# Superhost > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Superhost > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Superhost.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhost > Source revision: 1354435154 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American actor (1932–2020) For the film, see [Superhost (film)](/source/Superhost_(film)). Superhost Marty Sullivan as Superhost in a 1975 publicity picture Born Marty Sullivan (1932-03-05)March 5, 1932 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Died February 21, 2020(2020-02-21) (aged 87) Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, U.S. Alma mater Assumption College (now University of Windsor) Occupations Local radio and TV personality Years active 1969–1993 **Superhost** (March 5, 1932 – February 21, 2020) was an American character portrayed by TV personality **Marty Sullivan** at independent television station [WUAB](/source/WUAB) channel 43 in [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland) from 1969 to 1989. He wore a baggy suit, [cape](/source/Cape) and red nose (like a [clown](/source/Clown) version of [Superman](/source/Superman)) to host the station's Saturday afternoon monster movie. ## Early life Sullivan was born on March 5, 1932, in [Detroit](/source/Detroit), [Michigan](/source/Michigan). He went to Assumption College (now [University of Windsor](/source/University_of_Windsor)),[1] and served in the [U.S. Navy](/source/U.S._Navy).[1] ## Show format The show would begin at noon with *Supe's On!*, an hour-long warm-up to the movies, with two [Three Stooges](/source/Three_Stooges) shorts, and usually a [Laurel and Hardy](/source/Laurel_and_Hardy) short as well. Superhost would appear during commercial breaks, cracking jokes, showing skits, and talking to the TV audience. Superhost greeted fans with his famous "Hello, dere" (pronounced "dare") and follow with sketches like "The Moronic Woman" (a parody of *[The Bionic Woman](/source/The_Bionic_Woman)*) "Caboose Supe" (a [Boxcar Willie](/source/Boxcar_Willie) takeoff), and "Fat Whitman" (a spoof of [Slim Whitman](/source/Slim_Whitman)). His most famous sketch was a music video based on the popular trucker song "[Convoy](/source/Convoy_(song))". He was also known for referring to the movies as "flicks" as in "Let's get back to da flick."[2] After *Supe's On*, he would host an afternoon of films under the *Mad Theater* banner. Generally two films were shown, going from 1 to 4 p.m. The movies would be old horror films like *[Frankenstein](/source/Frankenstein_(1931_film))* or Japanese monster movies such as *[Godzilla](/source/Godzilla_(1954_film))*. As the 1980s went along, with *[WCW Worldwide Wrestling](/source/WCW_Worldwide)* and other more contemporary syndicated weekend programming becoming available, the show began getting trimmed down for time. First to the *Supe's On* hour (11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) plus one movie (12:30 to 2 p.m) in 1985, then in 1987, the entire show was shortened to one hour under the *Supe's On!* banner, with Superhost appearing during commercial breaks during one episode each of *[The Munsters](/source/The_Munsters)* and *[Batman](/source/Batman_(TV_series))* from 11 a.m. to noon. From 1988 until its finale in December 1989, the show was then changed to an hour of [Three Stooges](/source/Three_Stooges) shorts (with a cartoon thrown in), and Superhost appearing during commercial breaks, all under the *Supe's On with the Three Stooges!* banner from 11 a.m. to noon (then towards the end moved to 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.)[2][3] ## Other roles In addition to playing Superhost, Sullivan was a longtime floor director and staff announcer for WUAB, and without the Superhost costume, also occasionally hosted the daily afternoon *Prize Movie*, when usual host [John Lanigan](/source/WMJI) was off. Even post Superhost, he would continue to fill in for Lanigan until Sullivan retired in 1993. He also filled in anchoring news breaks during the primetime *Star Movie* when usual anchor Gary Short was off. Sullivan had come to WUAB with some news background, as prior to his career at WUAB, Sullivan worked as an announcer and news reporter for [WGAR](/source/WHKW) AM 1220 in Cleveland. Among the major stories Sullivan had covered at WGAR was the [Hough Riots](/source/Hough_Riots).[1] Sullivan (in character as Superhost) appeared in a few skits for WJW's *Hoolihan & Big Chuck Show* (later *[The Big Chuck & Lil' John Show](/source/Big_Chuck_and_Lil'_John)*) over the years, notably in one installment of the popular "Soulman" sketch of the 1970s. Despite being on a rival station, Sullivan has stated they were good guys and never direct competition to his show.[4] In a story Sullivan liked to tell, he would sometimes be pressed into service on a Friday night when taping the Superhost show, and have to also do the live news breaks. So he'd quickly put on a jacket, shirt, and tie to do the news, while under the desk, he'd still have his Superhost costume on. He served in this capacity until 1988, when WUAB began their nightly *Ten O'Clock News* newscast. Sullivan would later joke that "it took an over 30 person news staff to replace me". ## Death Sullivan died on February 21, 2020, at the age of 87 in [Berkeley Springs, West Virginia](/source/Berkeley_Springs%2C_West_Virginia).[5] ## Awards and honors - 1997 NATAS (Lower Great Lakes Chapter) Silver Circle Award [6] - Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inductee (class of 1991)[7] - Horror Host Hall of Fame inductee (class of 2015) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Supe_Bio_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Supe_Bio_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Supe_Bio_1-2) [Sullivan profile - Cleveland Seniors.com](http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/msullivan.htm) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Supe_Interview_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Supe_Interview_2-1) [Sullivan interview - Utter Trash.net](http://www.uttertrash.net/2018/09/gimme-that-shoe-interview-with-marty.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [NE Ohio movie hosts - Retro Junk.com](http://www.retrojunk.com/article/4021/northeast-ohios-horror-movie-hosts) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["An Interview With Marty "Superhost" Sullivan"](https://neovideohunter.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/an-interview-with-marty-superhost-sullivan/). *The Northeast Ohio Video Hunter*. January 24, 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Morona, Joey (February 21, 2020). ["Marty Sullivan, WUAB Channel 43′s Superhost, dies at 87"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200222223153/https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/02/marty-sullivan-wuab-ch-43s-superhost-dies-at-87.html). *[Cleveland.com](/source/The_Plain_Dealer#Cleveland.com)*. [Brooklyn, Ohio](/source/Brooklyn%2C_Ohio): [Advance Publications](/source/Advance_Publications). Archived from [the original](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/02/marty-sullivan-wuab-ch-43s-superhost-dies-at-87.html) on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Sullivan wins Silver Cirlce Award - NATAS LGL.org](http://www.nataslgl.org/awards_circles.php) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Sullivan inducted into Ohio Broadcasters HOF - Broadcasters Hall of Fame.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20140302120526/http://www.broadcastershalloffame.com/year.htm) ## Further reading - Olszewski, Mike; Olszewski, Janice (2019). *From Captain Penny to Superhost: Tales from the Golden Age of Cleveland Children's Television, 1950s–1970s*. Cleveland, Ohio: Gray & Co. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1598511122](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1598511122). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Superhost](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhost) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhost?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.