Posts Tagged ‘Boris Karloff’
Posted by Earl Roesel in A Walk Through the Forrest with Earl Roesel, Books on December 30th, 2009
Believe it or not, Forry enjoyed a lifelong relationship of respect and understanding with Playboy editor and publisher Hugh Hefner. The latter has been a genre fan since childhood; he actually produced amateur horror films as a teenager. Hefner also put together a monster magazine of sorts (predating Famous Monsters!) that recieved the official blessing of Boris Karloff himself. And of course, Hef’s Halloween parties are legendary.
A delighted Forry meets his own creation, Vampirella, at a Playboy party.
It was only natural that he should eventually cross paths with the Dean of Mon-stars, Forry Ackerman. In fact, Hefner came to FJA’s rescue during a very vulnerable time. As Forry related…
“There was a time in my life when I was behind on legal bills. Knowing he was so rich, I threw myself on Hugh Hefner’s mercy and asked if I could borrow some money. The dear man obliged me and saved my life on that occasion. Well, bit by bit, ten, twenty, fifty dollars I was able to repay Hugh Hefner every penny that I had borrowed. The next time I saw him on New Year’s Eve Party, he took me by the hand and shook me vigorously and said, ‘Mr. Ackerman, you are the only man I ever lent money to who repaid me.’ I guess he’d loaned thousands of dollars to people only to have it ignored, figuring he was rich and wouldn‘t care. I was rather pleased with myself to hear that I was the only one who’d ever repaid him.”
I once asked Forry if he would ever like to revisit the Playboy Mansion. His response was surprising: although Hefner was very nice, he said, the loud rock music played during his parties was unbearable!
It should also be remembered that FM itself owes a tip of the hat to Hefner and his bunny-eared brainchild: publisher James Warren’s first magazine was the saucy After Hours, which Forry often described as a “poor man’s Playboy”.
Posted by Earl Roesel in A Walk Through the Forrest with Earl Roesel, Books, Latest News on November 21st, 2009
Having acquainted myself with just who this Forrest J Ackerman was via The Horror Hall of Fame and Horray for Horrorwood!, the next step was inevitably a brush with Famous Monsters itself. Though James Warren’s version of FM had faded away when I was three years old, nixing any chance I had to grow up with this mightiest of monster magazines, fate conspired with chance (in the words of Brother Theodore) to save me.
When I was about 13-years old my mother brought home a number of science fiction digests from a local drug store. These were not quite in my line but I still perused them with interest, particularly the ads. Before Ebay, Amazon and Ioffer, this was the only way to locate unusual items otherwise unavailable in one’s area. I remember pouring over the full-page spreads hawking Hildebrandt-style fantasy art and bejeweled daggers – somehow those stark, simple images transported me to another world much more vividly than the purple prose that surrounded them.
I sent away for a number of the catalogs offered by various companies in the classified section. One was for something called Bud Plant. I almost forgot about it until one day something the size of a telephone book came in the mail for me. Bud Plant was a comics/collectibles dealer and their catalog was truly a Bible on the subject. I lost myself in page after page of illustration and description in black and white newsprint. Superhero comics, underground comics, reprints of those EC comics I’d heard about on The Horror Hall of Fame, Disney, Dark Horse and Dr. Octopus. Everything was there. I was, and am, not a comic book fan per se but the thrill of discovering this material for the first time was nevertheless exhilarating.
One listing was especially enticing. It was for Famous Monsters of Filmland # 201; the cover, as best I could make out given the blotchy printing, depicted the then-just-deceased Vincent Price in Masque of the Red Death. So somebody decided to re-launch this thing, eh? The description noted the issue’s contents and the fact that Forry Ackerman was at the helm. I decided to order immediately; at last I’d have a look at what I’d heard the likes of John Landis, Joe Dante and Rick Baker tout so enthusiastically.
Famous Monsters # 201, which I still retain after 16 years. It has since been signed by Forry and Jim Warren.
I’m fairly certain there was such a thing as First Class, if not Priority, mail in 1993 but neither I nor my mother were apparently adept enough to choose that option. It was, as I recall, two agonizing months until I finally received the package containing FM # 201, a copy of Stephen Jones’ excellent The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide (a book I‘d get much use out of for years to come), and an issue of Cult Movies that no 13-year old should’ve been reading.
It was an extremely fortuitous issue of FM to begin with. There was much coverage of Forry and his interests that further filled in the gaps in my knowledge of him. Also included was an extensive look at an FM convention held in Virginia to celebrate the re-launch of the mag. Many genre celebrities that I recognized took part and, from the photos, the dealer tables were stacked high with monster-related bric-a-brac. It would’ve been nirvana for me, if only I’d known such a thing was taking place – but then, it wouldn’t have made much difference anyway. I was in Kentucky to stay and my mother always made it plain that we were in no economic condition to go on trips.
I received the Bud Plant catalogs regularly thereafter. The next FM I got through them was 202, with a painting of Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein Monster on the cover. This was done by an artist named Osman Askin. Little did I know then that one day I’d be working in the name of the Forrest J Ackerman estate, cataloging examples of this artist’s work for one of the world’s major auction houses.
Posted by dominie in Events, Interviews on June 23rd, 2009
We’ve just updated our TheOfficialFMoF YouTube channel with more videos for your viewing pleasure. From night one at the Egyptian Theatre: Sara Karloff and actress Janet Ann Gallow hold a special Q and A prior to screening Son of Frankenstein and The Ghost of Frankenstein, respectively.
Sara Karloff (part 2) shares with us stories regarding her father, their relationship, and her thoughts on the legacy he’s left on the movie world.
Janet Ann Gallow was only five years old when cast for the role of little Cloestine in The Ghost of Frankenstein, but she vividly recalls her experiences on the set, working with Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr.
Video production and post by Ash, Constant, Ed, and Turtle.
Posted by Dominic in Arts, Latest News on May 14th, 2009
I often post about upcoming action figures and model kits. Being a collector I am very interested in the vast and varied world of toys and collectables, even if I have no particular interest in a certain line I enjoy admiring well done sculpts and figures of all genres. Often times I wish I liked a certain line of toys simply so I could justify buying the figures. However my pocket book dictates that I am reserved in my action-figure collecting.
One of the finest sculptors of scaled action figures, statues and busts working in the industry today is Ray Santoleri. You may not know the name but I am almost certain you have seen his vast and varied portfolio of work throughout the collecting world. He has sculpted figures and statues for companies such as Neca, Mezco, Diamond and McFarlane.
After graduating with an Associate Degree in Applied Science in Marketing Art and Design from Middlesex County Collage, Ray worked in graphic art and illustration. He then moved on to film and TV make-up where he was introduced to sculpting for make-up effects. Somehow he fell into the toy industry and the rest is history. His work has appeared in Lee’s Toy Review, Tomart’s Action Figure Digest and Amazing Figure Modeler.
A fan of classic horror films Ray has produced many fine art portraits of Boris Karloff and is currently working on a series of 5 quarter scale busts of Karloff from various roles throughout the 1930’s. Each solid resin bust stands 6’’ with base.
Rays work is impeccable. He truly is a master of his trade and the love he feels for sculpting and art shines through every piece he creates. To check out Rays work and purchase the first two busts in the series head over to his website http://www.rsantoleri.com/index.html and check out all the cool goodies he has to offer collectors of all genres and tastes.
Posted by Dominic in Arts on February 11th, 2009
There have been quite a few Boris Karloff collectibles produced over the past few years. Unfortunately most of the figures have been of Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster, with very few portraying Karloff in any of his other memorable roles.
Enter Amok Time and their new deluxe Boris Karloff 1/6th scaled figure of Karloff as, well, Boris Karloff. This Karloff family approved collectible figure comes with three interchangeable heads from three distinctive points in the master of horrors life.
Being that my favorite Karloff picture is the Peter Bogdanovich directed Targets (1968) I was thrilled to see that one of the heads included with the figure is that of Karloff in his later years. The other two heads are of Karloff in middle age and as a younger actor, before Frankenstein and stardom. The figure includes a display stand and deluxe 4-color window box with fifth panel. Now I just have to get Amok Time to produce a young 1/6th scaled Peter Bogdanovich, but I won’t hold my breath.
Check out Amok Time to pre-order this perfect addition to your collections.
