Beat From Badsville, to Ghoulardi's memory. David Thomas, of art rock band Pere Ubu, said that the Cramps were "so thoroughly co-optive of the Ghoulardi persona that when they first appeared in the 1970s, Clevelanders of the generation were fairly dismissive." Thomas credits Ghoulardi for influencing the "otherness" of the Cleveland/Akron bands of the mid-1970s and early-1980s, including the Electric Eels, The Mirrors, the Cramps, and Thomas's own groups, Pere Ubu and Rocket From The Tombs, declaring, "We were the Ghoulardi kids." Members of Devo and The Dead Boys have also cited Ghoulardi as a strong influence. Pretenders founder Chrissie Hynde, an Akron native, referred to Ghoulardi as a local "guru": "He had his own language and we idolized him, the Beat version of a ghoul." In 2002, Cleveland-area indie band Uptown Sinclair featured a Ghoulardi-derived basketball referee in the slapstick music video for their song "Girlfriend." In 2003, as a tribute, jazz organist Jimmy McGriff wrote, recorded and released his song "Turn Blue." The Akron-based band the Black Keys also paid homage to a Ghoulardi catchphrase with their 2014 album Turn Blue. Ghoulardi's influence also extended to film. Anderson's son, film director Paul Thomas Anderson, named his production entity "The Ghoulardi Film Company" and has stated that the climactic fireworks scene in his film Boogie Nights was inspired by Ghoulardi's use of fireworks. Director Jim Jarmusch, who grew up in the Cleveland area and watched Ghoulardi as a child, has also said that he was influenced by the character's anti-authoritarian attitude and selection of "weird" music. In Denmark, editor Jack J named his movie fanzine Stay Sick! (1999-) after having read an article on Ghoulardi by Michael J. Weldon in an early issue of Weldon's Psychotronic Video magazine. Over 50 years after Ghoulardi signed off, many Clevelanders still associate polka music, white socks, and pink plastic flamingo and yard globe lawn ornaments with Parma, Ohio. References Further reading Feran, Tom, and R. D. Heldenfels (1997). Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company Publishers. Schodowski, Chuck (2008). Big Chuck: My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV. Cleveland, OH: Gray & Company, Publishers. "The Big Chuck and Li'l John Show," WJW-TV, broadcast ca., 1998, viewable at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e52cXCrmauc (as of 12/19/06). External links Ghoulardifest Screen captures Archived page on Ernie Anderson and Ghoulardi from the Paul Thomas Anderson fan site Cigarettes & Coffee A sample from