Meeting Julie Adams: “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” had good taste!

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When I was in Junior High School, I had an amazing art teacher named Mr. Ray. He was known for his quick wit, hilarious commentary, and a penchant for dropping unruly kids into an industrial-sized waste basket (Ah…the good ole days!). Mr. Ray also was a fan of horror films and, aside from boasting a 1979 ALIEN figure on his classroom shelf, would also host a “Horror Video Club” after school. If there was ever a good reason to be kept after class, this would be it! Our parents had to all sign a consent form as he’d be playing scenes from Rated R horror films, and it was he who introduced me to the prom night vengeance of CARRIE, the genius directing of Hitchcock, and other great examples of horror/sci-fi/suspense treasures.

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Tippi Hedren gives Alfred Hitchcock “The Bird(s)!”

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One of the celebrity encounters I was most looking forward to was Tippi Hedren. Ms Hedren, of course, will be forever remembered for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s THE BIRDS. While this film is often panned by critics in lieu of The Master of Suspense’s other achievements (eg.PSYCHO, VERTIGO, REAR WINDOW) this has always been the film I find myself re-watching the most. I’m sure that is, no doubt, due to my love of animals as well as a good “man vs. nature” flick (of which there are few).

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Tom Atkins & The Masks of Halloween III: Season of the Witch!

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Celebrity encounters, while usually pleasant, are rarely as enjoyable when one meets the legendary Tom Atkins! The 2011 Indianapolis Horrorhound Weekend along with Mask-Fest was the perfect venue for featuring Atkins along with some alumni from one of his films. HALLOWEEN III. The film’s director, Tommy Lee Wallace, Atkins, along with his co-star, Stacey Nelkin were all on hand at this event – sitting side by side.

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Meeting Robert Englund was anything but a Nightmare

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ROCK N SHOCK 2011 brought together various cast members from the 80’s slasher franchise A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. The most noteworthy of these was Robert Englund who has appeared many times in my native Chicago at the FLASHBACK WEEKEND conventions. Despite this fact, I had never formally met him. I’m not exactly sure why that was, but I suppose it might have been that I was never a huge fan of those films. I know this is probably coming across as horror blasphemy right now but, “back in the day,” I preferred my horror deadly serious and didn’t care for the clever puns and humorous turn the series would end up taking.

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