Ned the Dead of Green Bay

It's a crisp fall evening in 1986 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Outside, the wind whips through the trees, rattling the loose storm windows of your little ranch house. You rinse the soap off the last dinner plate and toss it onto the drainer, cringing at the clatter as it hits the precarious stack of flecked melamine dishes.

Chores done, you sneak past your dad snoring on the plastic-covered recliner in the living room. The door to the basement is open, and you spot your brother halfway down the creaky stairs. You follow, headed for your pure magic. Cold cement greets you at the bottom, so you grab the prickly multicolored afghan draped over the worn, scratchy sofa and wrap it around your shoulders. A grimy lightbulb dangles from a cord in the ceiling, scattering uneven shadows across the bare walls. The basement reeks of damp earth and "fresh" laundry detergent, but to you, that's the smell of Saturday night adventure.

You plop down on the sofa, careful to aim your butt away from the loose spring this time. Against the far wall, your brother turns the knob on the aging black-and-white television positioned on a chipped wooden stand. The screen buzzes and flickers to life with a static hiss. It takes some coaxing and an extra piece of aluminum foil on the rabbit-ear antenna for the picture and sound to come in strong. Ned the Dead and Doctor Moreau smile at you through the screen.

This is what Saturday nights are made for.

Chiller Theater.

Chiller Theater & The Ned the Dead Show

For many decades now, horror hosts have brought us all (mostly B) films full of camp. Every horror host, from Elvira and Svengoolie to ones only known to small cities, carved out a weekly macabre corner for horror fans. Some became national icons, while others turned into local treasures. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s who doesn't know Ned the Dead and Doctor Moreau.

But if you aren't familiar with either of those names or with Chiller Theater, you're in the right spot for a hit of vicarious nostalgia. Chiller Theater followed the format you probably already know from the phrase "horror host"—a darkly dressed charismatic host, twisted humor, and cheesy late-night scares that somehow stuck with you.

It never had national syndication, but Chiller Theater was a pretty long-running show in the Green Bay area, airing after Saturday Night Live on Channel 11. The show ran from 1984 to 1989, took a hiatus, and resumed in 1995 until its conclusion in 2009.

Check out this long episode list with air dates and featured movies: Ned the Dead's Chiller Theater - WLUK-TV 1984-89, 1996-99.

Originally, it was just Ned the Dead (played by Steve Brenzel) on-screen, but the character Doctor J. Morbius Moreau (played by Randy Moreau) joined soon after the show's inception. Randy had already been contributing behind the scenes with research, editing, and movie trivia.

Before Chiller Theater started, Steve Brenzel was asked to play an older woman in a ticket booth, but he rejected the idea and developed his own character of Ned the Dead one day while driving over the Mason Street Bridge in Green Bay. The TV station ran with the idea and even hired a makeup artist who created prosthetics that included a "facial skin funk" that had to be glued to his face. (Steve simplified the makeup process after years of itchiness.)

The character and show became a local sensation, leaving horror fans across Green Bay undeadly delighted.

Surprisingly, Steve Brenzel never considered himself a fan of horror movies. His passion lay in the performance and comedy aspects, which could be argued were more important for connecting with the audience. Over the years, most of the show's segments were entirely improvised, with fewer than 50 out of 10,000 recorded breaks needing redone. That's some awe-inspiring improv skills.

Sponsorships for Chiller Theater were structured to monetize the low-cost movie packages, allowing local businesses like Van Vredee's furniture and appliance stores to advertise during the show. The station purchased movie packages containing popular and lesser-known titles, and the low-budget show created a way to monetize B movies—which introduced a hell of a lot of people to films they otherwise would have never seen.

Chiller Theater or Chiller Theatre?

‍Yeah...no idea. The spelling "theater" is more American, and "theatre" is more British—but this was an official television show, so you'd think there would only be one way to spell it. However, I've seen both spellings used modernly and in old American newspaper clippings about the show.

Ned the Dead and Doc Moreau regularly received fan mail, including letters from local prisoners. Some were funny, others unsettling, and even occasionally bizarre. That little story I wrote at the beginning was inspired by an interview with Steve, who mentioned that a few fans had to sneak into their basements to watch the show on old TVs.

Chiller Theater officially ended in 2009, but "The Ned the Dead Show" started in 2009 and ran until the end of 2010, giving Green Bay horror fans a little extra time with their beloved horror showcase. The new show was still filmed at the same location as Chiller Theater but expanded into new areas, including independent films, work from local filmmakers, Sconniewood features, and even low-budget color films.

Randall "Randy" Moreau

Doctor Moreau was portrayed by Randall "Randy" Moreau, a talented actor and pop culture aficionado whose love for comics and performance made him an integral part of the show. Randy added his own depth to the program with a unique segment at the start of each movie, where he shared fascinating bits of movie lore and behind-the-scenes trivia about the film being shown.

Let me put on my serious film critic's hat for a second to mention how Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory is a precursor of the Italian film sub-genre Giallo. It contains themes such as very pretty young women in danger, a mysterious unseen killer, and—well, it goes without saying—there's also a werewolf. Unfortunately, not much of a dormitory.

No panty raids or pillow fights. Sorry about that.

It stars the lovely Barbara Lass, the first wife of controversial film director Roman Polanski. Also, there's this guy Luciano Pagosi. You can see why they called him the Italian Peter Lorre.

And Ned the Dead fans, remember actor Mel Wells from Little Shop of Horrors and She Beast? That's his voice dubbed in English for the police detective on the case.

— Doc Moreau in Ned the Dead's Chiller Theater, Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory​

Doc's Movie Lore was a favorite for viewers, of course.

This segment became a favorite for viewers, blending education with entertainment. Randy had an extensive background in drama, having starred in productions like Camelot and Butterflies Are Free. He also appeared in two live Chiller Theater events. Sadly, Randy passed away on May 22, 2024, at the age of 67. His obituary can be found here.

Though their time on the analog airwaves has passed, Randy Moreau and Steve Brenzel left a lifelong impression on countless people in the Green Bay area. In a time before the 24-hour news cycle, celebrity scandals, and viral challenges, the two captivated audiences with nothing more than a sense of humor, a love for horror, and a late-night time slot.

Old horror hosts are always hard to write about because they existed somewhere between the films they featured and the fans who tuned in each week. Their shows were meant to be experienced by watching them—and writing about them doesn't really capture that. So be sure to check out the links below to learn more and watch some Chiller Theater on your own.

Relevant & Related

• Take a moment for a hit of nostalgia with a little snippet of Chiller Theater.
• Want to see Ned the Dead as a sportscaster?
• ​Check out The Ned the Dead Show on Facebook​
• Watch a Q&A with Ned the Dead and Doc Moreau from 2015​
• ​Steve Brenzel was on for an entertaining, nearly two-hour interview on Rooted Wisconsin​
• Don't miss Ned the Dead's Chiller Theater on YouTube, where you can find over a hundred videos, including some full-length old movies presented by Ned the Dead, like Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory or Teenagers from Outer Space​
• Another entertaining presentation by Ned the Dead and Doc Moreau in Attack of the Monsters: The Extra Sassy Version​
• And, of course, an archived version of nedthedead.com.

You might enjoy these other articles:

• ​Morgus the Magnificent​
• ​Coffin Joe of Brazil​
• ​Nightfall - Audio Horror Radio Series​
• ​The Tale of a Cult Classic: Are You Afraid of the Dark?​
• ​Off Beat Cinema