Kiss Meets the Phantom: Today in Embarrassing Rock History

It was supposed to be “A Hard Day’s Night” meets “Star Wars.” The made for TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park was anything but classic cinema.

10/30/1978: It was the Saturday night before Halloween. Girls everywhere were taming their hair into the perfect twin buns for their Princess Leia outfit as boys practiced their Tony Manero dance moves and tried not to get the white suit dirty before trick or treating. We had just met Michael Myers (Halloween premiered October 25) so, hockey masks were still in the sporting goods section of K-Mart.

Kiss, in their costumes of Demon, Star-Child, Space Ace and Catman made their television movie debut in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park on NBC-TV. Shot on a $2M budget, the special effects may have been state-of-the-art at the time, but are laughable today. These rockers are no thespians, either, as critica argued about what was worse: the script or the acting.

Take a look at a few things you never knew about the special, including the fact that Ace has no real words (ACK!) and Peter Chris. voice was overdubbed by the guy who would go on to voice the Smurfs.

10/30/1970: Jim Morrison made headlines and the police blotter for his lack of costume as he was sentenced for indecent exposure and profanity at a concert in Miami. He was assessed a $500 fine and six months of hard labor. Morrison died before his appeal got to court.

Notable Rock & Roll Birthdays 10/30:

Grace Slick | Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship (1939)

Timothy B. Schmidt | The Eagles, Poco (1947)