Thursday, January 21, 2010

Basil Gogos' Wolfman!



Basil Gogos, artist extraordinaire and famed Famous Monster of Filmland magazine cover artist, is back and better than ever! His new painting, in honor of the upcoming film The Wolfman, is as amazing as anything he ever did for Famous Monsters, he hasn't lost his touch! I have had the pleasure of spending time with Basil and I have to say, he is one of the greatest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Check out his latest interview over at CHUD.com. Below is a picture of me with Basil, the first time I met him, and luckily I have had the honor of having several conversations with him through the years! Keep up the great work Basil!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLIN CLIVE!







Born on January 20th, 1900, Colin Clive had a relatively short acting career, due to his death at the age of 37. Colin starred on both stage and film, and although only 3 of his films were actual horror films, we will always remember him as Dr. Henry Frankenstein in James Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. Who could forget his wonderful performances in both films as Dr. Frankenstein, the man who made monsters! His performance as the Dr. Frankenstein set the stage for future portrayals of crazed scientists for years, much in the same way Bela Lugosi set the standard for Dracula. I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my favorite mad scientist!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDGAR ALLAN POE!





Born January 19, 1809, Edgar Allan Poe is one of America's greatest mystery writers and is credited with creating the detective-fiction genre, and he has inspired many authors and filmmakers throughout the years. Poe is by far my favorite writer, having read all of his work, several times. In the past couple of years, illustrator Gris Grimly has adapted some of Poe's most famous stories into beautifully illustrated books. If you are a fan or Edgar Allan Poe, you should definitely pick these books up. The first book is titled Edgar Allan Poe's Tales Of Mystery And Madness, followed by Edgar Allan Poe's Tales Of Death And Dementia. You can pick these books up at eithe Amazon.com or at Gris Grimly's website Mad Creator.com. Also, check out these videos from Vincent Price's television special "An Evening Of Edgar Allan Poe", a one-man performance of some of Poe's best stories, performed by Vincent Price. In these videos he performs my favorite Poe story, "The Tell-Tale Heart"!






And to read more about Edgar Allan Poe's life, check out his Wikipedia page. Happy Birthday to the original Goth!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN CARPENTER!







Born January 16, 1948, John Carpenter went on to be one of horror's favorite sons. The man who brought us such contemporary classics as The Thing, Christine, The Fog, Escape From New York, and the ultimate classic, the one and only original Halloween! John is truly a master or horror, and I personally want to thank him for bringing us such wonderfully frightening films! Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a John Carpenter movie marathon in honor of his birthday! Happy Birthday to the Horror Meister!

Friday, January 15, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERNEST THESIGER!







Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger was born January 15th, 1879, and although his career spanned over 5 decades, we will always remember him as the flamboyantly quirky Doctor Pretorius in James Whale's masterpiece The Bride Of Frankenstein. Ernest took on many roles during his career, but horror fans will always cherish the characters he played in the horror films, such as Dr. Pretorius, Horace Femm in another James Whale classic, The Old Dark House, Laing in The Ghoul, starring Boris Karloff, and his small but memorable role as the undertaker in the 1951 classic Scrooge, starring Alastair Sim (considered the best version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and definitely my favorite version!) Read all about Ernest's film work on his Wikipedia page. Happy birthday you mad scientist!

Friday, January 8, 2010

THE WOLFMAN (2010)





Who's excited? I know I definitely am! I mean, it's another remake, sure, and who knows if it will be any good (as much as everyone hated Van Helsing, I still found it entertaining, as well as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein) I guess I am a sucker for anything regarding the classic Universal Studios Monsters. Either way, I plan to see this when it comes out, what do you guys think?

Monday, January 4, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR! MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO No.20! 2010 FEARSHOW!




Happy "BOO" Year Boils and Ghouls!

Welcome to the 2010 "FEARSHOW" installment of

MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO!

I hope everyone had a truly spooktacular Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

We're finally in 2010, and the start of another horror-iffic year of fear and decade of dread,
and what better way to start it off than with an all-new Monster Spookshow Radio FEARSHOW!

This month's chillingly creepy cuts are:

CEMETERY MAN - Stellar Corpses
EVIL - 45 Grave
BEWARE OF THE GHOULS - The Other
MONSTER STOMP - The Dead Elvi
JACK THE RIPPER - Screaming Lord Sutch
HEARTY DRACULA - Messer Chups
COFFIN NAILS - The Ghouls
ROCKIN' BONES - Elroy Dietzel
REAL GONE MONSTER - Dead Tones
A-TISKET A-CASKET - Zacherle
GHOSTS - The Fright
MONSTERS ON PARADE - The Groovie Goolies
THE DEAD WALK AMONG US - The Undertaker and his Pals
DRACULA'S DRAG - Dickie Goodman
FOO MAN CHOO - The Revels
TRIPLE FEATURE HORROR SHOW - Horror Of 59
THE CAT - Rod Willis
FRIGHT NIGHT - The Decomposed

Just click on the image above to get the latest installment of

MONSTER SPOOKSHOW RADIO!

Enjoy......Happy Haunting!

George Van Orsdel