Tuesday, February 22, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DWIGHT FRYE!







Dwight Frye, born February 22, 1899, was a very prominent character actor of stage and film, mostly known for his work in many of the early Universal monster classics. Many of us remember him as Renfield, the Count's dutiful slave in 1931's Dracula, and as the bumbling but torturous Fritz in 1931's Frankenstein. Dwight went on to act in many other classic Univseral films, such as The Bride Of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Son Of Frankenstein and many others. Labeled as "The Man with the Thousand-Watt Stare", Dwight specialized in portraying mentally disturbed criminal types. His roles weren't always the biggest, but he was always truly unforgettable. Alice Cooper even recorded a tribute to Dwight with his song "The Ballad of Dwight Fry", check out the video below of Alice performing the song live! Happy Birthday Dwight, you madman you!!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICOU BROWNING!







Ricou Browning was born February 16, 1930, and is most famous for portraying the Creature in all the underwater scenes for The Creature From The Black Lagoon, The Revenge Of The Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us. Although Ricou is mostly known for his work as the Creature, Ricou was also a stunt man, producer, cinematographer, writer and director, writing and directing many episodes on the Flipper TV show, as well as feature films. Ricou has been involved in film and television, in front and behind the camera, for over 50 years. I had the pleasure of spending time with, and hosting his Q&A panel at last year's Spooky Empire Ultimate Horror Weekend (I'll be posting the videos soon, I promise!) Happy Birthday Ricou, may you have many more!

Friday, February 11, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY "BORIS" PICKETT!







Bobby "Boris" Pickett was born February 11, 1938, and went on to record possibly the most famous of all monster novelty records, The Monster Mash. The Monster Mash, billed as recorded by "Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers" was a spoof of many of the popular dance crazes of the time, such as the Twist and the Mashed Potato. Bobby went on to record a full-length album, which along with The Monster Mash featured many songs, such as The Transylvania Twist, Blood Bank Blues, and Wolfbane, which is featured on this month's Monster Spookshow Radio! Below is a video of Bobby performing The Monster Mash at Chiller Theater in 2006, featuring the one and only horror host with the most, Zacherle, and music provided by The Dead Elvi! Enjoy the video...and a very Happy Birthday to Mr. Pickett!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LON CHANEY JR.!







Lon Chaney Jr. was born February 10, 1906, and although he was born to the legendary "man of 1,000 faces", Lon Chaney himself, Lon Jr. managed to make a mark himself as a horror legend. Lon Jr. will always be remembered for his portrayal of Lawrence Talbot in Universal Studio's The Wolfman, but Lon Jr. was no stranger to the screen, having acted in almost 70 films before starring in The Wolfman. Lon went on to portray many other famous hollywood monsters, such as The Son Of Dracula, Kharis the mummy in The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost, The Mummy's Curse, and the Frankenstein monster in The Ghost Of Frankenstein. Lon was also well versed in other genres, having starred in many westerns and dramas. Before starring in The Wolfman, Lon gained alot of attention for his role as Lennie in 1939's Of Mice And Men, co-starring Burgess Meredith. To read about Lon Jr,'s diverse career, check out his Wikipedia page. Happy Howlin' Birthday Lon Jr.!

Monday, February 7, 2011

My deepest apologies

Hello fiends, here we are, a week into February and I haven't posted a new Monster Spookshow Radio yet. Well, as my story goes, back in December I had the misfortune of being delt a blow by the economy, thus being laid off from work, which of course plunged me head-on into having to seek out new employment. As a result, I haven't had the chance to while away at the computer and work on my Monster Spookshows. I do have songs lined up, I just haven't had a chance to sit and edit songs, sound clips, etc. I do promise that I will get to it as soon as un-humanly possible, but for now I apologize in my tardiness. In the meantime, take a stroll down memory lane and play all the Monster Spookshow Radio podcasts od yore (2 years yore!) Have faith my little demons, Monster Spookshow Radio will return soon with an all-new show!

Friday, February 4, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE ROMERO!






George Romero, born February 4th, 1940, will always be remembered for 1 thing....ZOMBIES! Considered the "godfather" of the zombie genre, George Romero started the ball rolling back in 1968 with the legendary "Night Of The Living Dead". George has gone on to establish himself as a true master of horror with his "Dead" series of films, as well as other classics as Martin, Creepshow, The Crazies, and many others. I had the pleasure of meeting George at the San Diego Comic Con a couple of years back (photo below) and he indeed was a very funny and friendly man. Happy Birthday to the king of zombies, George Romero!