersed with brief sketch comedy pieces featuring the many characters. The program was originally billed as Sir Graves' Big Show, but later became known simply by the character's name.
Sir Graves Ghastly had its longest run Saturday afternoons on WJBK, TV2 in Detroit, from 1967 to 1982: fifteen seasons in all. In the 1970s, Deming marketed the show to Cleveland and Washington, D.C., where it also became a hit, but his popularity in those markets never quite reached that of the Detroit-area audience. The growing popularity of televised sports in the early 1980s, particularly college football, sent Sir Graves into hiatus in November 1982. A management change during this time led to the program being officially cancelled in 1983 before any other shows were produced. As he did while his show was running, Deming continued to do speaking engagements and personal appearances well into the 1990s.
1989), American DJ Ghastly (film), a 2011 South Korean film SirGravesGhastly, a character created by Lawson J. Deming Major Dr. Ghastly, a character in...
Ghoulardi Gorgon Moona Lisa Morgus the Magnificent Sammy Terry Selwin SirGravesGhastly Superhost Vegas Vampire Bob Wilkins Big Chuck and Lil' John Bob Wilkins...
including Your TV Golf Pro and The Name Game. From 1967 to 1983, SirGravesGhastly, played by actor Lawson J. Deming, hosted WJBK's assorted sci-fi and...
to 2000. Deming went on to portray the popular horror movie host SirGravesGhastly for 15 years on Detroit television. Polletta, Dan (2020-01-21). "Recalling...
displayed in the building's lobby. Spangler, Todd (May 12, 2016). 'SirGravesGhastly' home in Detroit among new National Register sites. Detroit Free Press...
later described the experience: I was stationed on the Isle of Grain – a ghastly place but the first line of defence against invasion – and in our battalion...
Reagan and Barbara Bush. He called his wife's successor, John Major, "a ghastly prime minister", saying that "[i]t would have been a [...] very good thing"...
sets of original fluted columns. Spangler, Todd (May 12, 2016). 'SirGravesGhastly' home in Detroit among new National Register sites. Detroit Free Press...
selling of iconic BBC TV Centre". ITV News. ITV. Retrieved 4 March 2015. "Sir Cliff Richard's privacy "breached by raid details release"". BBC News. BBC...
unusual strength of the arm which inflicted them. Indeed, had not the ghastly evidence remained on the field, many of the blows dealt upon this occasion...
swinging in the wind, and Madge Wildfire, full of finery and madness, and her ghastly mother. He continues enthusiastically through dozens of others, exclaiming...
to live the lives of people more successful than him, which leads to a ghastly outcome. Written by Ellen Sandhaus. 67 20 "The Swap" May 3, 1987 (1987-05-03)...
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and...
the fallen Union soldiers from the Gettysburg Battlefield graves and their reburial in graves at the National Cemetery at Gettysburg began on October 17...
spent twenty years going through [...] 'openly gay' as if it was some ghastly, terrible secret. I was really hoping that would be where we are with less...
to the Croyland Chronicle, in the morning his face was "more livid and ghastly than usual". The Yorkist army, variously estimated at between 7,500 and...
officer wrote, Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word. — Friedrich Steinbrecher However, Churchill wrote that Allied casualties...
Juvenilia Unknown Shipwreck of the soul 1785-1797 "Then did dire forms and ghastly faces float" Juvenilia Unknown Evening Sonnets 1785-1797 "When slow from...
home paedophile, who is now being hunted down by two of his victims. As a ghastly world of online paraphernalia is discovered, Boyd becomes determined to...
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