Born in 1938, Robert Pickett was a minor tv star, with roles in
Dr. Kildare, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza, and
Petticoat Junction. He displayed a respectable physique opposite gay teen icon
Tommy Kirk in the beach movie
It's a Bikini World (1967).
(Left: more respectable physique from
Bikini World).
He recorded many songs, mostly horror parodies: "The Werewolf Watusi," "Monster Man Jam," "Monsters on the Prairie." But his biggest claim to fame was the novelty-horror song "The Monster Mash" by "Boris" Bobby Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, which sprang to the top of the charts in 1962, 1970, and 1973.
It has been covered by everyone from Boris Karloff to Alvin and the Chipmunks, heard on every tv series from
Cheers to
The Office.
There isn't a lot of specifically gay or heterosexist content. Dr. Frankenstein is "working in the lab, late one night," when his Monster rises from the slab and wants to dance. Other Universal monsters appear and join in. The only conflict comes when Dracula prefers "The Transylvania Twist." Nobody expresses any heterosexual interest, though Dracula has a son.
There's a
video on youtube starring more explicitly gay versions of the monsters: they hug, hold hands, and collapse into each other's arms.
The 1995
Monster Mash: The Movie channels
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with two teenagers dressed as Romeo and Juliet (including Ian Bohan, left, later photo) trapped in a castle with the monsters, who want to use them for various nefarious purposes. Gay actor Adam Shankman plays a gay Wolfie, who wants to eat them. It's not on DVD, but there are VHS tapes out there, and there's a trailer
on youtube.
Bobby Pickett died in 2007.
See also:
Jozin z Bazin, the Czech Swamp Monster.
Lots of vintage content in here, I see 😏
ReplyDeleteI am traveling and unable to review new content. I'll be back next week.
DeleteDracula's son could also be a dude he converted, since vampires traditionally can't reproduce any other way.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that "Dracula and his son" pointed to a more extemsive story.
DeleteAs I understand it, 'Monster Mash' was Pickett's only hit and he spent DECADES trying to make lightning strike twice with rewrites, knock-offs, sequels, etc.
ReplyDeleteAlso saw a bizarre cover-version by some Disney Channel kids who try to turn it into a Boy Band song. "Like, yo, what's haps with my Transylvania Twist, dawg?"