Morgus' "House of Shock" debuted on WWL-TV: Saturday, Jan. 3, 1959. Morgus the Magnificent spent parts of three decades in the 1950s, '60s and '70s with his faithful, gullible, incompetent and clumsy lab assistant, Chopsley, who was always the guinea pig for his experiments, as Morgus told him, "I promise you, Chopsley, you won't feel a thing."

In six or so five-minute breaks during the horror movie of the moment, Morgus would update his audience on the spectacular progress his experiments were making. He toiled in his laboratory over the Old City Ice House in the French Quarter, renting his space from his landlady, Mrs. Fetish.

Morgus was brought here, he said, by "superiors in The Higher Order" who cut a deal with then-Mayor Chep Morrison. "They had to choose a place that needed a brain," which made New Orleans a perfect choice, he explained.

http://blog.nola.com/anguslind/2009/01/three_decades_after_his_show_w.html