About Me
The Count Blah Biography:
Frederick Blah is a veteran of the silver screen - one of the first
Fabricated Americans to make a name for himself in the entertainment
industry. Born Frederick Bergen Bladovich, Blah was brought to this
country from Hungary by his parents as a child.
Frederick worked as an extra in many large-scale productions, waiting
to be discovered. At the advice of a college friend who was urging
him to "stand out" among his fellow background actors, Blah raided the
costume department of the old Warners studio and dressed in vampire
garb. Indeed, filmmakers noticed the presence of a vampire in various
background shots of their entirely un-horrific picture, a contemporary
musical.
Rather than undergo the cost of re-shooting major sequences, the
studio decided to explain the gaffe with a small scene that featured
the fanged apparition. And so, in the early WB musical "I sent my
Heart to SingySing," Frederick was featured with a small song and
dance number with a then-unknown Bette Gable. The film was an abysmal
failure at the box office, and all prints were burned. But the famed
"Vampire of Singy-Sing" took on a cult status in Hollywood, and an
unlikely star was born.
It was then that Blah found his niche and adopted the personality of
"Count" Blah, a personality that would define him to this day. Some
question the sanity of a man who refuses to break this "character,"
while others call it the finest and most dedicated performance by a
Fabricated actor (or any actor) to date. Unlike human stars Bela
Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Blah worked on the fringe of the horror
business, taking roles in all-puppet exploitation films and the
occasional Hammer production. After some campy talk and variety show
appearances in 1968, Blah had some brief success with "Count Blah's
House of Horrors," a low-budget and short-lived television production
best remembered for launching the brief novelty-pop hit, "The Blah."
In the early 70s, Blah was making puppet headlines in the society
pages as a playboy, with a list of wives to rival Johnny Carson.
Coupled with these society tales were rumors of his bisexuality, a
rumor he would vehemently deny for several years to come.
During this time, Blah was mounting for a crossover into children's
television, on a new show called, "Sesame Street." It was here that
our puppet would first meet the infamous "Muppet" who caused a rivalry
that still exists to this day. Count Von Count, a longtime friend of
"Muppet" studio head Jim Henson and famous Hollywood numerologist,
took America by storm. The success of the "Muppets'" fame, especially
that of the purple Count, was so intense that Blah was sent into a
tale-spin which had him out of the spotlight for over a decade, living
off investments and family money, spending much of it on his serious
morphine addiction.
It was not until the late 90s that Greg The Bunny, a cult fan of
"Blah's House of Horrors," used his own brief stint with fame to coax
Blah back into the spotlight. Together they have appeared on several IFC short films and even a brief stint on a FOX sitcom, where Blah underwent major cosmetic surgery and adopted a slighty different persona. Since the cancellation of that series, Blah had faded into the night. Only recently has he made a few small appearances on IFC's new "Greg the Bunny" series.When we recently caught up with Blah, he was living in the drab remains of his California estate, completing a self-written biography about the
rise-and-fall of his career, his triumph over addiction, his sexual
past and his struggle for identity. Called simply, "All about the
Blah," it will be released in conjunction with the launch of new "Greg the Bunny" films on the Independent Film Channel. (For more information, contact his agent, Pal Friendlies.)
A kid who has managed to "stay in the picture" for several decades,
Blah is a true original. Sort of.
