Sunday, June 19, 2011

Monster Bash 2011

It's almost time for the Monster Bash again!

This year's Bash is June 24-26 at the Days Inn Conference Center in Butler, PA. For the past several years I've made a compilation of monster music and themes to go along with the Bash. Well, I'm not making one this year. I've had a bunch of computer problems for some time now. I don't have any sound on my computer and my CD burner isn't working well. Also, I can't upload pictures from my camera. It really sucks. But, I'm too lazy/cheap to get it fixed.

A couple of my old compilations are still available for download --

Monster Bash 2007
Monster Bash 2010

This years guests include --

Robert Dix - He's appeared in scores of films including BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE, FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER, FORBIDDEN PLANET, The James Bond blockbuster LIVE AND LET DIE with Christopher Lee and Roger Moore, HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS as well as TV western classics GUNSMOKE, THE RIFLEMAN, RAWHIDE and DEATH VALLEY DAYS. Robert will be signing his book OUT OF HOLLYWOOD.

Ed Nelson - who came up through the Roger Corman school of classic horror and sci-fi. Ed's credits are stunning. He was in the Corman classic NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST which featured an alien vampire monster! Plus, get a load of this mere sampling of credits: ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN, THE BRAIN EATERS, TEENAGE CAVEMAN, Four episodes of Boris Karloff's THRILLER (he acted with Karloff), THE TWILIGHT ZONE, SHE GODS OF SHARK REEF, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, THE RIFELMAN, BONANZA, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, RAWHIDE, THE VIGINIAN, 77 SUNSET STRIP, THE OUTER LIMITS, COMBAT, THE FUGITIVE, GUNSMOKE, THE SCREAMING WOMAN, NIGHT GALLERY, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, KUNG FU, ADAM 12, AIRPORT 1975, IRONSIDE, ROCKFORD FILES, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, 416 episodes of PEYTON PLACE....need we go on! There's a lot more to his credit! He'll have his book BEYOND PEYTON PLACE as well as stills and will be signing all weekend!

Dawn Wells - Mary Ann on the classic "Gilligan's Island" TV show from the 1960s. We all knew that she was the "one" over the "movie star!" Dawn makes her first Monster Bash appearance to sign autographs all three days and we'll have a super special Monster Bash event called "Gilligan's Horror Island!"

The star of THE RETURN OF DRACULA, Norma Eberhardt, played Rachel....the woman Dracula (Francis Lederer) had the eye (and teeth!) for. Norma also acted in many classic movies and TV shows, including: LIVE FAST - DIE YOUNG, SAILOR BEWARE, DRAGNET, HOGAN'S HEROES, THE WHIRLYBIRDS (with Kenneth Tobey) and visited Boris Karloff at his home too!

Hammer's Dracula Girls, Veronica Carlson - Yvonne Monlaur - Caroline Munro - The Dracula Hammer Girls are coming to Monster Bash in 2011. Veronica Carlson and Yvonne Monlaur sponsered by Kevin Flynn and Mark Piasecki. Plus, Caroline Munro!

West Coast TV legend John Stanley ruled the 1970s and 1980s with CREATURE FEATURES originated from the Bay Area in California. He picked up where Bob Wilkins (the show's original host) left off and took it into new weird dimensions for fans of the fantastic! He made monster movie TV fun and informative for the west coast crowd with interviews with Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and scores of others! He also has the great CREATURE FEATURES movie guide books to his credit.

"Chilly Billy" Cardille - The host of Pittsburgh's Chiller Theatre from the 1950s through the 1980s on Channel 11, Pittsburgh, PA. This is the man who brought you spooky movies and made pizza partiies a way of life on Saturday nights for the city of Pittsburgh for three decades. Bill will only be at the Bash for a limited time. Make sure to get an autograph from this Pittsburgh icon. Appearng Saturday only.

Richard Gordon - The super horror-fan and producer and Euro importer of films like the vampire-based CAVE OFTHE LIVING DEAD, FIEND WITHOUT A FACE (the flying brains that attacked us in 1958), ISLAND OF TERROR, THE HAUNTED STRANGLER, CORRIDORS OF BLOOD and much more. He worked with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and many more!

Frank Dello Stritto - Author of VAMPIRE OVER LONDON - Bela Lugosi's work in England and many other books. Frank will be speaking at Monster Bash with a talk called MY SEARCH FOR BELA LUGOSI.

Tom Savini - Local "Monster Kid" done good! Visit Tom to see his great work in sculptures of classic monsters and talk about his work in horror films over the past decades. A renaissance man that has done it all: specal effects, directing, acting, writing...

The great Kerry Gammill will be at Bash! Kerry's new comic Bela Lugosi's TALES FROM THE GRAVE will be at his table and I'll bet he'll sign a copy just for you! Kerry is an artist and publisher. The stunning on-line MONSTER KID MAGAZINE is Kerry and you may know him from the comics you grew up with too. He's worked for Marvel and DC and graced comic books - SUPERMAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, X-MEN...oh, the list goes on and on!

Make-up and mask master Jesse Melchior will be providing live classic monsters that wil be roaming the halls of Monster Bash! Look for Kharis, Nosferatu, Wolfman, and various classic creepy creatures! Jesse will also be set-up with his unbelievably great masks and other monster gear.

One of the best documentary makers in the business today - Daniel Griffith. His company is Ballyhoo Productions. Daniel produces and directs amazing documentaries on classic and cult films. He's top-notch technical expertise is stepped up to masterful with his sense of humor and obvious love of his subject matters.

Daniel Horne, artist. Daniel rocks the Monster World with covers for MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT magazine, sculptures, models and masks.

The host of Cinema Insomia, Mr. Lobo. One of the most talked about Contemporary Horror Hosts on the Shock Scene! Make sure to check out his web site and videos.

Keyboardist and life-long silent film fan, Kevin Slick! Kevin will perform at this year's MONSTER BASH! Don't miss out on this live event.

Monster Bash stand-up comedy Saturday Night with Don Reese. Catch the man from Iowa at Bash and around the country through the year....check out his schedule on his web site....he might be near your area soon! RUN!

See you're favorite TV show personalities at Monster Bash! It's Vlad and Creighton from the Ghoul A Go-Go show. A twisted twisting monster -craze for kids of all ages. A retro kid's show that is a combination of Dick Clark's American Bandstand and The Addams Family.

Cortlandt Hull is the nephew of Henry Hull (the WEREWOLF OF LONDON) and Jospehine Hull (ARESENIC AND OLD LACE). Cortlandt, in his own right, is a sculptor and artist, heading The Witch's Dungeon in Connecticut. On display you'll see some of Cortlandt's life-size wax classic monsters!

Bill Diamond, who worked with Jim Henson's muppets, now runs MONSTER TV on the Internet! Plus, he'll be having his "Gorgo" introduce The Witch's Dungeon new documentary on Aurora Monsters at Monster Bash!

The horror host that rocks Cleveland through to its bones! Son of Ghoul will be back to put the scare on you. Make sure to visit him at Bash and if you're in Ohio, check your local listings for that SOG listing! Son of Ghoul will host Saturday Stooge Matinee at Bash.

It's a vampire Bash and a vampire Horror Host. Baltimore TV legend Count Gor DeVol joins Penny Dreadful and Mr. Lobo in the Monster Bash lobby as official welcomers to Monster Bash's classic horror host gallery. Get the DVD EVERY OTHER DAY IS HALLOWEEN and get ready to meet the Count at Monster Bash 2011.

Kyra Schon from the original Western PA classic - NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD! She was the little girl in the film with the unforgettable scene in the basement.

John Russo - Screenwriter and zombie from the original Western PA classic - NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD! And, a film instructor and director in his own right.

George Kosana - It's the sheriff....from NIGHT OFTHE LIVING DEAD! Don't mess with the sheriff! His iconic line: "They're dead, they're ll messed up!"

Penny Dreadful's Shilling Shockers - Back at Bash, it's Penny and the crew, including Garou. This Boston area TV creepy crew will be bringing their unique brand of horror and humor to Monster Bash. Plus, check out all the cool goodies they'll have at their table, includuding DVDs of their TV shows and scary movies! Kids, don't worry, Garou the wewrewolf doesn't bite, but he slobbers a whole lot.

Tom Weaver - Noted author of many, many books on the genre. Host of the Bash Braintwister Quiz live at Bash.

Richard Scrivani - Noted author of the book "Good Night, Whatever You Are!" An expert on the Universal horror films. He's also the host of the Forgotten Film Series at Monster Bash.

Lorraine Bush - Classic Monster portrait artist. She's also a cover artist for Monster Bash Magazine.

Robert Michael Cotter - Long time Monster Basher, author Bobb Cotter will be set up at Bash signing books and hanging with the Monster Bashers. Bobb's books for McFarland include A HISTORY OF DOC SAVAGE, THE GREAT MONSTER MAGAZINES, THE MEXICAN MASKED WRESTLER & MONSTER FILMOGRAPHY, and a forthcoming book on Hammer actress Ingrd Pitt! Also, don't miss him introducing our Mexican Movie Night at Monster Bash!

Spooky personalities, The Patient Creatures will be roaming the Monster Bash halls in search of a home....perhaps, yours! Our friends from the Netherworld will treat the kiddies to spooky stories too!

Monday, June 13, 2011

An Early Father's Day Gift

I got an early Father's Day gift in the mail today. It's from my son Kenny's girlfriend Jordyn. She knows I'm a big ol' dork and that I love trading cards. So she went to mytradingcards.com and made a trading card for me for Father's Day. Here it is --



Here's what she wrote on the back --

It all started on the night of
Akron Ohio's Trick-or-Treat.
The relationship grew and
the crazy Jordyn and the
ridiculous Erick became
buddies. The adventures of
scrapbooking and non-stop
talking began and became a
part of their daily routine.
And they each became a
part of the other's life.
Jordyn now has finally found
a father figure to count on.
And Erick has someone to
consider a daughter.

Happy Father's Day
Love always; Jordyn

This card will hold a very special place in my collection.

I gotta go now, I think there's something in my eye.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Raiders of the Lost Ark 30th Anniversary

Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I remember seeing it in the theater and loving it. I feel really old now.

Check out the Dave Lowe Design blog for a Raiders of the Lost Blog-a-thon. From his blog --

The plan for my blog-a-thon will be 30 daily posts celebrating it's 30 years. Some posts will be nostalgic fanboy tales growing up. Some will spotlight the art and design of the movie (always a favorite topic here). Some will be inspired sketches or doodles of mine. Some just random cool or fun things I've found on the web. I may even make a themed prop or two. Overall, it will be smorgasbord of things, but hopefully fun to read. My web comic Para Abnormal is also celebrating with Indiana Jones themed cartoons all month.
He also has a link to other sites that are joining the blog-a-thon.



Thursday, June 09, 2011

Leonard Stern, Mad Libs creator and TV writer, R.I.P.

From EW.com --

Leonard Stern, an [adjective] writer best known for writing [number] episodes of classic TV shows like “The Honeymooners” and “Get Smart,” [verb ending in "ing] [adverb ending in "ly"], and creating the fill-in-the-blanks party game Mad Libs along with partner Roger Price, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 88. Stern got his start in show business at the tender age of 16, when he began writing jokes for Milton Berle. He and Price came up with the idea for their popular game in 1953, according to The L.A. Times.

At the time, Stern was working on a “Honeymooners” script and struggling to come up with the best word to describe how Ralph Kramden’s new boss’s nose looked. “I asked Roger for an idea for an adjective, and before I could tell him what it was describing, he threw out ‘clumsy’ and ‘naked.’ We both started laughing,” Stern told Publishers Weekly in 2008. “We sat down and wrote a bunch of stories with blanks in them. That night we took them to a cocktail party and they were a great success.” The pair would go on to self-publish the first Mad Libs in 1958. Today, more than 110 million copies of various volumes of the game have been sold.

MegoMeet 2011

What is MegoMeet?

MegoMeet is a chance for the Mego toy collectors community, (people interested in the great things put out by the toy company Mego) to get together in person to trade and buy parts and action figures, sit in on sessions designed to educate and answer questions about Mego Corporation and the Toys they made, but more than anything a chance to hook up with friends and fellow collectors live and in person, instead of over the internet.

One day I will make it to this show!

Saturday, June 04, 2011

North Coast Comic Con

I don't think I'll be able to get to any of the big cons this year. So I hope I can make it to this smaller local one next weekend.

North Coast Comic Con



Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Check out these photos on tumblr.

Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Here's some of my favorites --

Sophia Loren and Jane Mansfield

Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein

Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury


Colonel Sanders and Alice Cooper

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Clarice Taylor, R.I.P.

From The Hollywood Reporter --

Cosby Show and Sesame Street actress Clarice Taylor has died. She was 93. Taylor succumbed to heart failure and was surrounded by family when she passed, according to People.

Taylor played Bill Cosby's TV mother Anna Huxtable on the long-running comedy. Her performance earned her an Emmy nomination in 1986 for outstanding guest performer in a comedy series.

Taylor was also well known for playing the character Harriet on Sesame Street for 14 years.

Taylor's other credits include Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me, Sommersby, Wayne Wang's Smoke and an episode of Sanford and Son. She also appeared in the original Broadway production of The Wiz and won an Obie award in 1987 for Moms, a play about comedian Jackie "Moms" Mabley.

The actress, along with her Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashad, was also a member of the Negro Ensemble Company, which presents shows by and about black people to a culturally diverse, and traditionally underserved, audiences.