Celebrating a Local Icon
This
past weekend, New Orleans' friends of science gathered to celebrate a local
icon.
Hosted at WYES-TV, which is a stone's throw away from City Park, "Morgus
Madness" was the first ever Halloween bash dedicated to Dr. Morgus the
Magnificent, legendary horror host of the Crescent City. And seeing as Morgus
is coming back to screens across the city on Halloween night, it was a perfect
time to celebrate and reflect on Sid Noel's enduring place in New Orleans
culture.
Cardboard
cutouts of Dr. Morgus greeted visitors first-thing in WYES's lobby, the sounds
of local jam band's Morgus tribute song "Friends of Science" playing over the
sound system. As a costume party, the event saw several appearances from the
wacky world of Morgus and beyond. Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange, Michael
Myers and The Nun, Steve Zissou, The Riddler, and no less than four different
incarnations of Momus Alexander Morgus himself. This was a multiverse worth
paying attention to.
In
the interior of WYES's Kornman Performance Studio, Morgus' devotees of science
over the decades got to meet a true piece of New Orleans history—the restored
prop of the mad doctor's talking skull companion E.R.I.C., in (or without) the
flesh. The main event included a performance by New Orleans musical group
Consortium of Genius, which has taken aesthetic inspiration from Morgus and
horror host culture across its different performances. One of the main guests
of honor in attendance was miss Natalie Rideau, the daughter of the original
Morgus actor Sid Noel. Dressed as the equally iconic horror host Elvira of the
Dark, Natalie said that the event would have absolutely meant the world to her
father.
WYES
executives have expressed hope that Morgus Madness is going to grow into
something of a yearly event, and the strong attendance for its initial year
bodes well for that. And Morgus has certainly served up bigger spectacles in
the past.
See Morgus Halloween Night
For
those who weren't able to make it to the party, Morgus is still in-store for
Halloween this year. At 9 p.m. on Halloween night, WYES is going to broadcast
classic episodes of the series on Channel 12, in which Morgus and his assistant
Chopsley create a device capable of interdimensionally communicating with the
world of ghosts. This episode will be fittingly accompanied by a complete
showing of the classic 1959 horror film The House on Haunted Hill. More
scheduling information can be found at WYES's
website. A digital stream of the episode can also be seen on
WYES's website, as well as the apps for WYES and PBS.
