Kogar, the Swinging (Styrene) Ape!

Bob Burns is a Hollywood institution-- his boundless knowledge of film history and his in-house museum of movie props are astonishing. In certain circles, Bob's annual Halloween shows are the stuff of legend. And, for decades, Bob donned a gorilla suit and performed as Kogar the Gorilla. As such, Bob is part of a long line of unsung movie "gorilla men" (like actor/sculptor Charlie Gemora) and Bob helped keep the line going by helping to inspire the modern gorilla king, makeup artist Rick Baker. Bob's hirsute appearances on shows like "Laugh-In" are always delightful, but my personal favorite instance of him aping-out is as "Kogar the Swinging Ape" in Ray Dennis Steckler's RAT FINK A BOO BOO. (Bob also appeared in other Steckler movies like THE LEMON GROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS.)

Now, Bob-- a toy collector, himself-- can add himself to his collection. Moebius Models has released a salute in plastic to Bob-- a model kit of The Mighty Kogar, featuring three heads: Kogar's scowling mug; the very un-threatening Tracy (complete with beanie), Bob's character from the 1975 kiddie tv series, "The Ghost Busters"; and Bob's own amiable visage. There is also a deluxe version of this kit, featuring a figure Bob's wife, Kathy. The kit was designed to match the scale of Aurora Models' "Monsters of the Movies" kits. Topping all of this off is the great Vincent Di Fate's box art-- some of the best in its field since James Bama quit doing cover paintings.

This kit is a fitting tribute to Bob in so many ways. For monster-lovers everywhere, I recommend it highly.

For more information about Moebius' line of monster kits, visit their website at www.moebiusmodels.com.

Rare David Bowie memorabilia for sale- "The Man Who Fell to Earth" original script

For my fellow David Bowie aficionados out there, I am selling a rare piece of Bowie memorabilia on eBay this week: his costume designer, May Routh's, original script to THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, featuring her hand-written notes about his costumes for the film (which would later appear on the cover of the LOW and STATION TO STATION albums). It's also a beautifully-written screenplay (by Paul Mayersberg, who also wrote MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE with Bowie and CROUPIER, among other films).

Here's a link to the auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/David-Bowies-costumers-original-script-THE-MAN-WHO-FELL-TO-EARTH-Nicolas-Roeg-/221182912028?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337f87661c

R.I.P. actor Jon Finch

 

Actor Jon Finch has died with almost no fanfare-- the only immediately available obituary was in the local newspaper in the English town where spent his last years. He has always been a favorite of mine-- brooding, irate, Byronic-- like Klaus Kinski, the kind of actor that you loved to watch but would have PAID to not to have to work with. Finch did a beautiful job as Roman Polanski's MACBETH, and delivered his signature performance in Hitchcock's last truly great film, FRENZY, as mean, drunken, self-destructive Dick Blaney. Finch really soared as an actor in Robert Fuest's THE FINAL PROGRAMME. If anyone ever chooses to film Michael Moorcock's berserk Jerry Cornelius novels again, they will be hard-pressed to find an actor who could fall so utterly perfectly into the role of J.C. 

Finch was eerily perfect as the surly, bitter, spitting cobra Dick Blaney in Hitchcock's phenomenal FRENZY. He's a perfect foil for the film's villain, the (superficially) amiable Bob Rusk (played by the late Barry Foster). Blaney is the kind of character who calls nearly everybody "a bastard"- women included- which helps make FRENZY one of the best "bad mood movies" that I know of. 

Ironically, just days before I heard about Finch's passing, I was quoting one of his lines from THE FINAL PROGRAMME in an essay: "Well, for a start, I'm going to sit here and get smashed out of my mind. And I also have it on very good authority that the world is coming to an end. I thought I'd go home and watch it on television."

R.I.P.

DR. PHIBES signing at Dark Delicacies- December 1st at 2 pm featuring Dr. Phibes' creator/co-author William Goldstein and myself

http://darkdel.com/?wbtrak=NGZhZmIyNWUtNDJmOTQ0YTY=

Come one, come all to Burbank's beloved horror bookstore, Dark Delicacies, this Saturday, December 1st at 2 pm. I will be signing copies of issue #29 of Little Shoppe of Horrors, featuring my 30-page, definitive making-of article on THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, and, more importantly, I will be joined by Dr. Phibes' creator/co-author, William Goldstein, who will be signing copies of his Phibes novels. For more information, follow the link, above, to Dark Delicacies' website.

Autumn's Master of Ceremonies

Remembering Autumn's Master of Ceremonies, RAY BRADBURY, who is keenly missed during this season that he loved so dearly and served so well.

Remembering Robert (PHIBES) Fuest on his birthday

This Sunday, September 30th would have been director/designer Robert Fuest's 85th birthday. Bob was a childhood idol of mine and became a dear friend. We were in touch literally until the last day of his life. His best films-- The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, The Final Programme, and Wuthering Heights-- are shot through with Bob's painterly compositions, pathos, stylishness, wit, and delicious black humor. They all hold up beautifully, even after countless viewings. "Unique" is a grossly overused word, but Bob was absolutely, positively that. The film world is vastly poorer for his absence.

What saddens me most about Bob's absence is that my love letter to The Abominable Dr. Phibes, an exhaustive 40-page article on it, will be appearing in issue #29 of Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine, which he will never see. The article is dedicated to him. (For more information, visit www.littleshoppeofhorrors.com.)

I think of Bob somewhat like Cathy said of Heathcliff in Bob's Wuthering Heights: "I shall carry him with me. He's in my soul."

I pity the fool who got ragged-ass claws scuttling along in them funky-ass seas!

I Photoshopped this image. Now, it's Mr. T. S. Eliot.