See Ya at What Gets Me Hot

October 26, 2009

SEVEN-DAY HALLOWEEN-WEAK! DAY 3: (Pt. 1) ALEX CHLITON and THE BOX TOPS PERFORM 'THE LETTER' 1967John Zacherly's DISC-O-TEEN HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

"An incredible find--and the tape is in such great shape after 41 years!"-

DISC-O-TEEN VIEWER

"I remember Jim Morrison walking by me in the middle of a dance. He said to me, 'This is the damnedest show I ever saw in my life.'"-

John ZACHERLEY

ABOUT THIS CLIP:

John Zacherle* (aka Zacherley), TV horror-host of "Disc-O-Teen,**" hosts this 1967 'Halloween Dance Party' episode, featuring, The BOX TOPS--The Letter.

ABOUT ALEX CHILTON AND THE BOX TOPS APPEARANCE:

"Alex Chilton and the band don't perform, but their hit single, "The Letter" is played twice during the show. The band endures Zach's jibes, including lessons on how to flirt with teenage girls from New Jersey...The Box Tops chat it up with the horror-host while they plug their album, an upcoming European tour, and a show at the Cheetah Club in NYC! "The Letter", The Box Tops' first of ten hits reached #1 in the fall of 1967.

**ABOUT DISC-O-TEEN'S FORMAT:

Only two programs remain of over 700 daily Disc-O-Teen episodes aired in the New York City/New Jersey metro area between 1965 and 1967 on WNJU-TV, Channel 47.

ABOUT ZACHERLEY:

What really made JOHN take the job as host was being able to host the show as Zacherley--and that he loved rock and roll. He brought along "Gasport" and "My Dear" as well.

ZACHERLEY says about the show:

"It was really experimental. The producers gave me a lot of flexibility. We'd try something. If it didn't work we wouldn't do it again. Fridays were theme days when the visitors (student dancers) would dress up depending on what the theme was. One Friday was gangster day, another was Roman toga day. It was a wonderful three years, but then all good things have to end."

AFTER THE DISC-O:

Zach became a DJ. A listener whose father hired Zacherey says,
"I remember that he played something from the Dead Boys' first LP and also held up a copy of Pink Floyd's Ummagumma."

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE
DISC-O-TEENIEBOPPERS?

Many of the "Disc-O-Teen" kids went on to lead interesting lives: A Miss Littlefeather won the "Miss American Vampire" contest, AND three years later, made headlines for rejecting an Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando over a standoff between authorities and activists at Wounded Knee, S.D.

Another manages ex-Beatle, Pete Best.

And another married a member of the British rock band, Procol Harum.

Richard Scrivani of Bergenfield wrote a memoir titled "Good Night, Whatever You Are! My Journey With Zacherley, the Cool Ghoul," published in 2006.

ZACHERLEY AND THE DOORS:

The Doors made their first TV appearance on Disco-Teen. Jim Morrison stumbled around the "Disc-O-Teen" dance floor, and many former dancers recall Zacherley conducting a bizarre interview with the Doors' singer.

"We assumed they (The Doors) were stoned," a dancer says. "They were very spaced-out, especially Jim Morrison. Zach tried to interview him, and he hardly said a word. A lot of the kids thought it was strange."

At a recent Chiller Theatre Expo Zach had a real treat. Ray Manzarek of the Doors stopped by his table for a chat. He remembered being on Disc-o-Teen and wanted to thank Zach for the great time that he and the other Doors members had had.

***(THANKS TO ALL THE VIEWERS, FANS, WRITERS, YOUTUBERS AND COMMENTERS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS READER'S DIGEST VERSION OF JOHN ZACHERLEY AND DISC-O-TEEN, AND ESPECIALLY TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER OF THIS CLIP--NICHOPOULOOZA)

ALEX CHLITON, THE BOXTOPS PERFORM THE LETTER ON DISC-O-TEEN AFTER THE JUMP VIDEO IN PART II