Bill Cardille

Bill Cardille
Born William Robert Cardille
(1928-12-10)December 10, 1928
Farrell, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died July 21, 2016(2016-07-21) (aged 87)
McCandless, Pennsylvania
Cause of death Cancer
Occupation Broadcast Personality
Years active 1957–2016
Spouse(s) Louise Maras (m. 1953)
Children 3

William Robert "Bill" Cardille (December 10, 1928 – July 21, 2016), also known as Chilly Billy, was an American broadcast personality from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Biography

Early years

Born in Farrell, Pennsylvania,[1] Cardille was the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Cardille of Sharon, Pennsylvania. He was a 1947 graduate of Sharon High School. He majored in English and speech at State Teachers College at Indiana in Indiana, Pennsylvania, where he played varsity tennis and basketball.[2]

Early career

Cardille had a nightly record program on WDAD radio in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, in 1951.[3] He first worked in television at WICU in Erie, Pennsylvania, beginning January 19, 1952.[2] He was for many years a fixture on Channel 11 (formerly call letters WIIC, now WPXI), the NBC affiliate in Pittsburgh, and was the first voice heard when WIIC went on the air on September 1, 1957.

Chiller Theater

After years of hosting many other local shows on WIIC (at a time where local stations often produced a significant amount of local programming), Cardille became host of the show for which he is probably best known: Chiller Theatre, a late night Saturday program that showed horror and science fiction films. The show earned him his nickname "Chilly Billy." The program aired from 1964 until its cancellation in 1983.[4] Joe Flaherty, a Pittsburgh native, acknowledges this show as an influence in the formation of the popular "Monster Chiller Horror Theatre" sketches on SCTV.

Other work

Cardille also hosted other programs including Studio Wrestling, and a combination game show /movie program that ran in the late afternoon. He hosted a teen dance show, the Four O'Clock Money Movie, and Movies to Laugh By for WIIC. For many years he was the local host for the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Cardille appeared in both the 1968 original version and the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead, in the television movie, The Assassination File, and in the documentary American Scary. He was especially famous in Boston, where the weekly pro wrestling program was extremely popular. Cardille also called the play-by-play of western Pennsylvania high school basketball playoff games for many years on WQED-TV, the Pittsburgh PBS affiliate. Cardille also hosted morning radio shows on Pittsburgh radio stations WWSW and WIXZ.

Outside of broadcasting, Cardille owned and operated Chilly Billy Cardille Travel and Tours in Wexford for many years, which was managed by his son, Bill Jr.

Later Years

Until 2014, Cardille could be heard on radio station WJAS[1] AM 1320 in the mid-day slot. He retired from WJAS in 2014. During his retirement he resided in McCandless, in Pittsburgh's North Hills, with his wife Louise.

Cardille was also the father of actress Lori Cardille who played the lead role in Romero's Day of the Dead.

Pittsburgh City Council, as well as officials from Mercer County and Sharon, Pennsylvania, announced plans to honor Cardille with a proclamation to declare September 28, 2010 "Bill Cardille Day."[5]

Death

In early July 2016, Cardille's family announced that he was battling cancer for the second time. He died the morning of July 21, 2016,[6] at his home in McCandless, Pennsylvania.[7] He was survived by his wife and three children.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lentz, Harris III (September 2016). "Obituaries: Bill Cardille, 87". Classic Images (495): 56.
  2. 1 2 "Announcer For TV Station". The Indiana Gazette. Pennsylvania, Indiana. January 7, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Bloom, Tammie (May 22, 1951). "Town Teen Time". The Indiana Gazette. Pennsylvania, Indiana. p. 9. Retrieved October 31, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Hasch, Michael (3 September 2007). "Bill Cardille marks 50 years on Pittsburgh airwaves". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  5. ↑ "Tuesday is Bill Cardille Day". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 27, 2010.
  6. ↑ Bill Cardille, Channel 11 icon and host of 'Chiller Theater', has died
  7. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (July 21, 2016). "Pittsburgh television host Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille passes away at 87". Retrieved 1 November 2016.

External links

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