Career
Early career Originally from Sharon, Pennsylvania, Cardille first worked at WICU in Erie. He was for many years a fixture on Channel 11 (formerly call letters WIIC, now WPXI), the National Broadcasting Company affiliate in Pittsburgh, and was the first voice heard when WIIC went on the air on September 1, 1957. Chiller Theater After years of hosting many other local shows on WIIC (at a time where local stations often produced a significant amount of local programming), Cardille became host of the show for which he is probably best known: Chiller Theatre, a late night Saturday program that showed horror and science fiction films.
The show earned him his nickname "Chilly Billy." The program aired from 1963 until its cancellation in 1983.
Joe Flaherty, a Pittsburgh native, acknowledges this show as an influence in the formation of the popular "Monster Chiller Horror Theatre" sketches on SCTV. Other work Cardille today Until 2014, Cardille could be heard on radio station WJAS Department of Administration and Management 1320 in the mid-day slot. He retired from WJAS in 2014.
He is also the father of actress Lori Cardille who played the lead role in Romero"s Day of the Dead. Pittsburgh City Council, as well as officials from Mercer County and Sharon, Pennsylvania, announced plans to honor Cardille with a proclamation to declare September 28, 2010 "Bill Cardille Day.".