Yanked from the tasteless, imaginative, and classic E.C. comics that incited a Congressional investigation in the 1950s, HBO's "Tales from the Crypt" — which premiered on June 10, 1989 — was one of the few television shows where A-list Hollywood talent regularly appeared both in front of and behind the camera. Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future") was an executive producer, along with Richard Donner ("Superman: The Movie") and Walter Hill ("The Warriors"). Each week, the anthology series would deal out a bloody morality tale, framed by the cackling Crypt Keeper (voiced by John Kassir). Boils and ghouls curious about the show's history should keep reading, or more puns will follow.
