Chuck schodowski biography

Cleveland television legend “Big Chuck” Schodowski, a beloved personality on WJW (Channel 8) for more than 60 years, died Sunday. He was 90.

Fox 8 News made the announcement Monday morning.

One of the most familiar faces on Northeast Ohio television, the amiable, cleft-chinned broadcaster served as an engineer and bit player on horror host Ernie “Ghoulardi” Anderson’s “Shock Theater” program in the 1960s before co-hosting his own shows and working as an Emmy-winning producer and director.

Charles Mitchell Schodowski was born June 28, 1934, in Cleveland and grew up at East 71st Street and Harvard Avenue in the Polish neighborhood of Slavic Village.

“When I was a kid, I was very shy,” he once told the Beacon Journal. “I always wanted to be in a school play but I could never, ever get onstage. I had so much trouble doing a book report, even in high school, that from the time I knew we had to do it, I would not be the same until it was over …

“But I used to go to somebody’s garage and get an old curtain from my mother, or a bedsheet, and I made a stage. … Then I would recruit my friends to be the actors. I would make this theater, I would make the tickets, I would sell the tickets, I would write the plays. I’d do everything but be in it.”

After graduating from Cleveland South High School in 1952, he worked the midnight shift at the Alloys & Chemicals Corp. foundry in Cleveland’s Flats. It was difficult, dangerous work, but Schodowski still managed to enjoy himself.

“I loved pulling practical jokes, and they got more and more elaborate and well-produced,” he recalled. “And I realized, and everyone realized, that I had a sense of humor and I could get people to do things with me when we’d pull off something.”

Co-workers used to tell him he should be on television.

He married his high school sweetheart, June Kole, in 1956. The couple had five kids: Michael, Mark, Marilyn, Melissa and Michelle.

Eager to g

"A vivid picture of an honest man in the insane world of television. Highly recommended." -- Midwest Book Review

Cleveland TV legend "Big Chuck" Schodowski tells hundreds of funny and surprising stories from a lifetime in television--in his familiar, good-natured, Cleveland-to-the-bone style.

Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director's chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking "Ghoulardi" show, and continued to host a late-night show across four decades--the longest such run in TV history. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans.

Revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more. Chuck's stories will entertain fans--and anyone who enjoys behind-the-scenes tales of television and celebrities.

Description

“A vivid picture of an honest man in the insane world of television. Highly recommended.” — Midwest Book Review

Cleveland TV legend “Big Chuck” Schodowski tells hundreds of funny and surprising stories from a lifetime in television—in his familiar, good-natured, Cleveland-to-the-bone style.

Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director’s chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking “Ghoulardi” show, and continued to host a late-night show across four decades—the longest such run in TV history. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans.

Revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more. Chuck’s stories will entertain fans—and anyone who enjoys behind-the-scenes tales of television and celebrities.

Table of Contents

American television personalities

Big Chuck and Lil' John were a duo of entertainers and horror hosts based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, consisting of Charles Mitchell "Big Chuck" Schodowski (June 28, 1934 – January 19, 2025) and "Lil' John" Rinaldi (born January 19, 1946). They co-hosted a late-night program over Cleveland television station WJW (channel 8) from 1979 until 2007, but Schodowski's tenure at the station dated back to 1961, first as a technician, then as a sidekick for Ghoulardi (Ernie Anderson) and a co-host alongside Bob "Hoolihan" Wells.

In addition to hosting a movie with a live audience, they also performed original sketch comedy routines. At the end of each sketch was a very distinctive laugh (see external links section below) voiced by comedian/actor Jay Lawrence, who was a disc jockey for KYW radio in Cleveland during the early 1960s.

On September 10, 2011, WJW began airing a weekly half-hour program – simply titled Big Chuck and Lil' John – featuring classic show skits along with limited new production.

History

Chuck Schodowski began his career as a producer/engineer at KYW-TV in 1961, then joined WJW-TV in the same capacity within several months. Upon joining WJW, he was tasked to do production for Ernie's Place, a movie showcase starring announcer Ernie Anderson and comedian/writer Tom Conway, as Anderson falsely claimed Conway had directorial experience. When Conway left the station after being discovered by Rose Marie, Anderson was cast as horror hostGhoulardi. Schodowski was instrumental in bringing in the blend of blues and polka music that helped define the show, adding comic audio drop-ins to enliven the often awful movies, and immortalized The Rivingtons' tune "Papa Oom Mow Mow" by marrying it to the image of an old man gurning. Anderson utilized Schodowski as a sidekick in