SIR SIMON MARSDEN, R.I.P.

I was unaware of Simon Marsden's passing this last January 22 until just recently. Born in 1948, Marsden was a devotee of ghosts and the occult from an early age. While growing up he lived in two remote estates in England that were reputed haunted locales.

For years he was a professional photographer, whose subjects were the macabre and supernatural places of his native England and Europe. He shot on infrared film, which gave his work a unique, otherworldly appearance.

My introduction to him was through one of his collections of photographs entitled Phantoms of the Isles. I was immediately captivated by his style, technique, and especially his subject matter.

The story below is from the June 2012 UK issue of AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER. It is a special "infrared film" issue, with articles on capturing this effect with a DSLR and post-production software processing.

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R.I.P. JONATHAN FRID

In what couldn't be worse news for fans of DARK SHADOWS, Jonathan Frid, the man who wooed millions with his vampire character, Barnabas Collins, has passed away.

"(TORONTO) — Jonathan Frid, a Canadian actor best known for playing Barnabas Collins in the 1960s original vampire soap opera "Dark Shadows", has died. He was 87.

Frid died Friday of natural causes in a hospital in his home town of Hamilton, Ontario, said Jim Pierson, a friend and spokesman for Dan Curtis Productions, the creator of "Dark Shadows."

Frid starred in the 1960s gothic-flavored soap opera about odd, supernatural goings-on at a family estate in Maine.

His death comes just weeks before a Tim Burton-directed version of Dark Shadows is due out next month starring Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins. Frid has a cameo role in the new movie in which he meets Depp's character in a party scene with two other original actors from the show.

Pierson said Burton and Depp were fans of Frid, who played a vulnerable vampire in one of the first sympathetic portrayal of the immortal creatures.

"Twenty million people saw the show at its peak in 1969. Kids ran home from school and housewives watched it. It had a huge pop culture impact," Pierson said.

Pierson said Frid, whose character was added in 1967, saved the show and stayed on until the end of its run in 1971. He said Frid was never into the fame and fortune and just wanted to be a working actor. He said he loved the drama and finding the flaws and the humanity in his characters.

"That's why he had this vampire that was very multidimensional. It really set the trend for all these other things that have been done with vampires over the last 40, 50 years," Pierson said. "Vampires were not in the vernacular. In 1967, there wasn't a pop culture of vampire stuff, so here he was in this mainstream network show that aired at 4 P.M. that really took off. And then he did the movie which was also a big hit."

Frid had been an accomplished stage actor before "Dark Shadows" made him famous. The show has lived on in reruns.

Stuart Manning, editor of the online "Dark Shadows News Page", said Frid brought a new dimension to the role of the vampire by injecting the role with depth and a sense of regret for his immortal existence.

"Now that idea has been taken many times since — 'Twilight' uses it, shows like 'True Blood,' 'Buffy' — which again I think shows the influence 'Dark Shadows' has had," said Manning, who worked with Frid as a writer on the 2010 "Dark Shadows" audio drama spinoff, "The Night Whispers."

The youngest of three sons, Frid served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. After graduating from Hamilton's McMaster University, he got a degree in directing at the Yale School of Drama and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Frid starred in various theater productions with illustrious actors including Katharine Hepburn. But it was his turn in "Dark Shadows" and its first feature film adaptation, "House of Dark Shadows," that made him a commercial success and kept him busy throughout his career with reunions, fan events and dramatic readings.

He lived in New York for several decades before moving back to Canada in the '90s. His other credits include the 1973 TV movie "The Devil's Daughter," co-starring Shelley Winters, and Oliver Stone's directorial debut, "Seizure." He also starred in the Broadway revival and national tour of "Arsenic and Old Lace" in the '80s.

Pierson said Frid been in declining health in recent months. At Frid's request, there was no funeral and there will be no memorial.

"He really was kind of a no-fuss guy," Pierson said.

Frid never married. He is survived by a nephew, Donald Frid. "

[SOURCE: http://www.time.com/]

Read More → R.I.P. JONATHAN FRID

JIM MARSHALL (JULY 23, 1923 - APRIL 5, 2012)

Last week, the rock music world lost one of its giants of the industry. Jim Marshall, the "Father of Loud" and creator of the Marshall amplifier that was responsible for the legendary "wall of sound" made famous by rockers such as Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, and Slash, passed away at the age of 88. I will be cranking up my Marshall amp this weekend in his honor.

Here's the story off the wire:

'Jim Marshall, a British music store owner who influenced the raucous sound and chest-thumping volume of rock-and-roll with his Marshall amplifiers, the stage hardware of choice for guitarists Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Slash, died April 5 at a hospice in London. He was 88.

The death, of undisclosed causes, was announced on the Marshall amplifiers Web site.

To the parents of teenage wannabe bedroom rockers, Mr. Marshall’s amps were not welcome household company. But to those young players, Mr. Marshall was the Lord of Loud, the man who gave rock its gritty, beautifully distorted, cacophonous sound.The big, black boxes resembled refrigerators, and when arranged in formation, they emitted a wall of sound.

Many of the most popular guitarists in history used Marshall amps, including Pete Townshend of The Who, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

Marshall amps became such staples of the rock world that they became fodder for comedians, memorably in Rob Reiner’s 1984 satirical documentary “This is Spinal Tap.” In one scene, the fictional band’s clueless lead guitarist, Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest), explains that he uses special Marshall amps that “go to 11” as opposed to ordinary amps that only have a top volume setting of 10.

“Does that mean it’s louder?” asks the fake documentary director Marty DiBergi (played by Reiner).

“Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it?” Tufnel replies.

(In 1990, Mr. Marshall produced an amp he called JCM900 and, in homage to “This is Spinal Tap,” the volume settings went to 20. Guest reprised his role as Tufnel in advertisements for the new equipment.)

Among nonfictional guitarists, Marshall amps became popular for emitting “the most outrageously overdriven rock sounds people had ever heard,” Chris Vinnicombe, guitar editor of the Web site MusicRadar, said in an interview. “There’s a sort of aggression to the sound, a definite kind of bite to the upper-mid range that cuts through everything with an attitude that’s distinctively Marshall.”

Before he made amplifiers, Mr. Marshall was a shoe salesman, a scrap-metal yard worker, a baker in a biscuit factory and a boiler for a fruit-jam maker. He also briefly was a meat slicer for a canned-food manufacturer, until he chopped off part of a thumb.

That he even got into the music business was largely due to a debilitating illness that kept him out of school for most of his childhood. James Charles Marshall was born July 29, 1923, in London. His father managed a fish-and-chips shop.

As a boy, Mr. Marshall contracted a form of tuberculosis that affected his bones. For treatment, he was kept in plaster casts from his ankles to his armpits until he was a teenager. To work up his leg strength, Mr. Marshall took up tap dancing.

In between jobs working at aircraft manufacturers during World War II, Mr. Marshall danced for a band. When the group’s drummer was called to the war, Mr. Marshall took over. He became such a proficient drummer that he started a drum school, teaching youngsters such as Mitch Mitchell, who later played for Hendrix, and Micky Waller, who later played for Little Richard.

By 1960, Mr. Marshall opened a music store and sold drum kits, guitars and amplifiers. Soon, he began tinkering in the back of his shop, and with the help of engineers Dudley Craven and Ken Bran, he made his own amplifiers for bassists who had complained that guitarists were drowning them out.His handiwork quickly caught the attention of The Who’s Townshend, whose father, a clarinetist, Mr. Marshall had jammed with years earlier.

Marshall amps were born after Townshend asked Mr. Marshall to produce an amplifier that would be louder and “dirtier” than the American-made Fender units. The project ultimately resulted with the Marshall stack, two speaker cabinets stacked on top of one another and, above them, an amplifier “head” to control the sound. (Townshend became known for finishing his performances by swinging his guitar like a battle-ax into his Marshall amps. It was Mr. Marshall, himself, who repaired the amps’ torn fabric covering.)

The brand’s popularity took off during the mid-1960s when Clapton used them playing with the band John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and then with power trio Cream. Hendrix, whom Mr. Marshall called his brand’s “greatest ambassador,” played them at the 1969 Woodstock concert.

Marshall amps remain fixtures at concerts and are used by bands such as Sleigh Bells and the electronic dance duo Justice.

A complete list of Mr. Marshall’s survivors could not be determined.

The success of Mr. Marshall’s amps was sealed in the late 1960s when a young American guitarist was photographed kneeling in front of his flaming guitar. Behind him were Marshall amps.

In an odd twist, the image represented the work of three men named James Marshall. The guitarist was James Marshall Hendrix. The photographer was James Joseph Marshall. The amps were by James Charles Marshall."

Read More → JIM MARSHALL (JULY 23, 1923 - APRIL 5, 2012)

R.I.P. HENRY ALVAREZ, MASTER SCULPTOR

Photo from MAKE-UP ARTIST magazine.

It has been reported in the last few hours by MAKE-UP ARTIST magazine that master sculptor Henry Alvarez passed away today. He began his work with the Ripley's Believe It or Not company and later worked with Rob Bottin on THE THING and other genre films. For more details, please visit the MAKE-UP ARTIST webpage by clicking HERE.

Read More → R.I.P. HENRY ALVAREZ, MASTER SCULPTOR

JOHN SEVERIN (DEC 26, 1921 -- FEB 14, 2012)

I was informed a short while ago by my "Hall of Flame" friend Doug, that the man who drew funny pictures is gone. I will never forget John Severin. Growing up as a Monster Kid, his unique cartoon style epitomized the "funny monster" genre made so popular during the 60's Monster Craze.

Not only did Mr. Severin draw monsters, he was one of the orginal E.C. and MAD artists. In his more than 60 years in the business, Mr. Severian drew everything from war to western, with Warren in between. The man was a consumate draughtsman of the humorous as well as the serious and he deserves to be enshrined in our memories.

Farewell, John Severin. May you never run out of pencils and paper!



Self-portrait from GRAPHIC STORY MAGAZINE #7



Below is a statement memorializing John Severin by his family:

Internationally acclaimed illustrator-­‐cartoonist, John Powers Severin (1921-­‐ 2012), passed away Sunday, February 12, 2012 at his home in Denver, Colorado with his family by his side.

He was 90 years old.

Throughout his sixty plus year career in comic illustration and cartooning, Severin gained world-­‐wide notoriety and is regarded by many fans, friends, historians, and colleagues as a truly distinctive and brilliant artist.

Long-­‐time friend and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee states,

'He had an art style that was uniquely and distinctly his own.The minute you looked at his artwork you knew you were looking at a John Severin illustration; it could be no one else. Besides his inimitable style, there was a feeling of total authenticity to whatever he drew, whether it was a Western, a crime story, a superhero saga or a science fiction yarn. Not only was his penciling the very finest, but his inking, too, had a distinctive Severin touch that made every strip he rendered stand out like a winner'.

Severin’s professional career was launched early in high school when he contributed cartoons for the Hobo News. Early in his career, his works were also published by Jack Kirby at Crestwood Publications’ Prize Comics. He co-created the long-running Native American feature American Eagle and continued drawing stories for Prize Comics through 1955.

Called an “artist’s artist”, Severin gained a reputation for his historical knowledge and detail in all genres, most notably war and western. Sharing a Manhattan studio with fellow classmates Harvey Kurtzman and Bill Elder from New York’s famed High School of Music and Art; Severin began drawing for EC Comics. His illustrations graced the covers and inside pages of several EC comic series’ including Two-fisted Tales and Frontline Combat. It was also during this time Severin’s colleagues, Harvey Kurtzman and William Gaines co-created MAD Magazine. Severin was one of the five original artists who played a part in launching the infamous magazine, illustrating features for MAD Magazine between 1952 and 1954.

Upon leaving EC Comics, Severin was sought after to help launch CRACKED Magazine, a new publication that would become the prime competitor to MAD Magazine. Severin, using the pseudonyms “Nireves”, “Le Poer”, and “Noel”, was the lead artist for CRACKED Magazine for an unprecedented 45 years.

Following the cancellation of EC’s comic book line in the mid-1950’s, Severin began working for Atlas Comics, the company that would eventually become Marvel Comics. After the transition to Marvel Comics, Severin contributed his illustrations to several popular titles including the Incredible Hulk, The Nam, Kull the Conqueror, Captain Savage, What The?!, and Semper Fi.

In 2003, Severin revived an outlaw character he created fifty years prior, for Marvel’s controversial Rawhide Kid in the groundbreaking edition Slap Leather. Also in the 2000’s, Severin contributed to Marvel’s The Punisher; DC Comics’ Suicide Squad, American Century, Caper, and Bat Lash; and Dark Horse Comics’ Conan, B.P.R.D. and Witchfinder. Severin’s final illustrations were for Marvel’s Witchfinder Lost and Gone Forever, published in early 2012.

'One of my greatest regrets, as an editor, was the fact that John was so busy doing other things that I couldn’t give him as many assignments as I would have wished. If it were up to me, I’d have kept him busy drawing for Marvel seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year,' states Lee.

Throughout his life, Severin received numerous honors, recognitions, and awards for his illustrations and contribution to the comic book industry. In 2003 he was inducted into the Eisner Comic Industry Awards – Hall of Fame. His other accolades include:

• Best Western – Desperadoes
• 1967 Alley Award – Sgt. Fury
• 1968 Alley Award – Sgt. Fury of Shield
• 1998 American Association of Comic Book Collectors – Hall of Fame
• 1998 National Inkpot
• Marvel Shazam – Conan
• 2000 American Association of Comicbook Collectors Hall of Fame – Historical Contribution
• 2000 International Inkpot
• 2001/2002 Charles M. Shultz “Sparky” Lifetime Achievement
• Jules Verne Estate Lifetime Achievement
• Marvel Shazam – Kull

'John Severin’s distinguished work is personified by the quality of the man himself. “John Severin was one of the nicest, most decent, honorable, straight-shooting men you’d ever hope to meet,” states Lee. “Truly, the art world has suffered a great loss with John’s passing – but so has the human race. To John’s friends and fans worldwide, he has been greatly loved and will surely be greatly missed.'

John Powers Severin was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. After attending the High School of Music and Art he enlisted in the United States Army where he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He moved to Denver, Colorado in 1970. As a freelance comic illustrator and cartoonist, thousands of Severin’s illustrations have been published and admired by fans worldwide. John Severin is survived by his wife of 60 years, Michelina, 6 children, 13 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, a step great granddaughter and Severin’s sister, Marie Severin, who is also a comic illustrator and cartoonist."

Read More → JOHN SEVERIN (DEC 26, 1921 -- FEB 14, 2012)

RICHARD GORDON (DECEMBER 31, 1925 - NOVEMBER 1, 2011)



Richard Gordon (left) with Bela Lugosi in a photo from 1952.



Sad news this week. I'll let the obit in the L.A. Times tell the tale:

Richard Gordon dies at 85; producer of horror and science fiction films
The British-born B-moviemaker's credits included 'Fiend Without a Face,' 'Horror Planet' and 'The Haunted Strangler.'

By Dennis McLellan, Los Angeles Times

November 3, 2011

Richard Gordon, a B-moviemaker whose credits as a producer and executive producer of science fiction and horror films included "Fiend Without a Face" and "The Haunted Strangler," has died. He was 85.

The British-born Gordon died Tuesday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. He had been hospitalized in recent months for heart problems, said Tom Weaver, a friend.

Beginning his more than two-decade career as a producer in the mid-1950s, Gordon executive-produced movies such as "Corridors of Blood" with Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, "The Haunted Strangler" with Karloff, "Island of Terror" with Peter Cushing and "Fiend Without a Face" and "First Man Into Space," both with Marshall Thompson.

He later produced films such as "The Cat and the Canary," "Computer Killers" and "Horror Planet."

"Gordon's horror and sci-fi movies changed with the times, incorporating slasher-type violence and some nudity because of the demands of the marketplace," Weaver, whose book-length interview with Gordon, "The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon," was published this year, said in an e-mail.

"But his heart was in the Golden Age of horror movies he grew up with, and actually paid tribute to, even in the goriest of his pictures."

"Fiend Without a Face" was a gory 1958 "science-gone-wild" movie in which a reclusive scientist's research results in the creation of human brains with snake-like spinal cord tails that attack and kill people.

When the movie opened at the Rialto Theatre in Times Square, a "Fiend" was placed on display in a glass case in front of the theater.

"Every few minutes, the Fiend would move its motor-activated tail as a tape played the sounds that the Fiends make in the movie," Gordon told Weaver.

But after two days, he said, "the police made us take away the display because they said we were disrupting the traffic and flow of Times Square pedestrians, and this couldn't be allowed."

Born in London on Dec. 31, 1925, Gordon developed an early love of the movies and wrote articles on films, edited fan club magazines and organized a film society while still in school.

After serving in the British Royal Navy from 1944 to '46, he and his movie-loving older brother, Alex, worked for film distributors in London before they moved to New York City in 1947.

While Richard Gordon remained in New York, Alex headed west, where he produced low-budget movies in the 1950s and '60s such as "The She-Creature" and "Dragstrip Girl."

In 1949, Richard Gordon launched Gordon Films Inc., which imported foreign movies for distribution in the U.S. He operated the company until his death.

"He was a lovely guy who lived and breathed movies," Weaver said.

Gordon had no survivors.

Read More → RICHARD GORDON (DECEMBER 31, 1925 - NOVEMBER 1, 2011)