Get your 3-D Glasses for the Count Scary 3-D Party at Wendy’s

In 1982, Detroit’s Count Scary (portrayed by Detroit, Michigan-area radio disc jockey Tom Ryan) broadcast a 3-D TV special featuring the classic film, “Gorilla at Large”. Since everyone didn’t have 3-D glasses just lying around, Count Scary partnered with Wendy’s to distribute the glasses for the low low price of 39 cents. Here is a commercial where the Count explains it all.

It seems like every market in the US during 1982 ran special broadcasts with 3-D glasses that you needed to acquire in order to enjoy it. In my area of New Jersey, they showed “Revenge of the Creature” in 3-D. When I got my 3-D glasses (from Burger King, I think), I held onto them like they were made of gold. Even after the film was broadcast, I kept them safe and sound.

When I went to film school many years later, I pulled them out of retirement for a series of 3-D films and while they gathered the attention I hoped, it was also a huge mistake to use them. At some point, they slipped out of the book I had kept them flattened in, and I never saw them again.

I guess I should be happy that I got more use out of them and I got to tell people all about seeing “Revenge of the Creature” in 3-D on TV as a kid, but I still wish I had them. Just for the great memory, they embodied.