Big Chuck
Chuck Schodowski had never heard of Kelleys Island in 1965 when a coworker suggested it as a vacation spot for his young family.
“I’d lived in Cleveland all my life and hadn’t even known there were islands in Lake Erie!” he says, laughing.
At the time, Schodowski, better known as “Big Chuck,” was an engineer for the late-night hit show, Ghoulardi, on Cleveland station, TV8, hosted by madcap personality Ernie Anderson.
“It sounded like a perfect place to go where no one would find me,” Chuck says. By “no one,” Schodowski meant Anderson, who wanted him to sing on his upcoming prime-time special. “I didn’t want to do it,” he recalls. “So I purposely took my vacation time the week they were taping, packed up the family, and headed to Kelleys.
“But it didn’t work,” he quickly adds. “The second day I was there, the only policeman on the island came to the door of the cottage we were renting and said, ‘Ernie Anderson wants you to call him.’ To this day, I have no idea how he knew I was there.”
Schodowski’s plan to escape his colleague may not have panned out, but that first visit to Kelleys Island turned into a lifelong love affair with the Lake Erie island. For the next 40 years, the TV celebrity would escape there every chance he got between his many duties working full time at TV8.
Throughout his 47 years there, Schodowski served as engineer, cameraman, director, and co-host of the popular latenight shows, Hoolihan & Big Chuck, which aired from 1966 to 1979, then Big Chuckand Lil’ John until 2007, when Schodowski retired from television.
Nocturnal devotees of those Friday night programs didn’t tune in to watch the cheesy B-rated movies, but rather to see the humorous skits Schodowski and his cohorts put on in between. Those campy late-night sketches he wrote and directed amounted to some 2,000 parodies. Memories of his longtime career are now chronicled in his new book, Big Chuck! My Favorite Storiesfrom 47 Years on Cleveland TV.
Off the Air & On the Island
Since his retirement two years ago, 75-yearold Big Chuck now has more time to spend on Kelleys Island. His family’s summer retreat is a parcel with two homes, one of them a cottage that was once a Sohio gas station, built in the 1920s.
“The guy who owned [the station] had lived near the quarry and thought it was too far to drive every day—although nothing is really far on Kelleys Island,” Schodowski explains. “So he actually moved his house next to the gas station, which was the one we started renting back in ’64.” The gas station was converted to a cottage in 1968, and in 1975, the property became the Schodowskis’ personal Kelleys Island haven.
“When we bought it, we fixed it all up and did a lot of work with the landscaping,” he says. “We wanted to make it so our kids, when they grew up, would want to come and spend time with us there, and that’s exactly what’s happened. Now, they all take turns visiting in the summer, often with our grandkids in tow. It’s really great,” he says.
It’s the summer months that islanders and vacationers are most likely to bump into at least one member of the large Schodowski family that includes Chuck’s wife, June, five grown children, and 14 grandchildren. “All our kids grew up and held summer jobs there,” he says. “The oldest son was an ore carrier, another son worked on the ferry boats, our daughters worked in the restaurants.”
Daughter Michelle Dobbins remembers the day that would form the foundation of her childhood summers. “I was five when we were walking to the house we rented and saw a For Sale sign. My parents promptly bought the property. It turned out to be one of the best decisions they ever made!”
Dobbin now enjoys Kelleys Island with her own growing family which includes husband Bruce and three children, ages 7, 8, and 10. “We usually make it up there about 10 times per season for long weekends, full weeks . . . whatever we can work in,” she says. “Our kids absolutely love it there, of course. They have grandparents to spoil them, friends and extended family to visit, ice cream and candy stores within walking distance, beaches and boats—it’s paradise for them!”
The Schodowskis all have treasured memories of idyllic summers on Kelleys Island, comprised of family togetherness, solitary escapes, and fun nights out. Many of the summer friendships remain. Dobbins has childhood memories riding horses on the island with friend Sandy (Smith) Krane. “Now our kids play together,” Dobbins says.
Brother Mark Schodowski often gathered high school and college friends during football season and they’d all camp out every Sunday at his parents’ cottage, watching the Cleveland Browns. “Back in the ’70s, we couldn’t get the games on our TV at home. They were broadcast out of Toledo, so we could pick it up at Kelleys,” he recalls fondly.
Even more significant is the girl who caught Mark’s eye at the El Lago Vista ice cream parlor in 1978. “The ice cream store was right at the end of the Ferry dock,” he recalls. “So I saw her every day all summer long.” The couple now has three children and will celebrate their 30th anniversary next year—most likely at Kelley’s Island.
“My best childhood memories are of Kelleys Island,” says Mark, who was 6 years old the year his dad first brought his family there. “We lived in Parma [a suburb of Cleveland] when I was growing up, so going out to Kelleys each summer was like going to some magical place.”
He recalls summer months spent with his dad fishing on the lake, swimming, and romping on the beach. He also fondly remembers riding his bike around the island. By himself.
“We’d ride around the island all day long, anytime we wanted, for as long as we wanted. That was particularly fun for us kids because there was that great sense of freedom we couldn’t get at home. It was very different from our life living near a big city.”
Big Chuck’s wife of 52 years agrees. “Kelleys has been such a wonderful family experience,” says June. “I fell absolutely in love with it that very first visit. It’s like this magical place far away from everything.”
It’s no surprise that both mother and son use the same adjective to describe Kelleys Island. To the Schodowksi family, “magical” best describes how they feel about their summer retreat.
“Even after all these years, it’s still magical to me,” Mark says. “A make-believe place where you can go, forget your troubles, and just relax with friendly people and beautiful surroundings.”
For Chuck, Kelleys proved to be an oasis from the spotlight where he could just enjoy his family. “The people here are really special and we’ve made lifelong friends,” he says. “I really don’t mind it when folks approach me when I’m out doing my yard work, or at a restaurant,” he says.
“Plus, I have to say,” admits Big Chuck, “I do like it when they come up to me and tell me about their favorite skit they saw on my show . . .”