SYRACUSE -- You've probably never heard of the "Horror Host Hall of Fame," but Syracuse's own Mike Price is now on the roster, alongside characters like "Grandpa Munster" and The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling. Price was inducted as the classic "Baron Daemon" character he portrayed on Channel 9 (then WNYS-TV, now WSYR-TV) during the 1960s.
Although the "Horror Host Hall of Fame" doesn't seem to have a brick-and-mortar location, the Hall's Facebook page says it has been in operation since 2010 and is sponsored by Ripley's Believe it or Not museums.
Price's fame in the "horror film" fan community stems from a role where he would dress and act like a vampire for the "Baron and His Buddies" show, where he introduced horror movies on WNYS-TV from 1962 to 1967. During that time, he also produced a single called the "Transylvania Twist," which still manages to resurface on various local radio stations every Halloween.
After the Baron Daemon show ended, Price worked in many other roles at channel 9, including announcer and weatherman. He spent the last several years of his career as the station's "Good News" reporter. Upon his retirement in 2008, after 46 years at channel 9, the station unveiled a plaque naming its studio as "The Mike Price Studio."
Price has occasionally come out of retirement to host group vacations sponsored by channel 9, and to revive the Baron Daemon character on channel 9 and elsewhere around Central New York, typically around Halloween.
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