Lawson J. Deming (April 23, 1913 – April 24, 2007) was a radio and TV character actor best known in Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, D.C. and parts of Canada as the Saturday afternoon television horror movie host “Sir Graves Ghastly.”
Sir Graves Ghastly began his hosting duties in 1966 on WJBK Channel 2 in Detroit. The show was Sir Graves Ghastly Presents and it ran on Saturday afternoons until April of 1983. He was very popular, especially with kids, probably due to the fact that his character did not appear scary and was actually more cartoonish.
The show featured many other characters as well, including his girlfriend Tilly Trollhouse and Glob, Sir Graves’ mouth filmed upside down. Most of these characters were played by Ghastly himself, Lawson J. Deming.
In all, Sir Graves Ghastly ran for 15 seasons in Detroit. Due to the show’s popularity (it was topping all other programs in its time slot other than live sporting events), WJBK added the occasional after-school or prime time Sir Graves special and, of course, several Halloween specials. The explosion of televised sports in the early 1980s, particularly college football, caused Sir Graves to go into hiatus after airing a show in November 1982. A management change during this time led to the program being “officially” cancelled in 1983 before any other shows were produced. As he did while his show was running, Deming continued to do speaking engagements and personal appearances well into the 1990s
For more information, see SirGravesGhastly.com
Detroit Horror Host Sir Graves Ghastly Show Intro
Sir Graves Ghastly Tibute Video