#edward d wood jr
Friends, it’s time once again to drop a coin in the THE WONDER EMPORIUM JUKEBOX, and dance the night away to another toe-tappin’ melody of years past.
Today, the song is “Home on the Strange”- a “Monster Marsh”-type novelty song from Paul Marco.
Marco’s claim to fame was appearing in three films by Ed Wood -
Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, and Night of the Ghouls. In all three, he played Kelton the Cop, the bumbling, Barney Fife-esque comedy relief. While famed psychic and Wood crony Criswell predicted that Marco would “go far” in the film industry, this never came to pass, and Marco made his living working in the prop department at Paramount. That’s where Marco met Joe Dante (Gremlins), a Wood fan who encouraged him in the ‘80s to hit the convention circuit and cash in on his minor cult fame.
Unfortunately, Marco decided to quit his job and devote his attention full-time to reviving the Kelton franchise. In interviews, he spoke of grand plans for new Kelton movies, cartoons, and game shows, and as President and Founding Member of the Paul Marco Fan Club (!), spent a fortune on “I Love Kelton the Cop” merch - balloons, t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. You can see Paul hawking his merch in Jonathan Ross’ BBC documentary about Wood.
“Home on the Strange” was released as a 45rpm in the '90s, around the time of Tim Burton’s Ed Wood biopic. “Someone Walked Over My Grave,” an ancient Criswell novelty single, was the B side. I’m proud to say that I own it.
Paul Marco died in 2006, but his wonderful official website is still active. It includes behind-the-scenes Ed Wood tidbits, press clippings, and photos of Paul posing with celebrity friends. This one, with Martin Landau, is my favourite photo in the world:
