How HBO Made the Crypt Keeper a Horror Icon (Exclusive)

After years of being hard to find, outside of out-of-print DVDs from the early 2000s, Tales from the Crypt is finally available to watch digitally, having arrived on Shudder and AMC+ earlier this year. 

As fans revisit HBO’s gory and macabre horror anthology series that ran from 1989 to ’96, attention must be paid to the impressive special effects wizardry that went into the creation of Tales’ creepy, cackling Crypt Keeper (voiced by John Kassir). The character and “host” of the series, who appeared in “wraparound” segments at the beginning and end of each episode, quickly became a horror icon — thanks in large part to the efforts of the puppet’s talented creator, Kevin Yagher. 

The legendary special effects artist is no stranger to the genesis of some of the genre’s most memorable (and terrifying) characters. Prior to the Crypt Keeper, Yagher built the elaborate Chucky puppet for the original Child’s Play (1988) and its first three sequels. He also had a hand in designing Freddy Krueger’s gnarly burn makeup on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and that franchise’s subsequent two sequels, thus solidifying the popular villain’s signature look. 

But the Crypt Kreeper holds a special place in Yagher’s heart, as his work earned him an Emmy in 1992 for Outstanding Direction of several Tales promotional spots and for the show’s bookend segments. (Tales received seven Emmy nominations during its run.) Despite Yagher's longstanding experience putting prosthetics on actors, his gut instincts told him the Crypt Keeper required a different approach. 

“I thought it would be really cool to do a puppet,” Yagher tells the Television Academy in an exclusive interview. “I think back to [Oscar-winning makeup-effects artist] Rick Baker’s work on [the 1981 film] American Werewolf in London, and Rick doing the puppet of Jack (Griffin Dunne), where parts of Jack were half-rotted. I thought that would be fun — to have [the Crypt Keeper] be something you could see into, in a way that would show there’s no way [an actor] could be inside that. I had done Chucky, so I knew it could work.”

Thirty years after the series ended its run on HBO, and just in time for Halloween, Yagher — in the first of a two-part interview — looks back candidly on his time in the crypt. He revisits the challenges that came with his Emmy-winning work, his collaboration with series producers Joel Silver, Richard Donner and Robert Zemeckis and that time he shared a couch with Steven Spielberg.  

Television Academy: What were the first discussions you had about creating the Crypt Keeper? Were they with Tales producer Joel Silver?

Kevin Yagher: I had a shop in Glendale, and Joel Silver would come over because he had a storage unit across the way. The doors of my shop would be open, and he'd see movie stuff being made; creature stuff or whatever. He'd walk around and [ask], "What are you doing? What's that for?” About the third or fourth time, he came in and said, "After [your current] movie, what are you going to do next? I may have something for you." He said, "Ever heard of Tales from the Crypt, the comic books? I got the rights to that, and I'm going to be making a TV show. I got Dick Donner.” He then started mentioning Bob Zemeckis and all this stuff. It started with Joel, and then it led to the other guys slowly coming in. 

Did they envision from the start that the Crypt Keeper would be a puppet? 

No, they had no idea. We talked about putting prosthetics on an actor. I thought it would be really cool to do a puppet. I think back to [Oscar-winning makeup effects artist] Rick Baker’s work on [the 1981 film] American Werewolf in London, and Rick doing the puppet of Jack (Griffin Dunne), where parts of Jack were half-rotted. I thought that would be fun — to have [the Crypt Keeper] be something you could see into, in a way that would show there’s no way [an actor] could be inside that. I was pushing for that. I had done Chucky, so I knew it could work.

If we had it all cable-driven, like we did Chucky, it would be too complicated and expensive. That's why [the Crypt Keeper] is a combo. It’s a Muppet, basically, with a puppeteer holding the head and doing all of the head movement, while somebody else controlled the hands — very much like the [Swedish] Chef. The hands were usually operated by two different people, and then we had a mechanical face.

What was your process in terms of designing his look?

I started doing designs on paper, and then I had a meeting [with Joel]. He would always keep you waiting, though, so I brought my little sketchbook with me. Joel is on the phone, of course, and he’s like "I'll be with you in a second!" I walk in, and he motions for me to sit on the couch. I look over and, on the couch, waiting to meet with him, is Steven Spielberg.

What?!

And I'm going, "What is going on? He’s keeping Steven Spielberg waiting?!” So, I sit down and introduce myself while Joel paces back and forth at his desk. Steven and I are sitting there, and I say, "I'm here to talk about the character [the Crypt Keeper]." And Spielberg goes, “Oh, yes, I'm here to talk about that, too." He says that Joel wants him to be a part of the team. Then he says, "I already did it with [NBC’s 1985 anthology series] Amazing Stories. I don't know ..." I say, "Well, I'm doing some sketches. Let me show you these and see what you think." 

I showed him all of them. My least favorite [design] was his favorite. [Laughs]

Of course, he still had to have the meeting with Joel, so I got to listen to that. He explained, "I've done this already. I don't think there's anything [new] I could give." It was nice that he even showed up, and he was so humble. I've had four meetings with [him] over the years, and he's always the same. He's the nicest person in the world. He's, like, anti-Hollywood to me.

Then, after he left, I showed Joel my designs. I said, “I want to go with no nose on the Crypt Keeper. I just like the skull. I keep trying noses, different noses, and this works the best. Let me just rough it out this way in clay."

Was it pretty straightforward from there to getting the final look approved?

They trusted filmmakers. With those guys, even Joel, he was very supportive. They left me alone on everything I did on that. They just let me do whatever. In fact, I said, "We need [to cast] the voice." And they said, “You do it."

I wouldn’t have expected you to be the one charged with finding the voice actor.

The plan was that Bob Zemeckis was going to direct the first few episodes’ [Crypt Keeper segments], and then I would eventually take over. I got hold of the casting director, and they sent me voiceover guys. Michael Winslow from Police Academy auditioned. I met with Rick [Overton]; he was the maître d' in Mrs. Doubtfire and a stand-up comedian. I remember those guys standing out, and their [auditions] were in my makeup effects shop. 

I didn't want to be in the room, so I showed them the Crypt Keeper. I told them Bob Zemeckis’s comments about him having rotten breath, and that his laugh was very important. I gave each guy the spiel and let them go into a room with, I believe, the casting director. She just tape-recorded them [in the room]. I wanted to hear the voice by itself, without seeing their faces. 

When I listened to John Kassir’s tape, it stood out. What got me was his laugh, and the way he punctuated certain lines. I walked into Joel's office with just one cassette — John Kassir’s. They asked for three. I said, "I’m not bringing you three. If you don't like this guy, I'll go and bring you back the two closest guys. Please go with me on this." So, Joel just sat there, listening. He would look over at me, and then shake his head with a big smile, like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! This is great!” 

How did you ultimately end up directing the Crypt Keeper wraparounds?

Bob Zemeckis was now going to be making the Back to the Future [sequels] back to back, so he could not direct [the wraparounds] anymore. Then, Dick Donner was going to step in. I had done a bunch of storyboards for the first episode’s wraparound segments, and I also did diagrams of how the puppeteers would work — to explain to people how to operate it. Back then, people were frightened of it because it was this new technology. 

Bill Teitler was the line producer, so we had a meeting in the crypt [set]. I showed Dick my sketches and said, "This is what I'm thinking, and here's how the puppet works, and here's where the main puppeteer sits." I showed him everything, just to kind of ease his mind a little bit. And he liked the boards. He said, "These are really good!" He knows that I am going to eventually take over, so he just slapped me on the back and said, "Great, you're going to do fine tomorrow. Good luck!" And he walks off. 

And then Bill Teitler yells, "Wait, wait, wait, wait!" and runs after [Dick]. I can hear him say, "He's never directed!” [Dick] said, "No, I could tell by how the kid talks, what he did with the Crypt Keeper and with the storyboards — it's going to be fine. He knows what he's doing, and I'd be lost anyway. Let him do his thing." 

Part two of this interview runs next week.

This interview was edited for length and clarity. 

The first three seasons of Tales from the Crypt are streaming on Shudder. The entire series is available on AMC+.