The Kielbasa Kid, Cuyahoga Jones and the Certain Ethnic TV Legend are gone: “Big Chuck” Schodowski, who spent more than five decades on Northeast Ohio television screens, has died at age 90. The lifelong Clevelander and longtime Hinckley resident co-hosted late night movies from 1966-2007 on WJW, interspersed with sketches he wrote and directed.
Schodowski was born June 28, 1934. He began his television career behind the camera, as a technician, in 1960 at KYW-TV (now WKYC). He moved to WJW-TV, working as a cameraman and interfacing with people like Art Modell, then-owner of the Cleveland Browns.
“We had, like, the oldest equipment in the world,” Schodowski said in 2012. “He called us ‘the last of the wood-burning TV stations.’ But that was him. He could [have] biting humor.”
Eventually, Schodowski was tapped to work with Ernie Anderson on “Ghoulardi,” the late night horror host who influenced generations of musicians and filmmakers.
When Anderson followed his friend and former colleague, Tim Conway, to Hollywood, the movies took a back seat to the comedy for Schodowski. From 1966-79, he took over hosting alongside the station’s weatherman, Bob “Houlihan” Wells. After Wells’ departure, “Lil’ John” Rinaldi came aboard until the show stopped producing new episodes in 2007. Rerun compilations have continued to pop up on the station’s schedule since then, and the duo remained in-demand for personal appearances and charitable work.
In his 2008 book, “Big Chuck!: My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV,” Schodowski recalled that in the 1960s, the show sometimes bested its network competition, such as NBC’s “Tonight Show.” He maintained friendships with his former colleagues, even sending tapes of the Cleveland program to Anderson’s young son, to demonstrate filmmaking techniques.
RIP Big Chuck Schodowski. @fox8news legend pic.twitter.com/B4FXXbfpWx
— Kabir Bhatia (@KabirBhatiaTime) January 20, 2025
"I started out as an engineer and I never lost the editing skills that I had," he said in 2009. "I did a lot of that myself. I'd stay overtime and get to editing."
Anderson’s son grew up to become 11-time Oscar nominee, Paul Thomas Anderson.
“A lot of talent comes from this area, on- and off-camera,” Schodowski said. “The off-camera producers grew up watching our show. And every once in a while, they’ll put us into the show. We were a lot on Drew Carey’s show.”
The original theme for Carey’s ABC sitcom, “Moon Over Parma,” was performed on “The Big Chuck and Lil’ John Show” in 1983 by its composer, Bob "Mad Dog" McGuire, during “New Talent Time.”
Over the years, celebrities including Andy Griffith to Muhammad Ali cameoed on the show. Schodowski’s official role at WJW was as a director, but his on-camera notoriety stemmed from starring roles in sketches such as “Cuyahoga Jones” (parodying the Indiana Jones films), “The Kielbasa Kid” (in which he played a bumbling cowboy) and “The Certain Ethnic,” which he created as a loving homage to his Polish heritage.
Schodowski was a 29-time Lower Great Lakes Emmy Awards recipient, inducted into numerous halls of fame during his career. He's survived by his wife, June, five children and a large extended family.
