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Day 6

Count Frightenstein gets his day: New museum honours Canadian actor Billy Van

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein was a 1970s, low-budget, campy television horror show for children. A new museum pays tribute to Billy Van, who played most of the show's characters.

'This Canadian actor has gone unrecognized ... he's a national treasure'

CBC Radio ·
Stacey Case points to a picture of Billy Van hung up outside the window of his museum. (Roy Pike/Billy Van Museum)

In honour of his all-time favourite Canadian actor, superfan Stacey Case has opened the Billy Van Museum in Hamilton, Ont.

Billy Van was most known for his work on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, a horror show meant for kids, where he played characters like Count Frightenstein and The Wolfman.

But, Van didn't just play these two characters on the 1970s show — he played a total of nine out of 13 characters.

The Billy Van Museum, which opened last Thursday, highlights Van's accomplishments. (Roy Pike/Billy Van Museum)

Case created the museum to commemorate all of Van's accomplishments.

The superfan is also writing a book that highlights that Van was more than just Frightenstein.

We should be honouring Billy Van and his legacy. And this is what I'm doing with the museum.- Stacey Case

Van was also a singer, a comedian on CBC's Nightcap and well-known for his role as the sidekick on The Sonny and Cher Show, among other roles.

The museum will be open year round and appointments can be made on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

To hear more from Stacey Case, download our podcast or click the 'Listen' button at the top of this page.

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